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



## dina444444

New thread has been created at this link.

Disneyland has announced that boarding groups will used for Rise of the Resistance. I ask that this thread remain about the boarding group process and to *not* post ride spoilers or if you do to please use the spoiler tag feature.

Official announcement from Disney:

*Get ‘Resistance Ready’ for Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance, Launching Jan. 17 at Disneyland Park*

When _Star Wars_: Rise of the Resistance opens at the Disneyland Resort one week from today, you will be able to ride one of the most ambitious, advanced and immersive experiences ever undertaken by Walt Disney Imagineering. Already open at Disney’s Hollywood Studios in Florida, this epic adventure blurs the lines between fantasy and reality on a scale never seen before in a Disney attraction.

Here are seven ways to make the most out of your visit to _Star Wars_: Galaxy’s Edge, and planning tips for the highly anticipated opening of _Star Wars_: Rise of the Resistance on Jan. 17 at Disneyland park:

1. Download the official Disneyland mobile app

First things first. The Disneyland app* allows you to navigate that land and even utilize the mobile ordering feature at select dining locations when you are in the land. Be sure to download before you go!

2. Plan around your attraction experience

Starting Jan. 17 as needed, a virtual queue for _Star Wars_: Rise of the Resistance may be implemented to help deliver the best possible guest experience, allowing guests to explore other areas of the park while waiting for their turn to ride. The Disneyland app will have a dedicated module, _Star Wars_: Rise of the Resistance – Access by Boarding Group, available from the main page. Here’s how it will work:


Request to join a boarding group to ride the attraction, once you have entered Disneyland park. The virtual queue will not be available until published park opening hours.
Boarding groups will be sent a push notification when it is their turn to enter the attraction queue and you can monitor status of boarding groups from the app.
There also will be the ability to join a boarding group from select locations inside Disneyland park, if you are not using the app. The boarding group is tied to admission that will be scanned upon entry of the attraction.
Signage throughout the park will also display boarding group status.
Admission into _Star Wars_: Rise of the Resistance will be subject to capacity, and having an assigned boarding group will not guarantee entrance to the attraction.
3. Make a reservation for select experiences

Whether you’re looking to craft your own lightsaber at Savi’s Workshop, build your very own custom astromech droid unit at Droid Depot, or sip on a delicious concoction at Oga’s Cantina, these three locations offer advance reservations up to 60 days in advance. These popular experiences book up quickly, so be sure to check out the Disneyland Resort website or the Disneyland app to make your reservations today!

4. Display your affiliation with the rebellious Resistance or the intimidating First Order

You’re encouraged to live out your _Star Wars_story and dress the part while visiting Batuu, however, keep in mind the Disneyland Resort costume policy is in effect. While costumes may not be worn by guests 14 years of age or older, appropriate bounding—dressing in outfits inspired by _Star Wars_—is permitted.

5. Find a buddy to ride with you

Head to Batuu’s marketplace to check out the Creature Stall. You may find an exotic creature or critter from around the galaxy to accompany you aboard _Star Wars_: Rise of the Resistance, including a sassy Kowakian monkey-lizard or an adorable porg!

6. Explore Black Spire Outpost with your _Star Wars_: Datapad through the Play Disney Parks App

If you’ve traveled to Batuu, you may be familiar with the _Star Wars_: Datapad, a land-wide interactive experience available through the Play Disney Parks mobile app.* There are so many ways to explore with your Datapad, including choosing to support the Resistance or First Order by selecting new jobs within the app as you move through the Resistance clearing and towards the new attraction.

7. Follow the experience with a refreshing treat

After escaping the clutches of the dark side, treat yourself to a local delicacy in Batuu – Blue Milk and Green Milk! Available at the Milk Stand, these frosty confections are an invigorating, refreshing drink. Pair your milk with a sweet, savory snack made with popcorn from Kat Saka’s Kettle. Try the new chocolate popcorn with Crait Red Salt – yum!

_Star Wars_: Rise of the Resistance opens Jan. 17 at the Disneyland Resort. Rising Moons!

_*Message, data and roaming rates may apply. Availability subject to handset limitations, and features may vary by handset, service provider or otherwise. Coverage and app stores not available everywhere. If you’re under 18, get your parents’ permission first. Some features require separate theme park admission_

Source

Additional details:

*Experiencing Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance*


There may be times when Guests may be required to join a virtual queue to experience the new Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance attraction.

The virtual queue is not a physical line, so you can enjoy the rest of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge and Disneyland Park until it is your turn to enter Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge.
*After entering Disneyland Park*, you can request to join the virtual queue and will be assigned a boarding group, either with the Disneyland app or at select locations within the park.
Guests may join the virtual queue starting at the published opening time for the day at Disneyland Park. Guests may be assigned to a “backup” boarding group. Backup boarding groups are only called if all previous boarding groups have been called and there is extra capacity for additional Guests.
You will be able to join one boarding group per day.
You can check the app and in-park signs to see which boarding group is currently being admitted to Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance.
Admission into Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance is subject to capacity. Being assigned to a boarding group does not guarantee entrance to the attraction.

Source

Links to other threads:
DHS Boarding Group Planning
Disneyland SWGE Superthread (Please ask all other SWGE related questions here!)


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## dina444444

*FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS*

How do I join a boarding group?

*You must first enter Disneyland Park to join a boarding group*, you do *not* have to stay inside Disneyland once you are scanned in. You can hop over to DCA or head into Downtown Disney or even return to your hotel. Please note that the Monorail entrance is not usually advisable for use as it typically does not open until the park officially opens. People have reported using the Monorail entrance when it was open before official park opening, but this is not something to depend upon.
Boarding Groups are joined via the Disneyland App at official park opening or at a FP machine at Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters or Splash Mountain
To join via the Disneyland App you must scan your own park admission as well as that of all other members of your party into the app. All members of your party must first be scanned into Disneyland. You can have all members of your Boarding Group party scanned and signed into one account on multiple smartphones OR all members can be scanned into multiple  accounts on multiple phones. After the first person in your group gets a BG, all other people in your group will get a message that they are already in a BG.
For those who have problems unlinking tickets and APs from their app: First try tapping the 3 lines on the bottom right of the app, select “Tickets and passes” and delete the desired tickets or passes. If this doesn't work, go to City Hall or Chamber of Commerce to ask CMs for help or (if not in the parks) call the App Support Line (714)520-6222 OR the AP Hotline (714)781-7277
Why unlinking unnecessary tickets and APs from your app matters:  From @ironband74 :     You don't "get" anything until you have selected your party and click the second "Join                            Boarding Group" button. It doesn't hold a spot for you while you select your party - no communication with the server occurs until that second button gets tapped. At that point it sends the ticket/pass numbers to the server and processes them and hopefully returns your BG number to you. This is why it is helpful to not have extra tickets in the app - seconds can make the difference between a low and high number, a regular and a backup, or a backup and nothing...
For Those Who Need a Visual Guide on Joining a Boarding Group:
       Star Wars Rise of Resistance Disneyland Strategy Guide - Disney Tourist Blog

What is a Backup Boarding group?

These boarding groups are only called if there is still time/capacity to ride and are not guaranteed to get on.
How is the DAS accommodated?

You must first obtain a Boarding Group. Then request a DAS return time at any Information Kiosk. When your boarding group is called please let the CM know you have a DAS and they will send you down the FP queue. The DAS/FP queue joins the main queue before the first pre-show.
From @DisKitten:  (as of President's Day Weekend)                                                                                                           Regarding the DAS: When your boarding group is called, you go to the Plaid Shirt cast members near the ride entrance. They will issue you a 0 minute DAS return time for Rise of the Resistance. You will then go to the normal entrance where they will scan your boarding group barcode twice, once for the boarding group and once for the DAS. They will then direct you to the alternate queue instead of the line. We waited approximately 2-3 minutes in the alternate queue.
***If you have an existing DAS return time when your boarding group is called, the cast member will convert that DAS return time to an open ended FastPass (for the same ride) so that they can issue the DAS return time for Rise of the Resistance.                                                              -OR-  YMMV
From @matthewthompson87 :                                                                                                      1) Get a BG.                                                                                                                                  2) When BG is called, if you are using DAS, go to any Guest Relations location to obtain a DAs return time.                                                                                                                                    3) Return to ride entrance after DAS return time is up.                                                                 4) You’ll then be directed to the FastPass queue.                                                                         5) Advise CM inside the building if you need any further special assistance.                        There are reports of Guest Relations CMs at RotR entrance being able to issue Return Times there. (The GR CM that was there on 2/2 was not able to...)
Is there Rider Switch?

Yes, however everyone who wishes to ride must obtain a Boarding Group. When your boarding group is called please let the CM know you need a Rider Switch pass.
From @naoboo:                                                                                                                      A cast member will check your pass and send you on in                                                       Another cast member directs people with BGs to left, and people who need to get or are redeeming a rider swap to the right                                                                                               To get a rider swap, the CM will scan the ticket of those staying behind, plus any who will ride with them                                                                                                                                         If three people are staying behind, only those three will be let on with a rider swap pass. If one person is left behind, two people who already rode it can go with them                                       To redeem a rider swap pass, the group will go back to the right and the passes will be scanned off your phone app like a fast pass
For Plus Size Guests:
From @Astylla:​From a Facebook group called Disney for Plus Sized Guests where they talk about experience with the ride vehicles --​Overall the consensus has been some people have mentioned that if they are a female size 26/28 or above or have larger hips then getting into the actual ride car [might be an issue] but otherwise it's been fine.​There is reportedly a ride vehicle that has an extra wide opening for those who need extra assistance and to inquire with the very last CM if needed. Seat belts have not been a concern just the molded seats.​
When does parking open?

Mickey and Friends Structure, Pixar Pals Structure, and the Toy Story Lot all open 90 minutes before official park opening time (30 minutes before Magic Mornings on Tue/Thur/Sat)

*this is a work in progress and will continue to be updated with more FAQs*


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## dina444444

Commander, tear this ship apart until you've found this chart!
Updated by @ironband74 (2/27/20):


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## dina444444

*HydroGuy's **"How To" Guide For Riding Rise of the Resistance at DL : *

*Some acronyms used here:*

BG - Boarding Group (a place in a virtual queue for ROTR)
DL - Disneyland park
DCA - Disney California Adventure
EMH - Extra Magic Hour (early entry for Disney hotel guests)
FP - FastPASS
MM - Magic Morning (early entry for some DL guests with 3 day tickets)
MP - MaxPass
OPO - Official Park Opening (the time the park officially opens that day to everyone - 8AM, 9AM or 10AM - MM or EMH do not count)
RD - Rope Drop (in this post this is the same thing as OPO - Official Park Opening)
ROTR - Rise of the Resistance (the new ride at DL)


*So how do you ride ROTR?


1. You have to get a Boarding Group (BG) to ride ROTR*

ROTR does not have a standby line. You cannot just show up and wait in line. As of today, the only way to ride ROTR is to get in a virtual queue by way of what Disney calls a "boarding group". You get into a BG using the DLR app on your smartphone.

There are two types of BGs - Regular and Backup. The Regular BGs are the first ones to ride and are essentially guaranteed a ride that day. The Backup BGs get to ride if the ride performance is good that day and their group gets called.

Looking at Dina's excellent daily worksheet,
https://www.disboards.com/threads/r...-please-read-posts-1-3.3784461/#post-61387662there are typically 70-80 Regular BGs each day. No one knows for sure how many people are in each BG, but it is believed to be 75-100.

BGs do not have assigned time slots upon receipt. They are just a place in the virtual queue. When your BG is ready to board, Disney will push a notification to you on your phone through the DLR app. You will have a 1-2 hour window in which to return to ROTR in order to ride it. The length of the window varies by day but it is 2 hours usually.

Read this Strategy Guide for more on this: https://www.disneytouristblog.com/star-wars-rise-resistance-disneyland-strategy-guide/


*2. Arrive early - REALLY early*

It can vary day to day, but it is a good idea to plan to arrive at the DLR security line at least one hour before the park officially opens (OPO). 75 minutes before is a safer bet though. If you are parking a car, plan accordingly and arrive even earlier.

Since opening on Jan 17, 2020, the BGs have been running out most days within 60 seconds of OPO. On some days even faster. Backup groups last anywhere from one additional minute to over an entire hour on less busy days. See https://www.disboards.com/threads/r...-please-read-posts-1-3.3784461/#post-61387662

You have to get inside the DL park, with your park tickets scanned, and everyone in your party present, before the DL park officially opens (OPO).

You do not have to remain inside the DL park to get a BG. You can scan into the park, then leave - to DTD, DCA, the Esplanade, your hotel or anywhere outside DLR.

The lines to get into DL each morning have been scary long. Like nothing many of us have ever seen. They move pretty fast, but if you show up too late, even if you arrive before the DL OPO, you will not be able to get a BG unless you make it inside DL by the time of OPO.

DL allows people to enter the park anywhere from 30-50 minutes before OPO. Sometimes they are held on Main Street, or the Hub, or allowed into the park. Usually you cannot ride rides during this early time. You just can position yourself for OPO.


*3. Have the latest DLR app downloaded to your smart phone before arriving*

That is self-explanatory.


*4. Have everyone's park tickets or APs linked to your account before arriving*

Since you only have about 60 seconds from OPO, you cannot afford any delays in getting a BG. Do this before. For anyone you want to ride with that day, have their park ticket or AP linked to your account. It will make things go faster.


*5. Delete links to tickets or APs in your DLR app for people not riding with you that day - if at all possible*

The fastest way to get a BG is to use the default selection of "all linked tickets". If you have to take time to Unselect certain people's tickets that will waste precious time. And can be the difference between failure and success at getting a BG.


*6. Close all other apps on your smart phone*

You want to only have the DLR app running so it will be as fast as possible


*7. Close the DLR app before OPO then re-open it fresh soon before OPO*

That is self-explanatory.


*8. Use an accurate clock with a second hand - Apple Watch, or Atomic Clock app or similar*

You want to try for a BG immediately when OPO starts


*9. Turn off Wifi and Bluetooth on your smartphone*

DL Wifi tends to be slow and you do not want your phone using that. Make sure your phone is only using your cell carrier.


*10. Don't try to get a BG before OPO*

If you try and push the "Find Out More" button to get a BG before OPO, it can lock up the BG process on the app thus forcing you to close the app and have to reload it. This wastes precious time. Wait until OPO to push the "Find Out More" button.

On some phones (iPhones seem to handle this better) you can push the "Find Out More" and get to the "My Status" page. If you do this, wait there until OPO and push My Status at OPO. This can give you a head start on others since you have already gone past the first page before others have. Again, this seems to work with iPhones but is riskier with Androids.


*11. Once inside DL, or if you choose to leave the park, find a place away from other people - and check the speed of your phone using an app*

It is not enough to have good coverage using the bars showing signal strength. There will be thousands of people trying to get BGs at once and you want your phone to be faster. This is like a funnel to the cell service provider, with everyone hitting the same cell towers.

By moving around inside DL (or outside) it can dramatically affect the speed of your phone and increase your chance of getting a BG. Certain cell service providers tend to have certain areas of the park where their speed is faster.

Look for a place where your Ping speed is as low as possible (low Ping speed means it is faster).


*12. Work as a team - have everyone in your group try to get a BG at the same time*

Other people can either log into your DLR account on their phones, or log into their own accounts assuming that all tickets are linked. It does not seem to matter which way you do it.

It is OK to have everyone in your group trying for a BG at once. If someone gets a BG for your group, and you are not aware yet, and try yourself, you will be told you already have a BG. You will not be penalized if multiple people get to the Join BG phase. Only one of you will succeed. So have everyone try.


*13. Test that the app knows for sure that everyone in your group has scanned into DL that day - use MaxPass for this*

It is possible that even though everyone in your group has scanned into DL, the app can make a mistake and think one or more people are not in the park. If that happens, the app will not let you get a BG with that person in your group. So everyone in your group will fail to get a BG because just a single person in your group is mistakenly believed to not be in the park.

The easiest way to test this is to use MaxPass before OPO. DLR lets you get FPs using MP before OPO. So take advantage of that fact. Get a MP for everyone in your group before OPO. If you can do that, then the app knows your whole group has scanned in that day and you can get a BG for all those people. If not, try and get to a Guest Services location before OPO and have them fix this.


*14. Bring old, unused cell phones with you to increase your chances*

If you have an old cell phone which can use Wifi, follow all the above advice by getting the latest DLR app downloaded onto that old phone. Log into your DLR app account. Set that phone to use DLR Wifi. And use it to try and get a BG. Some people have gotten BGs using Wifi even though it is not the most reliable approach.



*15. Use "high performance mode" on Androids*

Apparently this is a setting on Androids that will speed them up. Use this if you can.


*16. Practice at home before coming to DLR*

You can do this whole process at home, away from the crowds, before your big day. The only thing you cannot do is actually join a BG. But you can see how the process works.


*17. Have remote friends and family help you get a BG*

This is an extension of #12 above. If you let someone you trust know your account name and password, they can log into your account from anywhere in the world and help you get a BG. The DLR app thinks it is you. And since they are remote, they will not be competing for cell phone bandwidth with everyone in the park.


*18. Can I get a BG during MM or EMH? *

No. BGs are not available until OPO. Period.


*19. Can I use my MM or EMH to my advantage somehow? *

Yes. Even though you cannot get a BG during MM or EMH, you can get into the park before anyone else (1+ hour early). This will let you settle down, ride some rides (if you want - it is MM or EMH after all) but also position yourself for the BG process at OPO.

There are dedicated queues at the DL entrance turnstiles for MM and EMH. Only you can use these turnstiles. Others without MM/EMH must wait in other turnstile queues.


*20. What if I have an early breakfast reservation inside DL park before Official Park Opening (OPO)*

Same as #19 MM or EMH. This can help you.


*21. My friend or family member will be late - can I get them scanned into DL without them there so I can get them in my same BG?*

No. A thousand times, no. Everyone has to be there physically and scan into DL before OPO.


*22. Can I get a BG at a FP kiosk?*

Yes, but you have to be super early and dedicate yourself. You can do this at the BLAB and Splash Mtn FP kiosks. But remember, the BGs run out in 60 seconds. So you have to be the first or almost the first at the kiosk.

You also can do this in parallel with the smart phone approach for BG. Work the phone while you try to get to a kiosk.

See https://www.disboards.com/threads/r...read-posts-1-3.3784461/page-286#post-61581423


*23. A list of posts in @dina444444 's Superthread which I have bookmarked FWIW*

https://www.disboards.com/threads/r...read-posts-1-3.3784461/page-273#post-61568829
https://www.disboards.com/threads/r...read-posts-1-3.3784461/page-241#post-61551269
https://www.disboards.com/threads/r...read-posts-1-3.3784461/page-229#post-61542912
https://www.disboards.com/threads/r...read-posts-1-3.3784461/page-228#post-61541086
https://www.disboards.com/threads/r...read-posts-1-3.3784461/page-203#post-61521631
https://www.disboards.com/threads/r...read-posts-1-3.3784461/page-197#post-61517062
https://www.disboards.com/threads/r...read-posts-1-3.3784461/page-196#post-61517033
https://www.disboards.com/threads/r...read-posts-1-3.3784461/page-181#post-61506892
https://www.disboards.com/threads/r...read-posts-1-3.3784461/page-155#post-61490333
https://www.disboards.com/threads/r...read-posts-1-3.3784461/page-155#post-61490011
https://www.disboards.com/threads/r...read-posts-1-3.3784461/page-154#post-61489964
https://www.disboards.com/threads/r...read-posts-1-3.3784461/page-138#post-61481540
https://www.disboards.com/threads/r...read-posts-1-3.3784461/page-138#post-61481500
https://www.disboards.com/threads/r...read-posts-1-3.3784461/page-110#post-61467660


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## Pamela M

If they do the boarding groups like they did for WDW it should be pretty seamless. We did have to be scanned into Hollywood studios to get the boarding pass. Not sure how that will work for DL if we have to enter DL or can enter either park for the boarding pass. And it was super easy to track where you were in the virtual cue and I received a text message when my group was called.

Good luck to everyone going opening day/week. I was lucky enough to be at WDW when Rise opened was able to get on during the first week of operation. Looking forward to riding it in DL in April.


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## TheyCallMeStacey

Pamela M said:


> Not sure how that will work for DL if we have to enter DL or can enter either park for the boarding pass. And it was super easy to track where you were in the virtual cue and I received a text message when my group was called.


I am so new to the idea of this boarding group. I understand how to get one (theoretically) but what do you do after you have a boarding group? When it's your turn to go into the land, how do they validate? Do you then queue up for the ride? Approx how long is that wait time then?  I'm just not clear on what happens after your boarding group is called....


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## KateDrake

I'm interested in finding out how this works with child swap. We'll have a toddler in our group and will need to take turns waiting with her. I haven't been able to find any info on how that is working!


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## vharris2828

KateDrake said:


> I'm interested in finding out how this works with child swap. We'll have a toddler in our group and will need to take turns waiting with her. I haven't been able to find any info on how that is working!


I’m curious about this too! We are going the 19-24.


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## dina444444

TheyCallMeStacey said:


> I am so new to the idea of this boarding group. I understand how to get one (theoretically) but what do you do after you have a boarding group? When it's your turn to go into the land, how do they validate? Do you then queue up for the ride? Approx how long is that wait time then?  I'm just not clear on what happens after your boarding group is called....


Disney hasn’t released any info on how this will work at Disneyland, below is how it is working at DHS.  

Park turnstiles open 30 minutes before park opening.
At official park opening the boarding groups are released and joined via the My Disney Experience App or with help of a guest relations CM who are stationed throughout the park. 
When your group is called you get a push notification through the app or it shows up on one of the many digital wait time boards throughout the park. You have 2 hours to return and enter the queue at that point.

It hasn’t been announced yet if Disneyland is following that same procedure.


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## dina444444

KateDrake said:


> I'm interested in finding out how this works with child swap. We'll have a toddler in our group and will need to take turns waiting with her. I haven't been able to find any info on how that is working!


At DHS for child swap you go in like you would for a normal ride when your boarding group is called. For the DAS, you have to have a boarding group then when you are called they send you up what will be the FP line versus the standby queue.


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## Jonesie

I noticed Extra Morning Hours are available on Saturday the 18th for Disney hotel guests, do you think they will have an advantage? They will be able to enter the park before the general public.


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## StarGirl11

TheyCallMeStacey said:


> I am so new to the idea of this boarding group. I understand how to get one (theoretically) but what do you do after you have a boarding group? When it's your turn to go into the land, how do they validate? Do you then queue up for the ride? Approx how long is that wait time then?  I'm just not clear on what happens after your boarding group is called....



In FL it went: walk up to ride queue, tell them were in a BG that’s boarding, process forward where they scanned our magic bands to verify it so I’m guessing in CA they’ll scan the ticket/pass. From what I know from there unless you have a DAS your directed to another queue. If you have DAS like I do your then directed to FP where they have you tap again to verify and then proceed through the FP queue.

Honestly I suspect this will be less crazy then WDW just because there’s so many more locals to this park when compared to FL. But the again Mission Breakouts opening was a bit nuts...



Jonesie said:


> I noticed Extra Morning Hours are available on Saturday the 18th for Disney hotel guests, do you think they will have an advantage? They will be able to enter the park before the general public.



Considering FL didn’t get that privilege with their EMH the one time so far they’ve had it in the morning I would honestly be really surprised if DL grants it.


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## dina444444

Jonesie said:


> I noticed Extra Morning Hours are available on Saturday the 18th for Disney hotel guests, do you think they will have an advantage? They will be able to enter the park before the general public.


I’m going to say no. SWGE isn’t open for EMH, so my guess is that the boarding groups will drop at official park opening for everyone.


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## CaliforniaGirl09

I will be at WDW for Marathon weekend next week, and at DLR for my son's birthday on January 24-26th. It will be interesting to compare the two systems. I'm hoping they don't force everyone into Disneyland for boarding groups but widen it to CA Adventure as well.


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## Pamela M

TheyCallMeStacey said:


> I am so new to the idea of this boarding group. I understand how to get one (theoretically) but what do you do after you have a boarding group? When it's your turn to go into the land, how do they validate? Do you then queue up for the ride? Approx how long is that wait time then?  I'm just not clear on what happens after your boarding group is called....


As another poster said at WDW they scanned my magic band. I'm sure in DL they will scan your tickets like they do for fastpasses. Also if it's the same system as WDW you can see the current boarding groups on the app so you get an idea if you have time to eat, go for a rest, etc..

I've heard wait times once in line are 20 minutes - I waited 30 minutes. My friend is at WDW this week and the ride broke down while they were in line(1 1/2 hour worth). They kept everyone in line but fed them treats and even had Chewy come through the line. So if they run it the same your looking at about a 30 minute wait but.... it could be longer.

I would expect the capacity and boarding groups to increase as the team get used to running the ride. I know they got to more boarding groups when I went (7 days after opening) than on the 1st few days.


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## dieumeye

Glad they’re doing boarding groups. Hope they stick to the current WDW system and open the groups at official park opening time.

Curious about the idea to allow BGs from DCA as well. Would be a good idea if it’s super packed. Alternately, they could just let people through the DL gates plenty early to wait on Main Street.

My only concern is how fast they can get people thru the gates. From following the WDW DHS thread, security/gate seems to go way faster there than it does at DL. It will be terrible if people who had been waiting a long time aren’t able to be in the park when the BGs open because the gate procedure is so slow.


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## montreid

dina444444 said:


> I’m going to say no. SWGE isn’t open for EMH, so my guess is that the boarding groups will drop at official park opening for everyone.


Depends  only 1 point of reference from WDW.   BGs dropped 10minutes earlier for EMH people before they let in the others into the park (but still held them at rope drop -- but they COULD get the BG at that time.    I'm wondering if something of the same will happen for EMH on those Saturdays.  

My inclination would be yes, and ability to get it once getting into CA too -- so great advantage for VGC folk  scanning into CA and grabbing a BG.     -- At least that's how I would handle the drops and it's a small subset limited to a few hundred guests and a nice perk for them.


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## montreid

Did HS 12/28 in the rain!
Plan for DLA - 1/25-27 for a few rides


----------



## jfk4

My list of questions:

Will boarding groups open during EMH hours, or will they delay it to the official park opening time?
Will parties be open to secure boarding passes from either park, or only in Disneyland?
Will it be possible to secure multiple boarding passes per day?
Will it be necessary to get a new version of the Disneyland app?
What is the procedure for guests who don't have cell phones?
What is the typical highest boarding group number issued, and when do boarding passes run out?
I'm going to be at Disneyland from 1/17 - 1/20, so I'll do my best to answer these once I'm there if someone else hasn't figured it out.


----------



## SOCALMouseMommy

I’m wondering how early people are going to show up to line up outside the gates before the turnstiles open.


----------



## Skyegirl1999

dieumeye said:


> My only concern is how fast they can get people thru the gates. From following the WDW DHS thread, security/gate seems to go way faster there than it does at DL. It will be terrible if people who had been waiting a long time aren’t able to be in the park when the BGs open because the gate procedure is so slow.


This concerns me because there can be SUCH A DISPARITY between how fast the individual gates process people in the morning (largely having to do with the whole picture-taking system, which is frankly a bit dumb IMO).  In the past, this has been annoying... but now it could be the difference between getting on the ride or not, or at least cause a very different BG time.

If five people arrive at 7:15 and get in five different lines, they’ll get into the park at VERY different times, you know?  It’s not a very fair system unless you’re literally the first person at a gate.  I’ve shared that this summer, we took my BIL and got in line around 7:20, picking a short line with less than 10 people in front of us.  Moments before the park opened, the group in front of us was joined by about a dozen people - and they were a complete hot mess of a group who couldn’t find their tickets, couldn’t match up people with their tickets, everyone had issues with their photos... it was kind of a debacle.  We just rolled with it, because what else can you do, but if something like that that happens when ROTR opens... I can’t even imagine how stressful that will feel!  The rush to enter the park and secure a BG could be brutal.


----------



## SOCALMouseMommy

Skyegirl1999 said:


> This concerns me because there can be SUCH A DISPARITY between how fast the individual gates process people in the morning (largely having to do with the whole picture-taking system, which is frankly a bit dumb IMO).  In the past, this has been annoying... but now it could be the difference between getting on the ride or not, or at least cause a very different BG time.
> 
> If five people arrive at 7:15 and get in five different lines, they’ll get into the park at VERY different times, you know?  It’s not a very fair system unless you’re literally the first person at a gate.  I’ve shared that this summer, we took my BIL and got in line around 7:20, picking a short line with less than 10 people in front of us.  Moments before the park opened, the group in front of us was joined by about a dozen people - and they were a complete hot mess of a group who couldn’t find their tickets, couldn’t match up people with their tickets, everyone had issues with their photos... it was kind of a debacle.  We just rolled with it, because what else can you do, but if something like that that happens when ROTR opens... I can’t even imagine how stressful that will feel!  The rush to enter the park and secure a BG could be brutal.


So annoying! And the picture taking at the gates in general is soooooooooooo annoying! Really wish they would come up with a better system. Designated lines for APs would be nice.


----------



## twodogs

jfk4 said:


> My list of questions:
> 
> Will boarding groups open during EMH hours, or will they delay it to the official park opening time?
> Will parties be open to secure boarding passes from either park, or only in Disneyland?
> Will it be possible to secure multiple boarding passes per day?
> Will it be necessary to get a new version of the Disneyland app?
> What is the procedure for guests who don't have cell phones?
> What is the typical highest boarding group number issued, and when do boarding passes run out?
> I'm going to be at Disneyland from 1/17 - 1/20, so I'll do my best to answer these once I'm there if someone else hasn't figured it out.


1.  No one knows.  They only had one morning EMH at DHS, and they opened BGs to EMH guests about 5-10 minutes prior to letting regular guests book BGs.  But they made no announcement that they would do it at the time that they did it, so many EMH guests felt screwed by this.  Now they have eliminated all morning EMH at DHS for the foreseeable future, so we don’t know.  Currently, they let people enter the park before park opening but BGs aren’t bookable until the minute of official park opening.
2.  Unknown.  In WDW, you have to be scanned into DHS to book a BG (and all members of the party have to be scanned into DHS to join a BG).
3.  No, if they do it the same as WDW.  They allowed this for the first few days, but turned that functionality off very early.  One ride per person per day.
4.  I don’t know.  Many have had trouble with the app, Wifi, their cell carriers, etc at WDW, so I would be sure to have it updated, but that is just my opinion.
5.  In WDW, there are GS members who can book a BG on their ipad for you.  Line length may vary depending on how many people are having problems (even if they do have a smart phone).
6.  See WDW thread.  Varies every single day depending (I guess) on park hours, how the ride seems to be running, downtime’s from day before that may increase riders, etc.  There is a chart in the WDW threat showing each day, what group they got through, what back up group they got through, etc.


----------



## twodogs

And PLEASE no ride spoilers on this thread!!  The WDW thread has been very good about keeping spoilers out of this thread, and we should try to do the same to preserve the surprises of the ride for everyone (me included!).  Someone can start another thread to discuss the ride itself with spoilers once the ride opens, I guess, as they did on the WDW boards, so people who have ridden can compare notes (or those who don’t mind spoilers can read along).  I have heard the going into the ride cold is the best experience, so I am trying to avoid all spoilers (as I am sure many others are), but I am also going opening weekend, so I need to be able to read along about the BG process in real time for DLR.  THANKS to all who help preserve the ride for others!!


----------



## Vysecity

hoping they let you join a boarding group from DCA since I will be there before park opening due to staying at Paradise Pier.


----------



## montreid

My guess is DL will handle the extra hours a little differently AND joinging BGs since it alternates parks.
My suspicion would be this as something most 'fair' and consistent.

***Must be in park already to secure BG with Single ride restriction in place***   This is consistent with their FP policy and reliably trackable on MDE

1.  EMH - usual operations .  GE is CLOSED.   
2.  Open turnstiles 30min prior to 'rope drop' opening and held in mainstreet to allow all early arrivals to get through turnstiles in EITHER park.
3.  BGs open on app for entire DLR (both sides) at opening time 800AM/900AM depending on the calendar. 

--this makes it easy to understand and move day-to-day as the parks vary the opening times (but both consistently open together).


----------



## twodogs

Vysecity said:


> hoping they let you join a boarding group from DCA since I will be there before park opening due to staying at Paradise Pier.


If it is like WDW, being in either park before opening will not be a real advantage since they open the BG booking process right at regular park opening, not when you enter the park through the gates.  So as long as you are inside the park gates (have scanned your ticket) by official park opening, you can book a BG when that opens at exactly park opening time.  It remains to be seen if DLR will do this process, which is what they are doing in WDW (though as I said above, they have eliminated morning EMH for now at WDW, so we don’t have that to look at to help predict what they will do at DLR).  I think the poster right above me has a pretty good estimate of what they will do.


----------



## dieumeye

twodogs said:


> If it is like WDW, being in either park before opening will not be a real advantage since they open the BG booking process right at regular park opening, not when you enter the park through the gates.  So as long as you are inside the park gates (have scanned your ticket) by official park opening, you can book a BG when that opens at exactly park opening time.  It remains to be seen if DLR will do this process, which is what they are doing in WDW (though as I said above, they have eliminated morning EMH for now at WDW, so we don’t have that to look at to help predict what they will do at DLR).  I think the poster right above me has a pretty good estimate of what they will do.


The advantage would be basically guaranteeing getting thru the gate before official opening time.

The gates at DL can be slow. It’s not uncommon to be in line to enter when they open the gates prior to official opening... and not actually make it into the park prior to official opening. On a regular day that’s aggravating. On a RotR BG day... it would be infuriating!

It’s actually my biggest concern, and the reason why I really hope they allow joining a BG if you enter thru DCA. I don’t want to wait in line, have them open the gates at, say, 7:30am... and yet not be inside by the time BGs open!


----------



## midnight star

Skyegirl1999 said:


> This concerns me because there can be SUCH A DISPARITY between how fast the individual gates process people in the morning (largely having to do with the whole picture-taking system, which is frankly a bit dumb IMO).  In the past, this has been annoying... but now it could be the difference between getting on the ride or not, or at least cause a very different BG time.
> 
> If five people arrive at 7:15 and get in five different lines, they’ll get into the park at VERY different times, you know?  It’s not a very fair system unless you’re literally the first person at a gate.  I’ve shared that this summer, we took my BIL and got in line around 7:20, picking a short line with less than 10 people in front of us.  Moments before the park opened, the group in front of us was joined by about a dozen people - and they were a complete hot mess of a group who couldn’t find their tickets, couldn’t match up people with their tickets, everyone had issues with their photos... it was kind of a debacle.  We just rolled with it, because what else can you do, but if something like that that happens when ROTR opens... I can’t even imagine how stressful that will feel!  The rush to enter the park and secure a BG could be brutal.





SOCALMouseMommy said:


> So annoying! And the picture taking at the gates in general is soooooooooooo annoying! Really wish they would come up with a better system. Designated lines for APs would be nice.


I always get stuck behind someone who wants to argue why they have to get their picture taken, or ask 20 questions on how to use the disney app.


----------



## dieumeye

midnight star said:


> I always get stuck behind someone who wants to argue why they have to get their picture taken, or ask 20 questions on how to use the disney app.


I love to see friendly CMs BUT... I really don’t think the entrance gate is the place for a CM to go into a detailed explanation of stuff like how FP works (what you do is... and you’ll see kiosks near the attractions... let me pull out a map... so, which rides are you interested in...)

Inside I’m like, _just let me in, the entrance is right there, I’m at the turnstile, they are already in the park, I can’t move to another line cuz I’m so close, can I just scan myself in, I’m pretty sure I can do it if you just hand me the scanner, oh gosh, how are you still talking, move it along people_!


----------



## xipotec

You have to have your picture taken to enter the parks now?


----------



## midnight star

xipotec said:


> You have to have your picture taken to enter the parks now?


Only if it's your first time entering.


----------



## xipotec

midnight star said:


> Only if it's your first time entering.



Wow that new? Last visit was 2015 (hard to believe that)

Will they do that in any line?


----------



## midnight star

xipotec said:


> Wow that new? Last visit was 2015 (hard to believe that)
> 
> Will they do that in any line?


Yes I believe any entrance will take a picture. Even the monorail entrance. It's only a one time thing. So say you have a 5 day ticket. You take a picture on day 1, and then the same picture will pop up when you can in the following days. I think this cuts down on people sharing multi-day tickets.


----------



## xipotec

midnight star said:


> Yes I believe any entrance will take a picture. Even the monorail entrance. It's only a one time thing. So say you have a 5 day ticket. You take a picture on day 1, and then the same picture will pop up when you can in the following days. I think this cuts down on people sharing multi-day tickets.


Wow , learn something new every day here at Disboards.
Thank you!

I assume its not a lengthy process?


----------



## midnight star

xipotec said:


> Wow , learn something new every day here at Disboards.
> Thank you!
> 
> I assume its not a lengthy process?


The picture itself takes a few seconds. However, like what PP had mentioned, some CM's are slower than others when scanning. Groups in front of you may not be ready, etc.  Sometimes the shortest lines can be the longest in regards to waiting to get in.


----------



## xipotec

midnight star said:


> The picture itself takes a few seconds. However, like what PP had mentioned, some CM's are slower than others when scanning. Groups in front of you may not be ready, etc.  Sometimes the shortest lines can be the longest in regards to waiting to get in.


Well this has always been the case, and my personal curse.....

I am always behind the newbies with the diaper bag, and camera bag and purse, and man bag......

I am also a bit of a privacy nut and hate the idea of anyone “needing” a picture of me for their “records”.....but in this case WDW has a bazillion pics of me already with years of photopass and making stupid goofy poses on ride photos.....


----------



## matthewthompson87

Currently, you can use Maxpass to get a Fastpass for either park as long as you’ve scanned into any park, right?

If so, requiring someone to enter DL to get a RotR Boarding Group (versus being able to get a Boarding Group while scanned into DL *or* DCA) kind of goes against the way people have been “trained” to use the Disneyland App and premium services.


I’m very eager to find out how it’s going to work. I’d be more likely to add hopping to my 3 day tickets and pay the premium to stay at the Grand Californian if I’d be able to obtain a Boarding Group from having entered DCA through the Grand’s dedicated entrance.


----------



## magickate

jfk4 said:


> My list of questions:
> 
> Will boarding groups open during EMH hours, or will they delay it to the official park opening time?
> Will parties be open to secure boarding passes from either park, or only in Disneyland?
> Will it be possible to secure multiple boarding passes per day?
> Will it be necessary to get a new version of the Disneyland app?
> What is the procedure for guests who don't have cell phones?
> What is the typical highest boarding group number issued, and when do boarding passes run out?
> I'm going to be at Disneyland from 1/17 - 1/20, so I'll do my best to answer these once I'm there if someone else hasn't figured it out.



Our friends are just back from WDW. They went at 6am to queue for a 7am opening. Got boarding group 68 which was approx 6 hours later. They queued less than half an hour in the actual ride line. 
Boarding groups were all gone before 8.30am so getting a second one wasn't possible. There are CMs at a few different stands that can do it for you with your tickets if you don't have a phone and digital display boards showing which groups are being called for boarding if you don't have a way to get notifications.


----------



## corgi_monster

I’ll be staying at the Disneyland hotel from January 18-19.  Will I be able to utilize the EMH perk on check-in day?  My plan is to arrive at the hotel at about 5:30am, check in, drop off our bags and go straight to the park for a 7am EMH.  We’d then refresh our apps like crazy people until BG’s opened up.  Is 5:30 early enough?  

Also, do you think there’s any advantage to entering the parks via monorail rather than the main gate?  Shorter line?


----------



## dieumeye

corgi_monster said:


> I’ll be staying at the Disneyland hotel from January 18-19.  Will I be able to utilize the EMH perk on check-in day?  My plan is to arrive at the hotel at about 5:30am, check in, drop off our bags and go straight to the park for a 7am EMH.  We’d then refresh our apps like crazy people until BG’s opened up.  Is 5:30 early enough?
> 
> Also, do you think there’s any advantage to entering the parks via monorail rather than the main gate?  Shorter line?


You can use EMH on check in day. 5:30 should be plenty of time to check in and get to the park for the EMH line, although who knows how many people will be waiting at the main gate for regular parking opening.

As for monorail, we don’t really know the specifics of how the gates will operate once RotR opens, but I’d doubt that there will be any benefit to entering via monorail, it might be slower, or not open at all.


----------



## KPeterso

Skyegirl1999 said:


> This concerns me because there can be SUCH A DISPARITY between how fast the individual gates process people in the morning (largely having to do with the whole picture-taking system, which is frankly a bit dumb IMO).  In the past, this has been annoying... but now it could be the difference between getting on the ride or not, or at least cause a very different BG time.
> 
> If five people arrive at 7:15 and get in five different lines, they’ll get into the park at VERY different times, you know?  It’s not a very fair system unless you’re literally the first person at a gate.  I’ve shared that this summer, we took my BIL and got in line around 7:20, picking a short line with less than 10 people in front of us.  Moments before the park opened, the group in front of us was joined by about a dozen people - and they were a complete hot mess of a group who couldn’t find their tickets, couldn’t match up people with their tickets, everyone had issues with their photos... it was kind of a debacle.  We just rolled with it, because what else can you do, but if something like that that happens when ROTR opens... I can’t even imagine how stressful that will feel!  The rush to enter the park and secure a BG could be brutal.





SOCALMouseMommy said:


> So annoying! And the picture taking at the gates in general is soooooooooooo annoying! Really wish they would come up with a better system. Designated lines for APs would be nice.



I am in for the thread. We may try to go opening weekend since we are not blocked and I do get MLK day off. But we shall see closer.

So agree about the pictures at the gates. I am always behind the group of 8-10 and there is never any understandable order for who they take pictures of. They will say the name from one of the tickets and without fail that is the person in the back of the group or with the stroller and not the one closest to the gate. And then it continues through the huge group! Ugh - agree there has to be a better way and I am often wishing there was an AP only entrance (or 12) for APs like at WDW.


----------



## CastAStone

SOCALMouseMommy said:


> I’m wondering how early people are going to show up to line up outside the gates before the turnstiles open.


The parking lots only open 90 minutes early at DLR which should ease things a bit I think.


----------



## vharris2828

How has rider switch worked at Disney World? Does anyone know what they have done for that?


----------



## Skyegirl1999

CastAStone said:


> The parking lots only open 90 minutes early at DLR which should ease things a bit I think.


When SWGE opened, they kept the lots open overnight.  I expect that some parking will be available earlier than usual.


----------



## midnight star

CastAStone said:


> The parking lots only open 90 minutes early at DLR which should ease things a bit I think.


I think security opens at like 6am, so people can uber or hotel guests onsite and nearby can line up early.


----------



## CaliforniaGirl09

We'll be staying at VGC for the weekend of Jan 24th. I'm hoping we'll be able to take advantage of the hotel entrance, although I suspect it would get packed early. I've been following the WDW thread since day one, and it's starting to stress me out. I was hoping DL would give resort guests a slot like they did for the opening, but I guess not. The cynical part of me thinks that after the perceived "flop" of the GE opening that they want a madhouse for the RotR opening.


----------



## montreid

CaliforniaGirl09 said:


> We'll be staying at VGC for the weekend of Jan 24th. I'm hoping we'll be able to take advantage of the hotel entrance, although I suspect it would get packed early. I've been following the WDW thread since day one, and it's starting to stress me out. I was hoping DL would give resort guests a slot like they did for the opening, but I guess not. The cynical part of me thinks that after the perceived "flop" of the GE opening that they want a madhouse for the RotR opening.


Same weekend but off site at Courtyard -- still awaiting our DVC points  

My hope is that they will allow both sides to grab a BG to be consistent with the FP procedures.    Also alleviates all the gate congestion---just get folk into the park early on all sides and allow for BG capture once scanned in.   Open the turnstiles 30min early and hold everyone at the Rope Drop Hub.


----------



## CaliforniaGirl09

montreid said:


> Same weekend but off site at Courtyard -- still awaiting our DVC points
> 
> My hope is that they will allow both sides to grab a BG to be consistent with the FP procedures.    Also alleviates all the gate congestion---just get folk into the park early on all sides and allow for BG capture once scanned in.   Open the turnstiles 30min early and hold everyone at the Rope Drop Hub.


That is my hope, too! You are going to love VGC. We've been owners since it opened, and it's the best


----------



## JMommyof3

I've never had a single park ticket but does MP allow you to make FP selection for the park you are not in that day.  It seems odd that people would be able to make a FP for a park you are not going to that day.  With WDW, you have to physically scan into HS to allow access for the BG, not just scan into any WDW park. I'm just thinking logistically the system would not allow you to book a pass for a park you are not in therefore everyone would need to be in DLR prior to getting their boarding pass.  I also think this has more of a potential to be a huge problem for the local, non obsessed DL guest who has no idea about the idea of BG or anything like that.  WDW already has BG gone within 30 minutes of opening and I think way more people research there than here, especially when general arrival is around 10am.


----------



## Ladyslug

The more I read about how it the RotR process has been happening at WDW, the more I think they will limit boarding group assignments to people who scan into Disneyland specifically (not DCA) to ensure there is no "advantage" to having a park-hopper.  To combat the crowds, they will likely start moving people through the turnstiles an hour before official park opening, hold everyone in and around Main St., and then release boarding group access at official park opening.


----------



## SOCALMouseMommy

JMommyof3 said:


> I've never had a single park ticket but does MP allow you to make FP selection for the park you are not in that day.  It seems odd that people would be able to make a FP for a park you are not going to that day.  With WDW, you have to physically scan into HS to allow access for the BG, not just scan into any WDW park. I'm just thinking logistically the system would not allow you to book a pass for a park you are not in therefore everyone would need to be in DLR prior to getting their boarding pass.  I also think this has more of a potential to be a huge problem for the local, non obsessed DL guest who has no idea about the idea of BG or anything like that.  WDW already has BG gone within 30 minutes of opening and I think way more people research there than here, especially when general arrival is around 10am.


You can get fast passes in either park with MaxPass once you’ve scanned into one park.


----------



## SOCALMouseMommy

Ladyslug said:


> The more I read about how it the RotR process has been happening at WDW, the more I think they will limit boarding group assignments to people who scan into Disneyland specifically (not DCA) to ensure there is no "advantage" to having a park-hopper.  To combat the crowds, they will likely start moving people through the turnstiles an hour before official park opening, hold everyone in and around Main St., and then release boarding group access at official park opening.


Wouldn’t they want to sell as many park hoppers as they can? Disney makes more money and it spreads out the crowds more. Seems like a win-win.


----------



## Ladyslug

SOCALMouseMommy said:


> Wouldn’t they want to sell as many park hoppers as they can? Disney makes more money and it spreads out the crowds more. Seems like a win-win.


Well, sure, but you don't want to look like you're *obviously* catering to the people that can spend more money.


----------



## matthewthompson87

Ladyslug said:


> Well, sure, but you don't want to look like you're *obviously* catering to the people that can spend more money.



Why start now? 

Snark aside... some people are willing to pay tons of money to spend time with characters at meals and take home merchandise. I’d prefer to spend my money on avoiding crowded areas.

How many people can get through the DL front gate per hour at maximum capacity is the real question here.  If they can’t keep up with arriving guest demand, it becomes a safety issue... or a courtesy/comfort issue at the very least.

Additionally, when the Boarding Groups fill up and everyone already scanned can’t get a Boarding Group... do you want all those disgruntled guests who didn’t get a BG concentrated on Main Street? Or do you want those guests spread between two parks? I’d say the latter.


----------



## Aurora0427

SOCALMouseMommy said:


> So annoying! And the picture taking at the gates in general is soooooooooooo annoying! Really wish they would come up with a better system. *Designated lines for APs would be nice.*



We have said this 1000 times. Designated lines for APs would be amazing, or as I say, “for people who know what they are doing”


----------



## mamapenguin

Aurora0427 said:


> We have said this 1000 times. Designated lines for APs would be amazing, or as I say, “for people who know what they are doing”


So they should have a DISboards line?


----------



## disneylover102

JMommyof3 said:


> I've never had a single park ticket but does MP allow you to make FP selection for the park you are not in that day.  It seems odd that people would be able to make a FP for a park you are not going to that day.  With WDW, you have to physically scan into HS to allow access for the BG, not just scan into any WDW park. I'm just thinking logistically the system would not allow you to book a pass for a park you are not in therefore everyone would need to be in DLR prior to getting their boarding pass.  I also think this has more of a potential to be a huge problem for the local, non obsessed DL guest who has no idea about the idea of BG or anything like that.  WDW already has BG gone within 30 minutes of opening and I think way more people research there than here, especially when general arrival is around 10am.


With MP and with FP+ at WDW, you can get a FP from another park (at WDW, the first 3 that you get in advance have to be in the same park but after that they can be in any park if you have a park hopper). I know that with the BGs at WDW, you had to be at HS but there is a significant difference between DLR and WDW- the distance of parks. The only park where you can even walk to HS is Epcot and that’s a half hour walk. But at DL DCA is literally right next to DL. There are also 4 parks at WDW, not 2. Because of this, I think it would be really dumb if people couldn’t get BGs from DCA.


----------



## twodogs

disneylover102 said:


> With MP and with FP+ at WDW, you can get a FP from another park (at WDW, the first 3 that you get in advance have to be in the same park but after that they can be in any park if you have a park hopper). I know that with the BGs at WDW, you had to be at HS but there is a significant difference between DLR and WDW- the distance of parks. The only park where you can even walk to HS is Epcot and that’s a half hour walk. But at DL DCA is literally right next to DL. There are also 4 parks at WDW, not 2. Because of this, I think it would be really dumb if people couldn’t get BGs from DCA.


An issue that they might be considering, though, is that they have had special CMs at DHS throughout the park to help people who don’t have a smart phone or who are having trouble with the app and are unable to join a BG.  If they allowed folks who have entered either park to book a BG, they would have to have these CMs at both parks.  Not that they couldn’t do that, but I am not sure they would want to spend the money to staff up both parks that way.

Does anyone remember if you could join the VQ for the land SWGE from either park, on the one day that they actually used the VQ for the land itself?


----------



## Ladyslug

matthewthompson87 said:


> How many people can get through the DL front gate per hour at maximum capacity is the real question here.  If they can’t keep up with arriving guest demand, it becomes a safety issue... or a courtesy/comfort issue at the very least.


That's true.  Aside from opening day itself, for which I hope they have a different system worked out, I'm hoping they have the place fully staffed to make sure everyone can get through at a decent clip.  However, it's been so long since I've been to Hollywood Studios (or Disneyland, for that matter) that I don't have a good feeling as to the difference in turnstile numbers, ticket processing methods, and CM staffing.  It will still be worth it to get in line early at the turnstiles, I expect, which is basically how all rides work.


----------



## MonocularVision

Reading through the last 3 days of experiences for this ride at WDW are making me nervous. For a while there, it seemed that as long as you got there early enough to be in the park at opening, you would get a boarding pass. Now they go in like the first 60 seconds.


----------



## disneylover102

MonocularVision said:


> Reading through the last 3 days of experiences for this ride at WDW are making me nervous. For a while there, it seemed that as long as you got there early enough to be in the park at opening, you would get a boarding pass. Now they go in like the first 60 seconds.


That makes me nervous too! I feel like those who get there way earlier should have some kind of advantage to get on the ride...


----------



## Skyegirl1999

disneylover102 said:


> That makes me nervous too! I feel like those who get there way earlier should have some kind of advantage to get on the ride...


Yeah... I’m kind of disheartened.  I was planning to get over there really early on the 17th (like, middle of the night, depending on what kind of lines were being reported), and then my husband was going to bring my daughter to join me around 7am before he headed to a meeting.  This would involve her missing school, or at least the morning, which I’d be ok with for an opening-day ride.  We’re big into special events.

Buuuuut, if they release all the BGs at park open and it’s a free-for-all for thousands of people in the parks, it might not matter if I got there at 2am or 4am - I won’t have any priority over people who got there at 7 (assuming we’re all in the park when it opens). We still might get locked out of a BG and not even ride (especially if we have any type of tech or service issue). Sooooo... maybe we just won’t bother with opening day after all. But that’s a bummer.

I hope they announce what the procedure will be in advance so we can at least plan accordingly.


----------



## dieumeye

Skyegirl1999 said:


> Yeah... I’m kind of disheartened.  I was planning to get over there really early on the 17th (like, middle of the night, depending on what kind of lines were being reported), and then my husband was going to bring my daughter to join me around 7am before he headed to a meeting.  This would involve her missing school, or at least the morning, which I’d be ok with for an opening-day ride.  We’re big into special events.
> 
> Buuuuut, if they release all the BGs at park open and it’s a free-for-all for thousands of people in the parks, it might not matter if I got there at 2am or 4am - I won’t have any priority over people who got there at 7 (assuming we’re all in the park when it opens). We still might get locked out of a BG and not even ride (especially if we have any type of tech or service issue). Sooooo... maybe we just won’t bother with opening day after all. But that’s a bummer.
> 
> I hope they announce what the procedure will be in advance so we can at least plan accordingly.


This is exactly the same situation I’m in. Was planning to go super early opening day, but now I just might skip it and wait until later in the long weekend to see how things shake out.

And correct me if I’m wrong, but we still don’t know when they will open BGs, right? Whether it will be at gate open (like the initial WDW days) or at park open (like WDW currently). That obviously makes a difference.

interesting thing is that DHS was prepared to open substantially early those first few days. At some point, DL CMs are going to know whether they will be prepared to do something similar, if needed. Any word from local CMs on any possible schedule changes?


----------



## Skyegirl1999

dieumeye said:


> This is exactly the same situation I’m in. Was planning to go super early opening day, but now I just might skip it and wait until later in the long weekend to see how things shake out.
> 
> And correct me if I’m wrong, but we still don’t know when they will open BGs, right? Whether it will be at gate open (like the initial WDW days) or at park open (like WDW currently). That obviously makes a difference.
> 
> interesting thing is that DHS was prepared to open substantially early those first few days. At some point, DL CMs are going to know whether they will be prepared to do something similar, if needed. Any word from local CMs on any possible schedule changes?


The CMs I’ve talked to don’t know anything yet.  They are previewing the system the week it opens, so hopefully they’ll have some feedback from that.

And no, we don’t know when the BG will open yet.


----------



## SOCALMouseMommy

MonocularVision said:


> Reading through the last 3 days of experiences for this ride at WDW are making me nervous. For a while there, it seemed that as long as you got there early enough to be in the park at opening, you would get a boarding pass. Now they go in like the first 60 seconds.


Wow. How is that possible?


----------



## midnight star

MonocularVision said:


> Reading through the last 3 days of experiences for this ride at WDW are making me nervous. For a while there, it seemed that as long as you got there early enough to be in the park at opening, you would get a boarding pass. Now they go in like the first 60 seconds.


ugh! don't tell me that. I'm going to WDW later this month, and trying to do this ride is a main priority for my friend who loves star wars. I would just skip it and wait until I got back to DL, but since she doesn't go to Disney parks often we are going to try and do the boarding groups.


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## disneylover102

I think I’ll still plan on getting there super early. If I can only ride once per day, I want to be 100% certain that I get that one ride in each of the 2 days we will be there while ROTR is open (we will be there the 15-18). Even if getting there super early probably won’t help that much, I don’t want to risk anything. I’m also nervous how this will work with EMH which I will be taking advantage of on the 18th.


----------



## JMommyof3

disneylover102 said:


> With MP and with FP+ at WDW, you can get a FP from another park (at WDW, the first 3 that you get in advance have to be in the same park but after that they can be in any park if you have a park hopper). I know that with the BGs at WDW, you had to be at HS but there is a significant difference between DLR and WDW- the distance of parks. The only park where you can even walk to HS is Epcot and that’s a half hour walk. But at DL DCA is literally right next to DL. There are also 4 parks at WDW, not 2. Because of this, I think it would be really dumb if people couldn’t get BGs from DCA.


But what if you don't have park hoppers?  Can you get MP or FP+ at the other parks once you've scanned in?  Like I said, I've never had single park per day tickets so I don't know the rules.  And yes, the parks are very different in CA than FL but the idea is still the same.  If I can scan into Epcot/MK/AK and join a boarding group to arrive w/in 2 hours, why does it matter if the proximity of the park is 2 minutes or 30 minutes.  Also, I would think the capacity at DLR is similar to DHS in terms of ticket booths so really the entrance part should be equal.  One big difference b/w WDW and DLR is the use of MDE.  Most, not all, but most WDW guests use MDE but not sure how many DLR guests use it.  You'd need to use it and get everyones tickets registered on it to join a BG.  

But has DLR even announced the use of BG.  I thought that DHS had announced it the day before and there was no idea how it would work until the day of and even after for the first few days it was constantly changing.  If Disney really wanted to "reward" people who spend more money, there would be exclusive DHS/GE parties with access to both rides that many would pay $$$ for.  WDW doesn't care about park hoppers, you just have to be in DHS to actually access it.


----------



## disneylover102

JMommyof3 said:


> But what if you don't have park hoppers?  Can you get MP or FP+ at the other parks once you've scanned in?  Like I said, I've never had single park per day tickets so I don't know the rules.  And yes, the parks are very different in CA than FL but the idea is still the same.  If I can scan into Epcot/MK/AK and join a boarding group to arrive w/in 2 hours, why does it matter if the proximity of the park is 2 minutes or 30 minutes.  Also, I would think the capacity at DLR is similar to DHS in terms of ticket booths so really the entrance part should be equal.  One big difference b/w WDW and DLR is the use of MDE.  Most, not all, but most WDW guests use MDE but not sure how many DLR guests use it.  You'd need to use it and get everyones tickets registered on it to join a BG.
> 
> But has DLR even announced the use of BG.  I thought that DHS had announced it the day before and there was no idea how it would work until the day of and even after for the first few days it was constantly changing.  If Disney really wanted to "reward" people who spend more money, there would be exclusive DHS/GE parties with access to both rides that many would pay $$$ for.  WDW doesn't care about park hoppers, you just have to be in DHS to actually access it.


You can’t get MP from the other park if you don’t have a PH. You can look at available times but it will stop you once you try to book a FP. I think it’s the same at WDW with FP+ but it’s been 3 and a half years since we’ve been there and we didn’t check then. I suppose it would make sense to let people get a BG at the other parks at WDW. I just think it does make at least a little more sense at DL to let people get a BG in either park to spread out the crowds but I guess it would’ve made sense to do that at WDW. Maybe they don’t want people there to try to make it in time for their BG but they miss it because the ferry took forever from MK or the bus from AK took too long or whatever? I don’t think getting people to use the app is such a problem but the WiFi at DL is far inferior to the WDW WiFi so that could definitely be a problem. 

Yes, DL has announced that they will be using BGs. They haven’t given a lot of details but from what I read, it’s going to be the same thing that is currently used at HS but there may be some changes. CMs will be previewing ROTR the week it opens so hopefully we’ll find out details then.


----------



## montreid

Plenty of WDW don't use MDE.  It was amazing to see how many folk where there using cards to scan in and totally oblivious to MDE and BG procedure the morning of.  

Likewise for DLR - MDE App is NOT required -- just a heck of a convenience with the app to scan FP and Maxpass and Mobile ordering, etc etc etc.   

The main difference at the turnstiles is DLR can be SNAIL SLOW with taking of the pictures and the bottleneck sometimes in the morning is crazy long.  Think fingerscan x5 duration.   Even at HS they turned off the fingerscans to move people through in time.   That simply cannot happen in large enough volume on DLR.   The solution would be to allow for both sides and all entrypoints (Monorail, Grand Cali, CA, DL) like the 30minutes early and then drop the BG on MDE like any MaxPass.


----------



## matthewthompson87

After reading that people were worried about DL because of the WDW RotR thread from the last few days... I went ahead and read all those posts.

And I don’t think that the WDW BG performance over the last few days in particular has any bearing on the success of DLR’s RotR BG system.

I think that it bears repeating that WDW is still seeing New Year’s Eve crowds that may stay until Sunday night. Imagine them as one big group that arrived and has been trying to ride RotR—many unsuccessful. As time runs out on their vacation in far away Florida, more and more will be trying to ride before they leave. AP’s are now unblocked. Some of the demand is even people who have FastPasses usable for RotR because of breakdowns earlier in their vacation. The more outstanding recovery ME FastPasses are outstanding, the fewer and fewer BG available to snatch in the morning at park open. AND the ride had some significant unfortunate downtime.

It’s working roughly as a lottery right now. If you’re scanned in the park by official opening, at worst you’ve probably got a 1 in 3 chance of riding.

At DLR, rather than worrying, it may be best to temper your expectations that your chances of riding in the opening month are probably the ride’s daily capacity (10k maybe?) divided by the maximum number of people they can get through the park’s turnstiles in that 30 minute period before official opening (unknown yet).


----------



## Aurora0427

mamapenguin said:


> So they should have a DISboards line?



Yessssss! Even better!


----------



## Aurora0427

MonocularVision said:


> Reading through the last 3 days of experiences for this ride at WDW are making me nervous. For a while there, it seemed that as long as you got there early enough to be in the park at opening, you would get a boarding pass. Now they go in like the first 60 seconds.



josh from easyWDW just did a write up on this. I need to go back and read, but the title of the blog was something like “how early arrival is no longer helpful” etc


----------



## MonocularVision

Aurora0427 said:


> josh from easyWDW just did a write up on this. I need to go back and read, but the title of the blog was something like “how early arrival is no longer helpful” etc



That was and still is correct: it doesn’t matter how early you get there, you just need to be in the park before opening.

Here is the concerning part I was referring to.  The BG’s are now getting snatched up in the first minute so even if you are in the park at opening, you may no longer be guaranteed a ride. I hope this trend doesn’t continue and doesn’t happen at DLR also!


----------



## matthewthompson87

MonocularVision said:


> The BG’s are now getting snatched up in the first minute so even if you are in the park at opening, you may no longer be guaranteed a ride. I hope this trend doesn’t continue and doesn’t happen at DLR also!



You should absolutely expect this to be the case for DLR during extreme demand periods, like the first month of operation at very minimum.

I applaud Disney for not incentivizing the insanity of arriving at 4am (or earlier!) for a first come first served system.  The sense of entitlement among those crazy early arrivals gets problematic quickly.

Since everyone can’t get on who wants to ride, a reasonably fair lottery system plus a very generous recovery/compensation system for breakdowns and issues once a BG has been received is the best hope for the most number of satisfied guests.


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## SOCALMouseMommy

Wish they would do the lottery ahead of time similar to how they did it when the land first opened. Then you would know you were for sure going to ride before you went to the park.


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## disneylover102

I get that it’s insane with all those people arriving so early. I think it’s also insane to have everybody trying to use the internet at the same time to get a BG. And I think those who are there earlier should have priority. With any other ride opening, those who get there earlier get to ride earlier so letting people who get there at the last second have the same chance of getting on as those who got there hours earlier just isn’t fair in my opinion.


----------



## matthewthompson87

disneylover102 said:


> I get that it’s insane with all those people arriving so early. I think it’s also insane to have everybody trying to use the internet at the same time to get a BG. And I think those who are there earlier should have priority. With any other ride opening, those who get there earlier get to ride earlier so letting people who get there at the last second have the same chance of getting on as those who got there hours earlier just isn’t fair in my opinion.



While it may not seem fair to one group, it’s likely the fairest for the largest number of people this way.

They do not *want* you arriving extra early. Early arrivals force cast members to work abnormal shifts that disrupt their lives; staffing parking lots/security/custodial hours and hours early incurs huge costs; and telling an average guest that they had to arrive at 4am to ride a heavily advertised new attraction alienates them.

Incentivizing early arrivals at all simply throws the balance of guest, cast, and financial results out of whack.

That said, the IT part of this is a very strong concern. A perceived app glitch or wifi outage or service interruption adds to the feeling the “lottery” process isn’t fair.  However, this isn’t isolated to Disney. Concerts sold through the biggest ticketing IT providers on earth experience the same complaints: with venues the size of DL selling out in seconds.

I am a little surprised that the Boarding Group distribution for RotR isn’t a themed experience in-app though. It wouldn’t be beyond capabilities to turn the reveal of who has been accepted into BG and backup BG into a “show” in itself.  I could see people eagerly entering the lottery for a BG, then the crowd all receiving push notifications at a specific moment in an in-park show. That would at least give everyone who showed up for park opening added entertainment if not a coveted ride itself.


----------



## MonocularVision

matthewthompson87 said:


> You should absolutely expect this to be the case for DLR during extreme demand periods, like the first month of operation at very minimum.



Probably a good expectation to have. We are making the trip from out of town at the beginning of February to try to get on this ride. Trying to keep our expectations in line but hard not to get excited. We are Flex AP holders so we can come back to try again but feel bad for people traveling from further away or just once per year.



matthewthompson87 said:


> I applaud Disney for not incentivizing the insanity of arriving at 4am (or earlier!) for a first come first served system.  The sense of entitlement among those crazy early arrivals gets problematic quickly.



I think I agree. I am not sure the first come, first serve system is a good idea, even if it would probably benefit us. (We would be willing to get there _very_ early since we are making the trip mainly for RoT)



matthewthompson87 said:


> Since everyone can’t get on who wants to ride, a reasonably fair lottery system plus a very generous recovery/compensation system for breakdowns and issues once a BG has been received is the best hope for the most number of satisfied guests.



Yeah, I think maybe having an actual lottery system might be better though if there are truly more that want to ride than capacity. As it is now, it seems to be a game of network connectivity and technology luck. But regardless, Disney is in a tough position with the demand.


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## jfk4

MonocularVision said:


> Reading through the last 3 days of experiences for this ride at WDW are making me nervous. For a while there, it seemed that as long as you got there early enough to be in the park at opening, you would get a boarding pass. Now they go in like the first 60 seconds.



I was at DHS on 12/29, and the boarding group process was rough.    Disney's IT infrastructure doesn't support 5000+ simultaneous attempts to access it particularly well, and I got errors the first 5 times I tried to get a pass.   I did eventually manage to snag one, though, and the ride itself is every bit as good as it is reputed to be.    Which is saying a lot, because getting on it at Disney World requires some serious logistical planning right now.

My guess is that things will settle down at Disneyland fairly quickly, though.   It doesn't get hammered with crowds in the same way that Disney World does.   Disney World has 30,000 rooms on-site and hundreds of thousands of guests during the high season, all of whom are determined to see the newest and best attraction.    If you compare the wait times between the parks the attractions at Disney World almost always have longer wait times.

I'll be interested to see what happens on the 17th.   A lot depends on whether Disney has managed to get the ride's operational issues worked out.   I've seen rumors that the Disneyland version is running more consistently than the DHS version, since they've had time to roll in changes without having to work around guests.   I'll guess we'll find out.


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## matthewthompson87

jfk4 said:


> I was at DHS on 12/29, and the boarding group process was rough. Disney's IT infrastructure doesn't support 5000+ simultaneous attempts to access it particularly well, and I got errors the first 5 times I tried to get a pass.



Oof. That’s great feedback supporting a lottery available to enter from the time of scanned entry until such time when results of who got a BG and who didn’t are decided & revealed (after park opening time and after backup boarding groups are filled).

That takes the sense of urgency away from people outside turnstile bottlenecks and spreads demand on the IT infrastructure from 90 seconds to 45 minutes or so.


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## dina444444

jfk4 said:


> I was at DHS on 12/29, and the boarding group process was rough.    Disney's IT infrastructure doesn't support 5000+ simultaneous attempts to access it particularly well, and I got errors the first 5 times I tried to get a pass.   I did eventually manage to snag one, though, and the ride itself is every bit as good as it is reputed to be.    Which is saying a lot, because getting on it at Disney World requires some serious logistical planning right now.
> 
> My guess is that things will settle down at Disneyland fairly quickly, though.   It doesn't get hammered with crowds in the same way that Disney World does.   Disney World has 30,000 rooms on-site and hundreds of thousands of guests during the high season, all of whom are determined to see the newest and best attraction.    If you compare the wait times between the parks the attractions at Disney World almost always have longer wait times.
> 
> I'll be interested to see what happens on the 17th.   A lot depends on whether Disney has managed to get the ride's operational issues worked out.   I've seen rumors that the Disneyland version is running more consistently than the DHS version, since they've had time to roll in changes without having to work around guests.   I'll guess we'll find out.


12/29 was just bad cause of the rain in the morning. It was the day with our highest number boarding group (55), but crowds were def worse on 1/1 (got 48 that day). Best day was NYE (we got 13). Operationally 12/29 and 12/31 were the best days this past week.


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## azdisneylover

It would be nice if onsite guests were given EE on non MM days to visit GE.


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## montreid

We were there on 12/28th -- in the rain and without coffee!    It'll be very interesting to see how DLR is going to handle the turnstile timing, locations (DL only?) and the drop times for the BG.   I don't anticipate the 10k of people at opening and BG done in 2minutes like the past three days on a consistent basis-----but DLR better be ready for the POTENTIAL of this as there's no blackouts for all the thousands of APs eligible to get in and it being a three day weekend.   So there's a very good chance for a mass of humanity at the gates in the morning that they need to have a contingency for.


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## BlueRibbon

Gotta admit, I'm not a fan of the idea of using both theme parks for turnstiles. They could theoretically do the same at WDW, but they haven't. 

I'm sure they're putting a lot of thought into how to make the boarding group assignments at Disneyland as fair as possible without turning DL into what DHS has become - thousands of people at the gates at 6am. It'll be exciting to see what they come up with since it's obvious that they won't be able to meet demand.

Last year, when SWGE opened, they officially had the parking lots open at 11pm or Midnight, but in reality, I heard they never closed from the day before, so they were just open the whole time. The crowds didn't materialize last June, but something tells me they will on the 17th!


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## Malcon10t

Remember, Disneyland already did boarding groups back in June when Star Wars Land opened.



SOCALMouseMommy said:


> So annoying! And the picture taking at the gates in general is soooooooooooo annoying! Really wish they would come up with a better system. Designated lines for APs would be nice.


Since APs generally represent 60% of the average day's guests, designated lines wouldn't really help.  They tried them in the past and it didn't work.  Over Christmas when APs were less than 10%, frequently first thing in the AM, they didn't take pics while they were first entering and took the picture later on second entry.


----------



## SirBill

matthewthompson87 said:


> While it may not seem fair to one group, it’s likely the fairest for the largest number of people this way.



Randomness is never fairer than certainty.  You sure can't say it's fairest to "the largest number of people" because the same number of people get a boarding pass either way.  It's not even fairer to the larger group as a whole because it gives a much larger group of people false hope to have a lottery.

If you give people first come, first served tickets then someone who REALLY wants to ride will for sure be able to do so, by showing up early.

If you have a lottery system, then if there is enough demand a person on a once in a lifetime trip may not even get to ride, no matter what they do.  That sucks.

Whenever there is way more demand than can be supplied, there is no system that is satisfactory to everyone.  But you can at least make it fair to people with greater need, instead of random and making everyone panic and stressed.

Some say the lottery system means people will not show up early... but they still do at DHS, and they will for a long time at Disneyland also.  There are still advantages to getting in the park as early as possible, like checking with cast members to make sure your whole party is registered, or to take advantage of rope drop for rides.  Or to get on Park WiFi to make sure you can get a boarding pass easier, or line up at a CM before they release the boarding groups so they could scan you in with presumably less risk of failure than the app (which has been reported as glitching under really high demand with so many people trying at once).


----------



## Malroy

Here is my big question about ROTR: I am pregnant and I will be 28 weeks when we are at DLR (Feb 16-21). What is the likelihood I will be able to ride?? I know some will be off limits for sure...Gonna ask my doc for her recommendations but I might still ride star tours if I can fit the seat belt under the bump.


----------



## dina444444

Malcon10t said:


> Remember, Disneyland already did boarding groups back in June when Star Wars Land opened.
> 
> 
> Since APs generally represent 60% of the average day's guests, designated lines wouldn't really help.  They tried them in the past and it didn't work.  Over Christmas when APs were less than 10%, frequently first thing in the AM, they didn't take pics while they were first entering and took the picture later on second entry.


 Both Disneyland and DHS used the boarding groups for land access on the first day they were open to the public, that was the only time they were used for land access.


----------



## dina444444

Malroy said:


> Here is my big question about ROTR: I am pregnant and I will be 28 weeks when we are at DLR (Feb 16-21). What is the likelihood I will be able to ride?? I know some will be off limits for sure...Gonna ask my doc for her recommendations but I might still ride star tours if I can fit the seat belt under the bump.


The sign outside the ride says expectant mother’s should not ride. It’s a lap belt restraint like star tours. Spoilers about the way the ride moves below.


Spoiler: Spoilers



It has some jerky sudden movements and spinning as well as quick starts and stops and there is a 3 second drop at one point that’s being pulled like on guardians but intensity wise is more like the pirates drop.


----------



## SOCALMouseMommy

Malroy said:


> Here is my big question about ROTR: I am pregnant and I will be 28 weeks when we are at DLR (Feb 16-21). What is the likelihood I will be able to ride?? I know some will be off limits for sure...Gonna ask my doc for her recommendations but I might still ride star tours if I can fit the seat belt under the bump.


I would not personally ride Star Tours pregnant. It’s very bumpy/jarring. same goes for Millennium Falcon But then again I really erred on the side of caution with my pregnancies... for me it just wasn’t ever worth the risk, no matter how small. But curious what your doctor would say... and in the end it’s your body and your decision of course!


----------



## Malroy

SOCALMouseMommy said:


> I would not personally ride Star Tours pregnant. It’s very bumpy/jarring. same goes for Millennium Falcon But then again I really erred on the side of caution with my pregnancies... for me it just wasn’t ever worth the risk, no matter how small. But curious what your doctor would say... and in the end it’s your body and your decision of course!


I will definitely follow my doctor's recommendations, and who knows, by then I might be too uncomfortable to even think about riding! This is my first pregnancy, so I don't have any prior experience to base these things on. I have read some other threads/info about DLR while pregnant and most people say they just go by the "expectant mothers shouldn't ride" signs but some say their doctor's made exceptions.


----------



## CastAStone

MonocularVision said:


> Reading through the last 3 days of experiences for this ride at WDW are making me nervous. For a while there, it seemed that as long as you got there early enough to be in the park at opening, you would get a boarding pass. Now they go in like the first 60 seconds.


The Touring Plans actual measures crowd level at DHS has been a 10/10 each of the last 3 days. Let’s see what happens on Monday.


----------



## Malcon10t

Malroy said:


> I will definitely follow my doctor's recommendations, and who knows, by then I might be too uncomfortable to even think about riding! This is my first pregnancy, so I don't have any prior experience to base these things on. I have read some other threads/info about DLR while pregnant and most people say they just go by the "expectant mothers shouldn't ride" signs but some say their doctor's made exceptions.


A lot of people think "Oh, that ride isn't any worse than ... " Here is what people DON"T take into account...  An E-Stop.  I used to tell friends "I would ride racers pregnant, it's like riding in a car at 35mph", until I experienced a major E-Stop.  The seat belt stopped hard across my stomach area, and seriously hurt.  I cannot imagine having been pregnant.  Now I will tell friends of my experience and I do not recommend it at all.


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## Pamela M

midnight star said:


> ugh! don't tell me that. I'm going to WDW later this month, and trying to do this ride is a main priority for my friend who loves star wars. I would just skip it and wait until I got back to DL, but since she doesn't go to Disney parks often we are going to try and do the boarding groups.


You should be fine- the boarding groups were gone because it was Christmas break. I went to HS and scanned in at 7:47am and got boarding group 104 that was a week after rise opened but.. it was before all the kids were out of school. So a less busy time.


----------



## Malroy

Malcon10t said:


> A lot of people think "Oh, that ride isn't any worse than ... " Here is what people DON"T take into account...  An E-Stop.  I used to tell friends "I would ride racers pregnant, it's like riding in a car at 35mph", until I experienced a major E-Stop.  The seat belt stopped hard across my stomach area, and seriously hurt.  I cannot imagine having been pregnant.  Now I will tell friends of my experience and I do not recommend it at all.


Omg I had not thought of it that way, at all. Thank you for pointing that out - although if I tell my husband he might not want me riding in cars anymore


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## Skyegirl1999

IT TURNS OUT that my daughter has no school on the 17th! 

So, we will be there, taking our chances with whatever happens.  May the Force be with us.


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## azdisneylover

Skyegirl1999 said:


> IT TURNS OUT that my daughter has no school on the 17th!
> 
> So, we will be there, taking our chances with whatever happens.  May the Force be with us.



Woohoo! Sending pixie dust thoughts you and your daughter have a great day! Can't wait to hear all about your day!


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## dina444444

Skyegirl1999 said:


> IT TURNS OUT that my daughter has no school on the 17th!
> 
> So, we will be there, taking our chances with whatever happens.  May the Force be with us.


Good luck. I wish I could go opening day, but can’t take off of work since I leave for another wdw trip in the afternoon on 1/18. Going to try and ride in the morning on 1/18 before my flight.


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## disneylover102

Skyegirl1999 said:


> IT TURNS OUT that my daughter has no school on the 17th!
> 
> So, we will be there, taking our chances with whatever happens.  May the Force be with us.


See you there! Sounds like tinker bell already sent some pixie dust your way!


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## ShoeCello

Skyegirl1999 said:


> IT TURNS OUT that my daughter has no school on the 17th!
> 
> So, we will be there, taking our chances with whatever happens.  May the Force be with us.



Please be sure to provide updates on how the process went! I'm going a couple days later and can't wait to hear about your experience - have fun!


----------



## disneylover102

ShoeCello said:


> Please be sure to provide updates on how the process went! I'm going a couple days later and can't wait to hear about your experience - have fun!


I’ll be there on opening day as well and I’ll post my experiences starting at 2 AM


----------



## EmJ

disneylover102 said:


> I’ll be there on opening day as well and I’ll post my experiences starting at 2 AM


Lol, have fun! Are you going to go to bed the night before, or just power through?


----------



## disneylover102

EmJ said:


> Lol, have fun! Are you going to go to bed the night before, or just power through?


We’ll be going to DCA the day before and it closes at 8 so I’ll probably get about 4-5 hours of sleep (hopefully I’ll be tired enough after that full day from 9-8 to fall asleep).


----------



## SOCALMouseMommy

Skyegirl1999 said:


> IT TURNS OUT that my daughter has no school on the 17th!
> 
> So, we will be there, taking our chances with whatever happens.  May the Force be with us.


Serendipity!


----------



## midnight star

dina444444 said:


> Good luck. I wish I could go opening day, but can’t take off of work since I leave for another wdw trip in the afternoon on 1/18. Going to try and ride in the morning on 1/18 before my flight.


We will be at WDW around the same time. We go on the 20th on a red eye


----------



## dina444444

midnight star said:


> We will be at WDW around the same time. We go on the 20th on a red eye


Cool. I’m heading out for festival of the arts and I was just there for NYE. I’m getting the maximum amount of use out of my premier pass this year.


----------



## twodogs

Can anyone recall if you could join a BG for the land of SWGE on opening day if you had scanned into either park or just DL?  I know this is not completely analogous to ROTR, but I can’t recall since we did SWGE during the reservation period.  Since they only used BGs on the opening day of the land, maybe no one even remembers, ha ha!!


----------



## dina444444

twodogs said:


> Can anyone recall if you could join a BG for the land of SWGE on opening day if you had scanned into either park or just DL?  I know this is not completely analogous to ROTR, but I can’t recall since we did SWGE during the reservation period.  Since they only used BGs on the opening day of the land, maybe no one even remembers, ha ha!!


If I’m recalling correctly from that day, they walked back a certain number of people then the land was full and then the boarding groups started.

Edit: I went back and found my posts from 6/24, they walked people back when it opened at 8am and then flipped over to the boarding groups to enter the land at 8:15ish. So ROTR is not going to be like this was. My guess is they will be following the dhs system.


----------



## twodogs

dina444444 said:


> If I’m recalling correctly from that day, they walked back a certain number of people then the land was full and then the boarding groups started.
> 
> Edit: I went back and found my posts from 6/24, they walked people back when it opened at 8am and then flipped over to the boarding groups to enter the land at 8:15ish. So ROTR is not going to be like this was. My guess is they will be following the dhs system.


Thank you for your great details, as always!!


----------



## Paflyers

We will be at DLR Feb 5th-10th. Do you think they will still be doing the boarding passes by then?


----------



## mamapenguin

Paflyers said:


> We will be at DLR Feb 5th-10th. Do you think they will still be doing the boarding passes by then?


I think/hope that they will still be doing boarding groups at least through Spring Break, although Summer wouldn’t surprise me.


----------



## CastAStone

Paflyers said:


> We will be at DLR Feb 5th-10th. Do you think they will still be doing the boarding passes by then?


I think they will keep doing them until they can hit at least the ride-uptime rates that something spotty like Radiator Springs Racers has. It is basically impossible for someone who isn't intimately involved in the project to predict when that will be.


----------



## t3hWheez

Where was this posted?  I usually don't watch updates for this kind of thing, where is a good place to signup for updates?  Was this posted on a blog somewhere?


----------



## dina444444

t3hWheez said:


> Where was this posted?  I usually don't watch updates for this kind of thing, where is a good place to signup for updates?  Was this posted on a blog somewhere?


It was on the Disney parks blog, I can’t find the article now but it said more details coming soon.


----------



## t3hWheez

Yea I can't find it either.. if its like the one at WDW then mornings are going to be nuts at Disneyland.


----------



## Rich M

Following along with this as we are scheduled to be there Jan 19th and 20th.  We were at DW on the first EMH at HS and ended up in BG 2.  Got very lucky by checking all the time and got in before they announced it was open.  I am hoping for some luck at DL also.  I want to book a room for DLH or PP but honestly don't know if its worth it if there is no advantage to being there instead of somewhere cheaper.  I am thinking about cancelling and might be forced to do so (work for 49ers and if the win Saturday I have to work the following Sunday) but just thinking it might be pretty packed for the holiday.


----------



## nutshell

Rich M said:


> Following along with this as we are scheduled to be there Jan 19th and 20th.  We were at DW on the first EMH at HS and ended up in BG 2.  Got very lucky by checking all the time and got in before they announced it was open.  I am hoping for some luck at DL also.  I want to book a room for DLH or PP but honestly don't know if its worth it if there is no advantage to being there instead of somewhere cheaper.  I am thinking about cancelling and might be forced to do so (work for 49ers and if the win Saturday I have to work the following Sunday) but just thinking it might be pretty packed for the holiday.


Let’s be honest. Your name isn’t “Rich M,” it’s Garrapolo!  Lol


----------



## LizzyS

This will be a BG for RoTR, not GE, right?  Like they've been doing at DHS?

I'm glad to be visiting 5 weeks or so after it opens, tbh.


----------



## dina444444

LizzyS said:


> This will be a BG for RoTR, not GE, right?  Like they've been doing at DHS?
> 
> I'm glad to be visiting 5 weeks or so after it opens, tbh.


That’s the expectation


----------



## Amunet

It seems my plan for MM on Thursday the 23rd is still a good plan ... thus far.


----------



## DisneyDork1969

disneylover102 said:


> I’ll be there on opening day as well and I’ll post my experiences starting at 2 AM



Are you really going to be at DL at 2am?? I will also be there for opening day and my friends and I have started to wonder how early we should line up at the park. Is security gonna let people line up that early that day? I'll be at DL late on the 16th thru MLK day.


----------



## dieumeye

DisneyDork1969 said:


> Are you really going to be at DL at 2am?? I will also be there for opening day and my friends and I have started to wonder how early we should line up at the park. Is security gonna let people line up that early that day? I'll be at DL late on the 16th thru MLK day.


I hear rumblings about people planning to show up very very early.

I really wish they would announce exactly how they are going to handle the boarding groups, because if they do it like WDW does it now - opening the boarding groups at park open - there could be a lot of disappointed people who don’t end up getting a boarding group even though they waited at the gate all night.

I’m also curious what their plan is in case the esplanade gets totally packed with people very early.

Of course, maybe it’ll be like all the rest of the SWGE stuff, and there will only be a modest crowd. Who knows.


----------



## Pamela M

dieumeye said:


> I hear rumblings about people planning to show up very very early.
> 
> I really wish they would announce exactly how they are going to handle the boarding groups, because if they do it like WDW does it now - opening the boarding groups at park open - there could be a lot of disappointed people who don’t end up getting a boarding group even though they waited at the gate all night.
> 
> I’m also curious what their plan is in case the esplanade gets totally packed with people very early.
> 
> Of course, maybe it’ll be like all the rest of the SWGE stuff, and there will only be a modest crowd. Who knows.


My guess is they will handle like HS at WDW - they started letting people into the park early (but the park wasn't open, similar to how they do rope drop at DL) and didn't allow for boarding groups until official park open.


----------



## gometros

midnight star said:


> I always get stuck behind someone who wants to argue why they have to get their picture taken, or ask 20 questions on how to use the disney app.



Is this picture taking thing new? I stunt remember that from when we were there in 2015. We'll be going at the end of March.

Never mind. Answered a few posts below the one I responded to.


----------



## Rich M

I am forced to move my trip.  Hoping that it will help lighten things up and provide knowledge of how this works.  I am going Jan 31st and Feb 1st now.  Hoping to get on once.


----------



## nursemelis374

I remember waiting in line for the 50th Anniversary.  They had a looooooong line going through all of Downtown Disney.  We got in line near the Monorail stop around 0500.  

I wonder if they will just fill the park to Main Street, then have the line going out that way.  It would make it crazy as people would be more worried about getting in quickly to get a BG but it is possible.  They need to tell us already!

I do know people that will be getting in line as early as they let you, even if that means the night before.


----------



## Blue32

Are these boarding groups at HS really being filled in under a minute like someone mentioned here? The last report I read was just under 30 minutes....which is still very quick, but not in seconds.


----------



## dina444444

Blue32 said:


> Are these boarding groups at HS really being filled in under a minute like someone mentioned here? The last report I read was just under 30 minutes....which is still very quick, but not in seconds.


Today the guaranteed groups were gone in under 10 min. Backup groups stick around for 2 hours or so after.


----------



## disneylover102

DisneyDork1969 said:


> Are you really going to be at DL at 2am?? I will also be there for opening day and my friends and I have started to wonder how early we should line up at the park. Is security gonna let people line up that early that day? I'll be at DL late on the 16th thru MLK day.


That’s what I’m planning on but it’s very much subject to change based on how much information Disney does or doesn’t release before then. I don’t know when they will let people line up but I believe it was open all night the night before SWGE opened. Downtown Disney is open until 2 AM and that’s part of the walk from my Airbnb anyway so I’ll probably go that way.


----------



## twodogs

But the whole point of WDW not opening BGs as you scan through the gate (after the first few days when they did do that) was to discourage people from lining up earlier and earlier to try to get an early BG.  Now you just need to be far enough ahead of the crowd to get through the gate before park opening time.  So someone who arrived 4 hours early would have the same chance at a BG as someone who arrived 10 minutes early, as long as 10 minutes was enough time to get through the gate.  They were having trouble managing huge early morning crowds building outside DHS at all hours of the early morning before they made this change.  They are still dealing with huge crowds, but they are showing up later (thus Disney does not have to spend money on CMs or security during those crazy early morning hours).

The BGs did get all booked up in 1-2 minutes for 4 days in a row.  Yesterday was better, about 15 minutes.  Today was worse, as dina444444 said.  The problem with 1-2 minutes is that if you have an issue with the app, you don't have time to do much before all the regular BGs are gone.  And backup BGs are hit or miss for getting to ride.  They actually didn't even get through the regular BGs a few days ago due to ride technical issues, and that was terrible.


----------



## MonocularVision

Our plan next month is for my family of 6 to be using 6 different devices to try to get a BG. I am hoping the sheer number of forces in my army will result in victory.


----------



## kelmac284

How does it work with groups.  Does each person in your party have to get one or can one person in your group get it for your entire group?  If each person gets one how do you make sure you are in the same group?


----------



## SirBill

twodogs said:


> But the whole point of WDW not opening BGs as you scan through the gate (after the first few days when they did do that) was to discourage people from lining up earlier and earlier to try to get an early BG.



That's nice and all but even with that there are advantages to showing up early, so people still will. And we have no idea what Disneyland will do, perhaps they think first come first served is more fair the first few opening days (as was true with Hollywood Studios at opening).

So since people just show up early anyway, why should Disney keep the plan to not release BG until after the park is filled with far more people that can have one... 



> Now you just need to be far enough ahead of the crowd to get through the gate before park opening time.  So someone who arrived 4 hours early would have the same chance at a BG as someone who arrived 10 minutes early, as long as 10 minutes was enough time to get through the gate.



It seems like getting through Disneyland gates is a lot slower so 10 minutes might be pretty questionable...

Getting there early lets you double check things like you being recognized as in the park.  It still gives you front of the line rope drop for other attractions.  It lets you get set up however you like to monitor boarding group release.

Heck it even can let you be first in line for coffee/pastry ahead of the crowds.  So why not risk it when it might also help get a good boarding group.



> They were having trouble managing huge early morning crowds building outside DHS at all hours of the early morning before they made this change.  They are still dealing with huge crowds, but they are showing up later (thus Disney does not have to spend money on CMs or security during those crazy early morning hours).



I followed the DisneyWorld thread for quite a while, I don't think it made the crowds show up much later at all.  If the crowds were really showing up later they would not continue the park early opening as they have been.



> The BGs did get all booked up in 1-2 minutes for 4 days in a row.  Yesterday was better, about 15 minutes.  Today was worse, as dina444444 said.  The problem with 1-2 minutes is that if you have an issue with the app, you don't have time to do much before all the regular BGs are gone.  And backup BGs are hit or miss for getting to ride.  They actually didn't even get through the regular BGs a few days ago due to ride technical issues, and that was terrible.



Getting there very early also means you can get in position very close to a cast member with an iPad who can check you in if the app has any issues.

When there's a huge demand for something there are just going to be a lot of people that show up early period... and when you are talking Star Wars stuff, you have a lot of very dedicated fans that have been battle hardened for years to accept extreme lines and long waits.


----------



## CableKC

Can someone provide a quick explanation of how this Group Boarding works for the Rise of the Resistance Ride?

We are going to be there on the opening weekend and haven't been to SW:GE yet.

Does this Boarding Group feature only apply to the RotR ride?

or

Does it apply to both the RotR and the MF:SR ride as well?


----------



## SirBill

kelmac284 said:


> How does it work with groups.  Does each person in your party have to get one or can one person in your group get it for your entire group?  If each person gets one how do you make sure you are in the same group?



You should look for YouTube videos on this (Tim Tracker has one up just recently) but basically when you ask to have a boarding group there's another step where it shows you all of the members of your party and lets you select who you want in the boarding group.  They all have to be recognized as being in the park.  In theory each person could try to just get a boarding group for themselves but then you might not be all riding together depending on how fast boarding groups are going.


----------



## disneylover102

CableKC said:


> Can someone provide a quick explanation of how this Group Boarding works for the Rise of the Resistance Ride?
> 
> We are going to be there on the opening weekend and haven't been to SW:GE yet.
> 
> Does this Boarding Group feature only apply to the RotR ride?
> 
> or
> 
> Does it apply to both the RotR and the MF:SR ride as well?


To get a BG you go on the app and reserve one. I think the process is pretty simple and it’s like getting a Fastpass (with Maxpass) in a lot of ways as far as reserving it. You can select which people will be going and you’ll all get the same BG if one is available. When there is room for your BG, you can go use it on ROTR. At WDW, the BG was only for ROTR and the rest of the land was open. We don’t know if they’ll release BGs before or at park opening yet.


----------



## disneylover102

twodogs said:


> But the whole point of WDW not opening BGs as you scan through the gate (after the first few days when they did do that) was to discourage people from lining up earlier and earlier to try to get an early BG.  Now you just need to be far enough ahead of the crowd to get through the gate before park opening time.  So someone who arrived 4 hours early would have the same chance at a BG as someone who arrived 10 minutes early, as long as 10 minutes was enough time to get through the gate.


I understand how it works at WDW but DL has released basically no details about the BGs except that they will exist and so for now I’m preparing for the worst, which is to go around 2 AM. If they release more details (which they didn’t at WDW), then maybe I’ll consider going later, but still, the crowds might be so high that morning that even if they don’t release BGs until the park opens at 8, if I go too much later, I might not even get in by then...


----------



## Lewdannie

It will be interesting to see whether you will be able to book a boarding group if you have only entered DCA


----------



## socaldisneylover

SirBill said:


> Getting there very early also means you can get in position very close to a cast member with an iPad who can check you in if the app has any issues.



I have not seen much discussed about this.  Just people talking about having wi-fi or app problems, and ending up with higher BG's, or even as a backup group.  Will there be CM's capable of getting you into a group?  Wouldn't the best idea be to stick like glue to one of them, and then still have the option of trying on your phone as well?

Didn't Disneyland have kiosks set up when they intended to use them for Galaxy's Edge Boarding Groups?  Was anyone there that 1st morning?  Were there also CM's with hand held devices?


----------



## dieumeye

Is it possible that Disney isn’t even sure exactly how they are going to handle BGs and crowds on RotR weekend? When do CM schedules get released? Will they be able to open the gates extra early if the esplanade is mobbed?

I’ll tell you I don’t think I’d be too happy if I showed up at, say, 5am to find a solid wall of people backed up from the gate to Earl of Sandwich, and then for whatever reason was unable to get a BG that day.

It’s weird because they handled the opening of SW:GE SO WELL and all they got for it is people mocking them for not being crowded. Well, at least initially, a large reason for no insanity at the opening is because of how well the reservation period was implemented. They promised a good guest experience, and it was. Which is why I find it strange that there are so few details about the RotR opening only a week away.


----------



## DisneyDork1969

disneylover102 said:


> That’s what I’m planning on but it’s very much subject to change based on how much information Disney does or doesn’t release before then. I don’t know when they will let people line up but I believe it was open all night the night before SWGE opened. Downtown Disney is open until 2 AM and that’s part of the walk from my Airbnb anyway so I’ll probably go that way.



Hmmmm....Looks like I might be joining you....LOLOL....


----------



## Skyegirl1999

dieumeye said:


> Is it possible that Disney isn’t even sure exactly how they are going to handle BGs and crowds on RotR weekend? When do CM schedules get released? Will they be able to open the gates extra early if the esplanade is mobbed?
> 
> I’ll tell you I don’t think I’d be too happy if I showed up at, say, 5am to find a solid wall of people backed up from the gate to Earl of Sandwich, and then for whatever reason was unable to get a BG that day.
> 
> It’s weird because they handled the opening of SW:GE SO WELL and all they got for it is people mocking them for not being crowded. Well, at least initially, a large reason for no insanity at the opening is because of how well the reservation period was implemented. They promised a good guest experience, and it was. Which is why I find it strange that there are so few details about the RotR opening only a week away.


The CMs I know well are all in entertainment, and they get their schedules each Friday night.  I’m not sure if that’s true for eveeyone

I do think it’s very possible that they haven’t decided what they’re doing yet.

I think they want some teeming masses to prove SWGE wasn’t a bust.  But they need to figure out how to organize those masses.  Which seems like a very tricky thing to accomplish well.


----------



## DisneyDork1969

Lewdannie said:


> It will be interesting to see whether you will be able to book a boarding group if you have only entered DCA



Well since DCA is an EMH day that Friday, guests will have entered the park at 7am. So at 8am, they can book a BG since they are already in the park. Looks like they might have an advantage.


----------



## ironband74

I think cast member previews are starting up today or at least very soon.   I imagine they are going to do some A/B testing with them and nail down the process.


----------



## vharris2828

Looks like rain next Friday too, that could throw an interesting wrench into things  and also make waiting all night miserable. I am anxiously waiting to hear how this is all going to work. I’m feeling stressed about how it’s all going to effect the week we are there.


----------



## Katiebird

ironband74 said:


> I think cast member previews are starting up today or at least very soon.   I imagine they are going to do some A/B testing with them and nail down the process.



I think they’re doing something today, the old FP machines by Buzz have “cast event” signs and lots of people standing around. I wonder if they’re using those to assign BGs. Heading to GE later so we’ll walk by RoR and see.


----------



## socaldisneylover

vharris2828 said:


> Looks like rain next Friday too, that could throw an interesting wrench into things  and also make waiting all night miserable. I am anxiously waiting to hear how this is all going to work. I’m feeling stressed about how it’s all going to effect the week we are there.


I would not rely on a weather prediction 9 days out.


----------



## shleaz

Heard from a friend who is friends with a CM that they are indeed doing CM previews today! I know that's not the most reliable source ("I heard from so-and-so who heard from so-and-so..." ) but he said they were using the boarding group system. Seems like they are testing out the entire process & system, which is great.


----------



## Malcon10t

Yes, they started testing the process of testing the ride and the boarding group process with cast and invited guests.


----------



## montreid

Malcon10t said:


> Yes, they started testing the process of testing the ride and the boarding group process with cast and invited guests.


Exciting!  Looking forward to some reports starting now and activity picking up.  Lots of lessons learned from WDWs earlier opening.   I like how they've settled into the current regimen and as fair, efficient, and safe as possible for all. -- including guests and CMs. 

I'm HOPING for of DLR using DLR existing operations:
1.  EMH alternating that EMH stay the same,   No GE
2.  Maxpass routine -  grab BG from either park once you're scanned into a park and done at standard opening/rope drop


----------



## disneylover102

I actually kind of hope it rains because I honestly don’t mind rain as long as the rides don’t close (and ROTR shouldn’t close for weather since it’s indoor) but since other people do mind, maybe the crowds will be less...


----------



## vharris2828

disneylover102 said:


> I actually kind of hope it rains because I honestly don’t mind rain as long as the rides don’t close (and ROTR shouldn’t close for weather since it’s indoor) but since other people do mind, maybe the crowds will be less...


Yes this is my thinking as well, I honestly would prefer some rain the day’s we are there


----------



## montreid

vharris2828 said:


> Yes this is my thinking as well, I honestly would prefer some rain the day’s we are there


Please no!  Rained ALL week we were down in WDW and our day at HS -  rain in the dark at 530AM with 8k other Disney fans, though comforting en masse, wasn't fun at all.


----------



## Lewdannie

montreid said:


> Please no!  Rained ALL week we were down in WDW and our day at HS -.


I suspect the impact of a rainy day will be different at DL to WDW where more folk are "locked in" 
Rain might discourage locals from visiting Disneyland


----------



## socaldisneylover

Lewdannie said:


> I suspect the impact of a rainy day will be different at DL to WDW where more folk are "locked in"
> Rain might discourage locals from visiting Disneyland


Rain will likely discourage many locals from going to the park.  But there is a lot of pent up demand for ROTR, and people would be getting up early with the sole intent of getting on that 1 attraction.  They're not necessarily worried about riding anything else in the park on 1/17, and there will therefore be more people willing to deal with the rain, just for the chance of riding on the 1st day it's open to the public.

I know because I speak for myself.  Since I have an AP, you couldn't get me to brave a day of rain at the park, when I could go another time and be less miserable.  But that may not be the case next Friday, and I might not care if it's raining, but I would probably wait to see how bad a storm it's supposed to be before deciding to not go.


----------



## wench

disneylover102 said:


> I actually kind of hope it rains because I honestly don’t mind rain as long as the rides don’t close (and ROTR shouldn’t close for weather since it’s indoor) but since other people do mind, maybe the crowds will be less...


Does anyone know a good rain dance?


----------



## twodogs

SirBill said:


> That's nice and all but even with that there are advantages to showing up early, so people still will. And we have no idea what Disneyland will do, perhaps they think first come first served is more fair the first few opening days (as was true with Hollywood Studios at opening).
> 
> So since people just show up early anyway, why should Disney keep the plan to not release BG until after the park is filled with far more people that can have one...
> 
> 
> It seems like getting through Disneyland gates is a lot slower so 10 minutes might be pretty questionable...
> 
> Getting there early lets you double check things like you being recognized as in the park.  It still gives you front of the line rope drop for other attractions.  It lets you get set up however you like to monitor boarding group release.
> 
> Heck it even can let you be first in line for coffee/pastry ahead of the crowds.  So why not risk it when it might also help get a good boarding group.
> 
> 
> 
> I followed the DisneyWorld thread for quite a while, I don't think it made the crowds show up much later at all.  If the crowds were really showing up later they would not continue the park early opening as they have been.
> 
> 
> 
> Getting there very early also means you can get in position very close to a cast member with an iPad who can check you in if the app has any issues.
> 
> When there's a huge demand for something there are just going to be a lot of people that show up early period... and when you are talking Star Wars stuff, you have a lot of very dedicated fans that have been battle hardened for years to accept extreme lines and long waits.




I do not think DLR will let it be first come first served because that will encourage people to spend the night every night or camp out or whatever to get to the front of the line.  Those folks won’t care if they are first for coffee or first on Indy; they are there for ROTR.  And when they did that at WDW, people were parking at 2AM.  Now that they have changed it, it is still a massive amount of people, but reports on that thread are that if you arrive at 4am for a 7am open, you will have very little company at the gates now that they changed the system.  I think they started with 6am openings during the holidays to simply get more time for the ride to operate in a park day (they have also extended close time several nights, often when there were tech issues with the ride and it looked like they would not get through all of the BGs).  But I have followed every page of the WDW thread, and people there report that the new “not” first come first served method made people comfortable to show up later.  

You are correct that being at the front of the pack may help you get to a CM to help if your device or app fails.  Lines at those folks have been long at WDW, and when BGs were going in 1-2 minutes there last week, unless you had your face in the CM ipad right at park opening, you could not have gotten them to help you in time to get a BG anyway.  I suspect the first days at DLR are going to be similar with BGs gone in minutes.

I agree that 10 minutes will be inadequate on opening weekend to get through the gates, but maybe not when things calm down.  It was meant simply to illustrate that arriving hours early or just in time to get through the gates give you equal chance to get an early BG, all things electronic being equal and no app failures.

Yes there are many other advantages to getting there super early, as you listed. I just wanted folks here to know that if they do it like WDW, you don’t have to be hours early to get a BG, you just have to be in the gate.  I figure most people aren’t reading that thread every day, so sharing what they are doing there might help someone.  I don’t know why they would do drastically different procedures at WDW and DLR, because many of the logistical challenges of having thousands of people standing in front of a closed park for hours are similar.

And I agree as well that there are many hard core SW fans who will line up as early as they are allowed onto the Espalade, no matter what the procedure is.  But for the regular fan, I think most of us just want to understand how to have a good chance of riding ROTR without spending the night out on the pavement!


----------



## Dustyb

It sounds like we should get in the gate at opening and grab your BG immediately. Be a weekday.  And raining.


----------



## rich_84

I was at HS at 5:30am during the Holidays, with the park opening officially at 6am. They allowed you to pass through the main gates and congregate towards a roped/ CM line. The CM I was stood next to confirmed that the BG are randomly selected, that if you are there for park opening and in the park you have as much chance as anyone in getting a BG, and as long as the ride works well that everyone who is there for park opening will no doubt get a BG and get onto the ride at somepoint during the day. I think this happened and didn't hear any complaints.
I personally left the park after getting a BG for my whole family (who were still in the villa fast asleep!), and then came back later, getting onto ROTR by 12:30pm.

Just to say... the ride is mindblowing! And I am not a Star Wars fan at all. If you are, I think you will be amazed with it


----------



## EmJ

rich_84 said:


> I was at HS at 5:30am during the Holidays, with the park opening officially at 6am. They allowed you to pass through the main gates and congregate towards a roped/ CM line. The CM I was stood next to confirmed that the BG are randomly selected, that if you are there for park opening and in the park you have as much chance as anyone in getting a BG, and as long as the ride works well that everyone who is there for park opening will no doubt get a BG and get onto the ride at somepoint during the day. I think this happened and didn't hear any complaints.
> I personally left the park after getting a BG for my whole family (who were still in the villa fast asleep!), and then came back later, getting onto ROTR by 12:30pm.
> 
> Just to say... the ride is mindblowing! And I am not a Star Wars fan at all. If you are, I think you will be amazed with it


You were able to get a BG for your whole family even though they hadn’t entered the park? Did WDW change the rules? For as long as I was following the WDW threads, every person assigned to a BG had to have physically scanned into the park.

Also interesting that BG assignments are random!


----------



## EmJ

Here’s a question. I have two cell phones because I am weird. They have different cell carriers (ATT and Verizon), and which phone works best in any given location may change. Can I log into my own account on *both* phones, scan our tickets into both (or just one if it’s the same account? I’m not sure how this works) and then hand one of the phones to DH to try and get a BG while I try on the other one? 

In other words, does having tickets scanned into multiple devices still work if it is the same Disney account on all of them?


----------



## rich_84

EmJ: I went in on my own pass, totally forgot that the app wouldn't see the family as 'in the park' if they had not been scanned in. Ran back through the crowds, found a nice CM, buzzed the cards of my family and then I could do it. I wouldn't suggest this course of action, but it is what I did.

And on your second question around the cell phones; my wife was logged into the app on my login details, same as I was, and we could both search FP and make FP bookings etc, so I would imagine it would work the same for the BGs. I can't totally confirm that though.


----------



## disneylover102

EmJ said:


> Here’s a question. I have two cell phones because I am weird. They have different cell carriers (ATT and Verizon), and which phone works best in any given location may change. Can I log into my own account on *both* phones, scan our tickets into both (or just one if it’s the same account? I’m not sure how this works) and then hand one of the phones to DH to try and get a BG while I try on the other one?
> 
> In other words, does having tickets scanned into multiple devices still work if it is the same Disney account on all of them?


From what I understand, this would work. The tickets will be on the same account but multiple devices can be logged in (with Maxpass, this is the case) and each person would need to select one ticket to get a BG. The only problem is you wouldn’t be able to ride together.


----------



## CastAStone

EmJ said:


> Here’s a question. I have two cell phones because I am weird. They have different cell carriers (ATT and Verizon), and which phone works best in any given location may change. Can I log into my own account on *both* phones, scan our tickets into both (or just one if it’s the same account? I’m not sure how this works) and then hand one of the phones to DH to try and get a BG while I try on the other one?
> 
> In other words, does having tickets scanned into multiple devices still work if it is the same Disney account on all of them?


It did for me at WDW. I have a VeriPhone for work and a personal phone on T-Mobile and did this to check for dropped FPs all the time and constantly got different options on the two phones.


----------



## montreid

We use one MDE account for both WDW and DLR.   No problem with grabbing FP in general or BG .   Yes FP load and disappear THAT fast and show differently.  Same for that pesky red button for join.   My s10 crushed both 11max of the family at HS ROTR


----------



## SirBill

socaldisneylover said:


> I have not seen much discussed about this.  Just people talking about having wi-fi or app problems, and ending up with higher BG's, or even as a backup group.  Will there be CM's capable of getting you into a group?  Wouldn't the best idea be to stick like glue to one of them, and then still have the option of trying on your phone as well?
> 
> Didn't Disneyland have kiosks set up when they intended to use them for Galaxy's Edge Boarding Groups?  Was anyone there that 1st morning?  Were there also CM's with hand held devices?



I was there the first few mornings - they didn't have kiosks, only CM's with iPads that could help people for people who either didn't have apps or were having other problems.

In fact the very first morning they didn't even tell anyone (at least near me) we needed boarding groups (just that we should have the Disney app up and working), I found out by entering the park, seeing people lining up at CM's, then checking the Disney app to see what was going on and saw the page to sign up for a boarding group... lots of people were hurrying up to the front, not yet realizing they needed to get a boarding group.

Hanging around a CM that could check you in might be a pretty good plan as a backup in case the app fails.

They were all hanging around Main Street, not sure if any of them were inside Galaxies Edge at all.


----------



## Jkpark

A couple questions that we may not know the answers to yet, but maybe some of you with WDW experience at this can help:

(1) I am traveling with my family (DH, DD14 and DD12) and 6 friends. I know how to add friends and family on MDE at WDW, but for the DL App, do I need to scan my friends tickets into my app (and vice versa) so we can be trying to BG for ROTR on more than 1 device? We would want to be searching for the whole group at once as it would be devastating if 2 or 4 of us got a BG and the rest did not. Last time we traveled with friends I do think I scanned their tickets into my app, but I think I controlled the whole thing as they were new to DLR so they weren't trying to do anything on their own accounts/devices. 

(2) Is there any possibility of changing BG if you have conflicting plans? We have a Oga's reservation around 11:30 and then 3 in our group are building droids at 1:10.   If we happen to get a BG of 11-1 or something similar - what flexibility do we have? This is our first time to GE and likely only visit for the next year+. I would hate to have to cancel either of those experiences. Usually this isn't a big deal with FP bc you do have some control over what FP time you select and an attraction takes maybe 15 minutes with FP queue and attraction time - at the most. This is very different. Anyone have any guesses or experience from WDW? We will be in the parks 3 days so will be trying for BG each day, but these reservations are for Day 1 so there would be no way of knowing if we would be successful with BG for ROTR on future days. For someone who knows how to do the parks, this is really stressing me out...


----------



## montreid

@Jkpark - IF the BG work like Maxpass and MDE on WDW --- scan everyone's ticket onto your MDE -  that's your 'party'.   MDE will recognize who's in the park or not when you try to grab a FP (and presumably BG too---not confirmed!!!).   

From WDW reports -  reservations were able to be adjusted by CMs --- at DLR there's several locations like WDW's GET CMs blue umbrellas.   DLR uses Maroon ones usually -- DL:  Central hub, Dumbo, Tomorrowland outside Star Tours Giftshop exit; and HH.


----------



## Jkpark

@montreid - thanks for the feedback - that makes me feel better


----------



## dina444444

Jkpark said:


> @montreid - thanks for the feedback - that makes me feel better


At Disneyland you need to scan all the tickets into each persons app. It doesn’t link you the way that the mde app does, where if I add you to my account we are done. At Disneyland we would each have to scan each other’s park admission into our app.


----------



## twodogs

@Jkpark, BG’s do not give you a time to return, so not a window like 11am-1pm as asked about above.  It just gives you a number.  Depending on how the ride is operating on that day, that BG number will be reached at (hopefully) some point in the day.  When it is, you get (theoretically) a push notification in the app that your group has 2 hours from then to go to the ride. If you don’t get the notification, you can see what boarding groups are currently being called in the app anytime (look at the WDW app right now if you want to see what that looks like).  There are charts on the WDW ROTR thread with some approximate times that BGs have been getting called, but all bets are off on a new ride opening weekend at DLR.  In any case, you will generally know if your BG may overlap with Oga’s etc based on the number that you get.   If it looks like it will (even though you do have a 2 hour window to return to ride ROTR after your group is called, so you may be able to finish Oga’s and then head over for example), you can talk to the CM at Oga’s or wherever and they have been able to help move your reservation there, at least at WDW.


----------



## twodogs

rich_84 said:


> EmJ: I went in on my own pass, totally forgot that the app wouldn't see the family as 'in the park' if they had not been scanned in. Ran back through the crowds, found a nice CM, buzzed the cards of my family and then I could do it. I wouldn't suggest this course of action, but it is what I did.
> 
> And on your second question around the cell phones; my wife was logged into the app on my login details, same as I was, and we could both search FP and make FP bookings etc, so I would imagine it would work the same for the BGs. I can't totally confirm that though.


So your family had not entered the park at all when the CM gave you all a BG?  Or were they just further back in the crowd, and by that time, they had scanned in and the CM added them to your group?  What does that mean “buzzed the cards” of your family members?  Just wanted to see what happened as I understood that everyone had to be scanned into the park, no exceptions, to get a BG, even with a CM help.


----------



## montreid

Sounds like rich got VERY lucky and CM made a big exception.   Quite a few days of no thumbs scans so a simple tap in would have had the 'person' in the park.   We were tempted to do this for our 2nd party of 4 that elected on sleeping in and forego ROTR -- we had their MBs with us, but decided against it as good faith of WDW for us to tap them in and use their BG!     Would have been fun, but we were happy to be wet and tired with our single ride.


----------



## Dustyb

EmJ said:


> You were able to get a BG for your whole family even though they hadn’t entered the park? Did WDW change the rules? For as long as I was following the WDW threads, every person assigned to a BG had to have physically scanned into the park.
> 
> Also interesting that BG assignments are random!



Same at Disneyland, I believe all tickets have to be scanned at entrance to do MaxPass, etc.  For BG don't all tix need to be scanned too?


----------



## rich_84

As it was so busy and they were just getting people into the park quickly there was no fingerprint required. I just used our tickets (we had cards for our 14 day tickets rather than a magicband) and went back to the entrance and swiped them through the gate.
In hindsight I was very lucky with how it all worked out as if they required fingerprints it couldn’t have happened. So I lucked out and managed to find a way for it to happen.
Just being open and honest, in no way boasting. I ‘got away with it’ rather than planning it well!


----------



## SOCALMouseMommy

rich_84 said:


> As it was so busy and they were just getting people into the park quickly there was no fingerprint required. I just used our tickets (we had cards for our 14 day tickets rather than a magicband) and went back to the entrance and swiped them through the gate.
> In hindsight I was very lucky with how it all worked out as if they required fingerprints it couldn’t have happened. So I lucked out and managed to find a way for it to happen.
> Just being open and honest, in no way boasting. I ‘got away with it’ rather than planning it well!


I’m sort of thinking that couldn’t really happen at DL since your photo pops up when you scan in.


----------



## Dustyb

SOCALMouseMommy said:


> I’m sort of thinking that couldn’t really happen at DL since your photo pops up when you scan in.


Yeah, Probably not. But clever idea.


----------



## SirBill

Jkpark said:


> ...
> (2) Is there any possibility of changing BG if you have conflicting plans? We have a Oga's reservation around 11:30 and then 3 in our group are building droids at 1:10.   If we happen to get a BG of 11-1 or something similar - what flexibility do we have?



Don't forget that you also possibly have the options to change the time you go to Ogas or build a droid - my last trip to WDW I had a later Ogas reservation but went in much earlier as they had a really short line in the morning - they just removed my reservation (make sure to let them know if you do that so they can adjust).  I've just walked into build a droid before, so it's also likely you could go at some other time if you talk to them about it... they also mentioned at Ogas that even if I showed up after my reservation, they wouldn't charge me a fee as long as I went in the same day, but if you show up later the line may be very long.  Between being able to go in at some other time, and the two hour boarding group window you should be able to pretty easily cope.

I would try to show up earlier rather than later for your boarding group just in case the ride runs into issues and has to shut down for a bit.  I'm really hoping Disneyland is smoother in that regard than WDW as they've had a ton of time to learn what needs to be done to make things stable without guests getting in the way of alterations.


----------



## SOCALMouseMommy

So I decided to commit to taking my son to DL on 1/21 for his 5th birthday and brave the insanity. Made reservations to build a droid and to go to Oga’s (still available by the way!) because he requested blue milk WITH the cookie on top. I also want to try for ROTR. Park opens at 9am that day with MM at 8. Are we speculating that no one will be allowed to try for boarding groups until official park open (so MM folks don’t have an advantage)?


----------



## dina444444

SOCALMouseMommy said:


> So I decided to commit to taking my son to DL on 1/21 for his 5th birthday and brave the insanity. Made reservations to build a droid and to go to Oga’s (still available by the way!) because he requested blue milk WITH the cookie on top. I also want to try for ROTR. Park opens at 9am that day with MM at 8. Are we speculating that no one will be allowed to try for boarding groups until official park open (so MM folks don’t have an advantage)?


Yes, that’s the speculation.


----------



## SOCALMouseMommy

dina444444 said:


> Yes, that’s the speculation.


Not sure if you remember that he wanted so badly to build a droid that day we went to the preview and I told him maybe for his birthday. Well he has been reminding me ever since and here we are! Time to shell out the $$$.


----------



## dina444444

SOCALMouseMommy said:


> Not sure if you remember that he wanted so badly to build a droid that day we went to the preview and I told him maybe for his birthday. Well he has been reminding me ever since and here we are! Time to shell out the $$$.


Haha lol I vaguely remember. I mainly remember being in the cantina from that visit.


----------



## NeedhelpLol

Hi - ill be visiting Disneyland from Australia end of January - at present i have the Disneyland app on my phone and my husband does not ...  when i get to Disneyland and pick up my park tickets do i scan both our tickets into my app? and then we are ok to try for a boarding pass for both of us to ride together?  or does he have to also get the app and scan our tickets too?  its really confusing - thanks in advance for any help


----------



## Skyegirl1999

NeedhelpLol said:


> Hi - ill be visiting Disneyland from Australia end of January - at present i have the Disneyland app on my phone and my husband does not ...  when i get to Disneyland and pick up my park tickets do i scan both our tickets into my app? and then we are ok to try for a boarding pass for both of us to ride together?  or does he have to also get the app and scan our tickets too?  its really confusing - thanks in advance for any help


If the boarding passes work like at WDW, you’ll be fine doing everything from your phone, although having more phones in play may increase your chances of scoring a BP.


----------



## NeedhelpLol

Skyegirl1999 said:


> If the boarding passes work like at WDW, you’ll be fine doing everything from your phone, although having more phones in play may increase your chances of scoring a BP.


Great thanks so much


----------



## Lvsdisney

SOCALMouseMommy said:


> So I decided to commit to taking my son to DL on 1/21 for his 5th birthday and brave the insanity. Made reservations to build a droid and to go to Oga’s (still available by the way!) because he requested blue milk WITH the cookie on top. I also want to try for ROTR. Park opens at 9am that day with MM at 8. Are we speculating that no one will be allowed to try for boarding groups until official park open (so MM folks don’t have an advantage)?



We will be at BAD on 1/21 as well - also to celebrate my son's brithday (though he is turning 10). I'm hoping those tuesday crowds aren't crazy!


----------



## corgi_monster

@SOCALMouseMommy - Me too.  And I'm wondering how bad the traffic in the area will be.  

Any locals know how bad the traffic backup is on a busy day?  Should I allow one hour just to get into the parking lot?  We're looking to arrive at 5:30am on the 18th.


----------



## SOCALMouseMommy

Lvsdisney said:


> We will be at BAD on 1/21 as well - also to celebrate my son's brithday (though he is turning 10). I'm hoping those tuesday crowds aren't crazy!


How fun! We will have to look for you!


----------



## Kender

SOCALMouseMommy said:


> Not sure if you remember that he wanted so badly to build a droid that day we went to the preview and I told him maybe for his birthday. Well he has been reminding me ever since and here we are! Time to shell out the $$$.



Don't forget like I did (although a very nice CM adjusted it for me later) that all the Droid accessories get your AP discount! Only the droid itself can't have AP discounts applied to it.  My Sig+ discount took off $10.77 from the cost of the backpack alone.


----------



## SOCALMouseMommy

Kender said:


> Don't forget like I did (although a very nice CM adjusted it for me later) that all the Droid accessories get your AP discount! Only the droid itself can't have AP discounts applied to it.  My Sig+ discount took off $10.77 from the cost of the backpack alone.


Good to know!


----------



## jxhide

DisneyDork1969 said:


> Well since DCA is an EMH day that Friday, guests will have entered the park at 7am. So at 8am, they can book a BG since they are already in the park. Looks like they might have an advantage.



Is this true? Do I need to be in Disneyland or can I be at DCA at 7am and still try and get a BG at 8am while still in DCA?


----------



## disneylover102

jxhide said:


> Is this true? Do I need to be in Disneyland or can I be at DCA at 7am and still try and get a BG at 8am while still in DCA?


We don’t know yet


----------



## CaliforniaGirl09

Had a chance to ride at WDW today and it was great. Looking forward to hopefully riding at DL in a couple weeks for my son's birthday. It will be interesting to see how DL handles the BGs. We had 5 phones going today--4 on one MDE. My daughter got in right away and we lucked out with an early BG. I was stressed for over a month, but it ended up being pretty seamless. Thankfully no IT issues.


----------



## dieumeye

corgi_monster said:


> @SOCALMouseMommy - Me too.  And I'm wondering how bad the traffic in the area will be.
> 
> Any locals know how bad the traffic backup is on a busy day?  Should I allow one hour just to get into the parking lot?  We're looking to arrive at 5:30am on the 18th.


It can get pretty backed up on “special” type days. And I’d put opening weekend of RotR in that category.   

No idea what’ll happen specifically but I bet it’ll be pretty packed on the 18th since it’s the first non-weekday of RotR. No word yet on if they’ll do an early morning opening for the parking lot or have any other special procedures in place.


----------



## Susie63

We have never used our phones in the parks. Wifi was inconsistent and data was  crazy expensive with our Canadian phones. However, after  reading the ROTR thread I assume the only way to get a boarding group is on the Disney app on my phone. I can buy a US sim card with data if needed. Any advice is appreciated.


----------



## aebeauregard

Thoughts on any extended hours?  I haven't been to DL before so haven't really payed much attention to their hours before.  How often do they expand hours compared to what is posted about 30 days out?


----------



## dieumeye

DL will be using boarding groups for RotR.

No specific details have been announced, but if it works like WDW then the app will be the main way to book a boarding group, but there will also be CMs in the park that can assign you to a boarding group.


----------



## dina444444

aebeauregard said:


> Thoughts on any extended hours?  I haven't been to DL before so haven't really payed much attention to their hours before.  How often do they expand hours compared to what is posted about 30 days out?


My guess is no. Disneyland tends to have pretty extended hours to start. Most Friday-Sunday’s are 8am-12am and most week days are 8/9am-9/10pm. They rarely adjust the hours here.


----------



## dina444444

dieumeye said:


> DL will be using boarding groups for RotR.
> 
> No specific details have been announced, but if it works like WDW then the app will be the main way to book a boarding group, but there will also be CMs in the park that can assign you to a boarding group.


I’ve seen some social media posts that there will be carts in the park to distribute paper boarding groups which they had the one day they did them for the land back in June.


----------



## Jkpark

SirBill said:


> Don't forget that you also possibly have the options to change the time you go to Ogas or build a droid - my last trip to WDW I had a later Ogas reservation but went in much earlier as they had a really short line in the morning - they just removed my reservation (make sure to let them know if you do that so they can adjust). I've just walked into build a droid before, so it's also likely you could go at some other time if you talk to them about it... they also mentioned at Ogas that even if I showed up after my reservation, they wouldn't charge me a fee as long as I went in the same day, but if you show up later the line may be very long. Between being able to go in at some other time, and the two hour boarding group window you should be able to pretty easily cope.



I am a little nervous about moving Oga's day of as we are a group of 10 but we will just adjust as needed once we get there. Thanks for sharing your experience!


----------



## WonkaKid

Admittedly, DL’s Wi-Fi is spotty. But there are a few places where the signal is strong and reliable. The wall on the river not far from the Pirates’ entrance, for one. No real need for data.


----------



## ironband74

Jkpark said:


> I am a little nervous about moving Oga's day of as we are a group of 10 but we will just adjust as needed once we get there. Thanks for sharing your experience!


I'd say moving the droid reservation would be the easier change.  They take walk-ins for droids, but if you have a reservation you don't have to wait in line.  So on the off chance that your boarding group comes up while you're at the Cantina or about to go to the Cantina, I'd say do the cantina, swing by the droid depot and talk to the cast member outside to explain the situation and bump your droid building to after ROTR, then go on ROTR and have an adventure!


----------



## Where's Wall-E

Which carrier do you use? Both Rogers and Bell offer "Roam Like Home" plans for about $7-8/day.


----------



## Susie63

Where's Wall-E said:


> Which carrier do you use? Both Rogers and Bell offer "Roam Like Home" plans for about $7-8/day.


Telus. I am looking into Roam mobility.


----------



## Skyegirl1999

ironband74 said:


> I'd say moving the droid reservation would be the easier change.  They take walk-ins for droids, but if you have a reservation you don't have to wait in line.  So on the off chance that your boarding group comes up while you're at the Cantina or about to go to the Cantina, I'd say do the cantina, swing by the droid depot and talk to the cast member outside to explain the situation and bump your droid building to after ROTR, then go on ROTR and have an andventure!


I agree.  Droid Depot has been pretty deserted lately - maybe ROTR and R2 rolling around will increase business, but even then, it’s hard for me to imagine a situation where it would be at all hard to get in there.

So I’d keep Oga’s for sure, and move the droids around as needed.  This is on the very remote chance that you get a boarding group return time that EXACTLY conflicts with those...


----------



## Skyegirl1999

WonkaKid said:


> Admittedly, DL’s Wi-Fi is spotty. But there are a few places where the signal is strong and reliable. The wall on the river not far from the Pirates’ entrance, for one. No real need for data.


The problem is that for ROTR boarding passes, if they release at park open as anticipated, people will be trying to grab them from Main Street... where the Wi-Fi is pretty nonexistent.

Of course, when Main Street is packed, cell service isn’t great, either... so ROTR boarding groups could turn into a battle of competing technologies.  Assuming the app works, of course...


----------



## dina444444

Official announcement here, updating post 1 with the details:

https://disneyparks.disney.go.com/b...sistance-launching-jan-17-at-disneyland-park/


----------



## CastAStone

dina444444 said:


> Official announcement here, updating post 1 with the details:
> 
> https://disneyparks.disney.go.com/b...sistance-launching-jan-17-at-disneyland-park/


So it's just the current DHS Procedure, am I reading that right?


----------



## CastAStone

Also I'm surprised that it still doesn't say how they will handle EMH/MM. I think the implication is that the VQ will open when regular park hours open?


----------



## B3rlingirl

If you buy an US SIM card you can also do mobile dining and maybe maxpass (if you splurge for that)

I personally wouldn’t wanna rely on the parks wifi...
I just buy a cheap US sim with data for a month...(but I am from Germany and own a discounter SIM card so roaming is a big no no...)


----------



## dina444444

CastAStone said:


> So it's just the current DHS Procedure, am I reading that right?


That’s how I’m understanding it as well. Only difference is that we will have those carts with the paper boarding groups for those that don’t use the app. 


CastAStone said:


> Also I'm surprised that it still doesn't say how they will handle EMH/MM. I think the implication is that the VQ will open when regular park hours open?


Correct and you need to have entered Disneyland park not DCA to join.


----------



## Skyegirl1999

dina444444 said:


> Official announcement here, updating post 1 with the details:
> 
> https://disneyparks.disney.go.com/b...sistance-launching-jan-17-at-disneyland-park/


Eek.  I’m glad they shared the details in advance, but I’m nervous about a system where no amount of dedication ensures you get to ride.  I’ll be there with my one phone that’s had spotty reception issues inside Disneyland, praying everything connects and we get picked.  I’m still curious to hear what time the parking lots open and all that jazz.

I’m trying to prepare my daughter for the fact that we’re going to wake up early for the new ride, but we may not get actually *get* to ride... I’m thinking we’ll aim to leave our house at 5:30am if the lots will be open?  It’s hard to know how much time to invest in something that comes down to a lottery...


----------



## Skyegirl1999

dina444444 said:


> That’s how I’m understanding it as well. Only difference is that we will have those carts with the paper boarding groups for those that don’t use the app.
> 
> Correct and you need to have entered Disneyland park not DCA to join.


I’m surprised they aren’t allowing people to join from DCA.  Seems like it would spread out crowds better - and I’d be bummed to be a hotel guest with EMH over at DCA and have to give them up to wait in line at DL.

On the other hand, DCA should be a DREAM at rope drop for awhile!


----------



## CastAStone

Skyegirl1999 said:


> Eek.  I’m glad they shared the details in advance, but I’m nervous about a system where no amount of dedication ensures you get to ride.  I’ll be there with my one phone that’s had spotty reception issues inside Disneyland, praying everything connects and we get picked.  I’m still curious to hear what time the parking lots open and all that jazz.
> 
> I’m trying to prepare my daughter for the fact that we’re going to wake up early for the new ride, but we may not get actually *get* to ride... I’m thinking we’ll aim to leave our house at 5:30am if the lots will be open?  It’s hard to know how much time to invest in something that comes down to a lottery...


If it helps, DL is typically open 3-4 hours a day longer than DHS (maybe more like 2-3 over the last month), so there should be meaningfully more boarding groups.


----------



## dina444444

Skyegirl1999 said:


> I’m surprised they aren’t allowing people to join from DCA.  Seems like it would spread out crowds better - and I’d be bummed to be a hotel guest with EMH over at DCA and have to give them up to wait in line at DL.
> 
> On the other hand, DCA should be a DREAM at rope drop for awhile!


I think it’s fair that you have to be in Disneyland park to join.


----------



## CastAStone

Skyegirl1999 said:


> I’m surprised they aren’t allowing people to join from DCA.  Seems like it would spread out crowds better - and I’d be bummed to be a hotel guest with EMH over at DCA and have to give them up to wait in line at DL.
> 
> On the other hand, DCA should be a DREAM at rope drop for awhile!


The 8:00-9:00 RSR FP shall be mine!


----------



## Skyegirl1999

dina444444 said:


> I think it’s fair that you have to be in Disneyland park to join.


I’m not saying I don’t think it’s fair... just surprised that’s what they chose to do.


----------



## cm123

"Request to join a boarding group to ride the attraction, once you have entered Disneyland park. The virtual queue will not be available until published park opening hours."

This is NOT how they did it in Florida for the first few days, correct? They let people into the park very early to get the ball rolling on the boarding groups if memory serves correct.


----------



## dina444444

cm123 said:


> "Request to join a boarding group to ride the attraction, once you have entered Disneyland park. The virtual queue will not be available until published park opening hours."
> 
> This is NOT how they did it in Florida for the first few days, correct? They let people into the park very early to get the ball rolling on the boarding groups if memory serves correct.


Correct, for the first week at dhs the virtual queue opened when the the gates opened. Then it changed. The gates still open before official park opening but the virtual queue opens at the published park opening time.


----------



## Skyegirl1999

cm123 said:


> "Request to join a boarding group to ride the attraction, once you have entered Disneyland park. The virtual queue will not be available until published park opening hours."
> 
> This is NOT how they did it in Florida for the first few days, correct? They let people into the park very early to get the ball rolling on the boarding groups if memory serves correct.


Correct, but it’s how they’ve been doing it since then.


----------



## cm123

dina444444 said:


> Correct, for the first week at dhs the virtual queue opened when the the gates opened. Then it changed. The gates still open before official park opening but the virtual queue opens at the published park opening time.



Seems like a great way to crash their system by having that many people already "scanned" into the park and opening it at once


----------



## CastAStone

I am picturing the front of the line for Space Mountain or Astro Blasters at 7:58 - a crowd of EMH/MM guests fighting to NOT get on the ride.

Is there cell phone reception in a Nemo Submarine?


----------



## ironband74

Skyegirl1999 said:


> Eek.  I’m glad they shared the details in advance, but I’m nervous about a system where no amount of dedication ensures you get to ride.  I’ll be there with my one phone that’s had spotty reception issues inside Disneyland, praying everything connects and we get picked.  I’m still curious to hear what time the parking lots open and all that jazz.
> 
> I’m trying to prepare my daughter for the fact that we’re going to wake up early for the new ride, but we may not get actually *get* to ride... I’m thinking we’ll aim to leave our house at 5:30am if the lots will be open?  It’s hard to know how much time to invest in something that comes down to a lottery...



If I were going (and I'm not....so sad...), I think my strategy would still be to be in line early enough to be at the front of a line.  Upon being let into the park, assuming that one or more of the paper-ticket carts are within the rope-drop area (main street?  The hub?), I'd immediately line up there.  I have to believe that each cart will give out at least one set of tickets before being shut down.  I assume that at opening time, the cast member will scan tickets and give you a boarding group.  If I were not first in line at one of these kiosks, then my plan would be to stay in line until I either got to the front or claimed a boarding pass on my phone.


----------



## dina444444

CastAStone said:


> I am picturing the front of the line for Space Mountain or Astro Blasters at 7:55 - a crowd of EMH/MM guests at 7:58 fighting to NOT get on the ride.
> 
> Is there cell phone reception in a Nemo Submarine?


Reception is limited in the subs but those aren’t open for emh usually.


----------



## DLRExpert

I hope they realize how different guests are from WDW and DLR. If the Boarding Passes sell out you are going to have a lot of upset people.
Especially since no mention of the Boarding Pass only option is being mentioned in the commercials.


----------



## CastAStone

Help me, I am dense apparently. Where does it say anything about carts and paper tickets?


----------



## MonocularVision

WonkaKid said:


> Admittedly, DL’s Wi-Fi is spotty. But there are a few places where the signal is strong and reliable. The wall on the river not far from the Pirates’ entrance, for one. No real need for data.



Any experience with WiFi that might be available before rope drop? I notice in the app (image below) that there are two spots listed in the circle and one listed in the Esplanade (couldn’t get it in my screenshot without zooming too far out). Was planning on my two youngest (with no cell service iPhones) to help us with getting a Boarding Pass for RoTR but wondering where positioning them might be best.


----------



## ironband74

CastAStone said:


> Help me, I am dense apparently. Where does it say anything about carts and paper tickets?


It doesn't say anything about carts.  But it does say:

"There also will be the ability to join a boarding group from select locations inside Disneyland park, if you are not using the app. The boarding group is tied to admission that will be scanned upon entry of the attraction. "

If one were not using the app, I expect they would give them a paper reminder slip of their boarding group number.  So I guess I'd go to one of those locations, if it were inside the rope drop area.  If it were not, I'd be trying to get a BG on the app while I made a beeline for one of those "select locations" after rope drop.


----------



## MonocularVision

Make sure to click the virtual queue link in the blog post to get more details.

_Edit to add:_

Obvious they are copy pasting from previous announcements around VQ’s for SWGE in general:



> The virtual queue is not a physical line, so you can enjoy the rest of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge and Disneyland Park until it is your turn to enter Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge



You can enjoy SWGE while you await your turn to enter SWGE?


----------



## MikeRx

dina444444 said:


> Reception is limited in the subs but those aren’t open for emh usually.


The subs are open most MM/EMH as it's part of our normal MM plan after the dark rides in FL. We then slip over to SM (if 10 min or less) or Autopia to round out the hour.
We will be there on the 18th for MM Rope Drop, riding what we can and obsessing over the clock in anticipation of the boarding group free for all. We will likely try all three phones to see what group we can get. I guess this strategy will only serve to hasten the system crash...but who is willing to chance other options?


----------



## dina444444

MikeRx said:


> The subs are open most MM/EMH as it's part of our normal MM plan after the dark rides in FL. We then slip over to SM (if 10 min or less) or Autopia to round our the hour.


That’s newer then. They used to not be.


----------



## Skyegirl1999

ironband74 said:


> If I were going (and I'm not....so sad...), I think my strategy would still be to be in line early enough to be at the front of a line.  Upon being let into the park, assuming that one or more of the paper-ticket carts are within the rope-drop area (main street?  The hub?), I'd immediately line up there.  I have to believe that each cart will give out at least one set of tickets before being shut down.  I assume that at opening time, the cast member will scan tickets and give you a boarding group.  If I were not first in line at one of these kiosks, then my plan would be to stay in line until I either got to the front or claimed a boarding pass on my phone.


Yeah, this is why I’m curious to hear about parking lot times and such.  I’m also very curious if this will actually attract a ton of people, or if it will be crickets like the other SWGE openings so far... I honestly don’t know.  I’m sure there will be people who are rushing out to see it, but how many?  Did the die-hards already hit WDW?  Will there be a thousand super-fans lined up at 5am, but everyone else is scared away and figures they’ll hit it “when the crowds die down”?  Or will thousands of people show up since no one is blocked and it’s a long weekend and such?

My other issue is that I have a six-year-old involved.  She is awesome and down for whatever and can actually hang with just about anything, so if it was a SURE thing that getting there crazy early would ensure a ride, I would either go for it with her, or I’d inconvenience my husband by making him bring her over to join me in a line I’d gotten in very early.  Buttttt, I’m only willing to inconvenience us all to a certain degree for a potential lottery system.


----------



## Skyegirl1999

MonocularVision said:


> Make sure to click the virtual queue link in the blog post to get more details.
> 
> _Edit to add:_
> 
> Obvious they are copy pasting from previous announcements around VQ’s for SWGE in general:
> 
> 
> 
> You can enjoy SWGE while you await your turn to enter SWGE?


The boarding group is just for ROTR.  So you CAN enjoy the rest of SWGE while you wait.


----------



## DLRExpert

Not saying this will work, but in theory you should be able to enter the park through the Monorail station at Downtown Disney and then snag your Boarding Pass that way.  Might be a smart way to avoid the mass of people that may be at the Disneyland Entrance.


----------



## Skyegirl1999

DLRExpert said:


> Not saying this will work, but in theory you should be able to enter the park through the Monorail station at Downtown Disney and then snag your Boarding Pass that way.  Might be a smart way to avoid the mass of people that may be at the Disneyland Entrance.


People at DHS have also been tapping in and then leaving the park and fleeing to an area with good cell service before the BGs open.  Something to consider depending how congested Main Street gets.


----------



## montreid

Skyegirl1999 said:


> I’m surprised they aren’t allowing people to join from DCA.  Seems like it would spread out crowds better - and I’d be bummed to be a hotel guest with EMH over at DCA and have to give them up to wait in line at DL.
> 
> On the other hand, DCA should be a DREAM at rope drop for awhile!


It doesn't really explicitly say that.  I'm not sure if the app will recognize entry into one or the other parks.   It typically doesn't; but they may have added additional coding into the app for this.    I'm just surprised as they don't require this for FP/Maxpass -- if you're single park, you can still grab the other park. (why would you true, but it's still there -- they have to make specific coding to do this otherwise).


----------



## montreid

dina444444 said:


> That’s newer then. They used to not be.


Subs have  been open early for the past two years.   That's my son's standard MO.


----------



## MonocularVision

Some thoughts:

They mentioned boarding groups and backup boarding groups but nothing about getting a FP or park ticket if your BG isn’t called like they do at DHS.
In fact, they specifically state “having an assigned boarding group will not guarantee entrance to the attraction” in the blog post which makes it sound like there is no recourse.
While the wording states you need to be through the gates at Disneyland, I will make the prediction that it will work from CA also.
The mention of locations where you can get boarding groups from a CM will probably be the same as at DHS which means using them specifically is probably not a good idea if BG’s are going fast. They will probably be issuing them from the same pool.


----------



## vharris2828

has anyone that’s been to Disney world done rider switch? Does it work the same as most rides with rider switch or do they stick you into a later boarding group?


----------



## MonocularVision

Skyegirl1999 said:


> The boarding group is just for ROTR.  So you CAN enjoy the rest of SWGE while you wait.



I understand that. I was pointing out that this text was likely copied from previous web content when the BG’s were for SWGE itself.


----------



## dieumeye

Curious to know about parking and if they will open the DL gates earlier than usual if there is a large crowd.

Other than the possibility of not getting a BG at all, I’m most concerned about showing up early and facing a longer than expected delay at parking, security, and the gate and end up not being in the park by the time boarding group distribution starts And missing a chance to get one.

I don’t have a good feel for what it’ll be like opening day. I can imagine arriving early and facing a manageable crowd... I can also imagine arriving early and facing way bigger crowds than I expected. Hard to say.


----------



## Tigger Trainer

montreid said:


> It doesn't really explicitly say that.  I'm not sure if the app will recognize entry into one or the other parks.   It typically doesn't; but they may have added additional coding into the app for this.    I'm just surprised as they don't require this for FP/Maxpass -- if you're single park, you can still grab the other park. (why would you true, but it's still there -- they have to make specific coding to do this otherwise).



If you only have a 1 park per day pass, then you are correct you can still see the fastapsses, but if you try to make the reservation it will stop you. The Disney ticketing system in the background is robust and I have no doubt it can handle the differentiation. They had to add the coding for ROTR boarding groups anyway, so I am sure they made the changes when they did that. In about a week everyone will have all their questions answered.


----------



## DLRExpert

dieumeye said:


> Curious to know about parking and if they will open the DL gates earlier than usual if there is a large crowd.
> 
> Other than the possibility of not getting a BG at all, I’m most concerned about showing up early and facing a longer than expected delay at parking, security, and the gate and end up not being in the park by the time boarding group distribution starts And missing a chance to get one.
> 
> I don’t have a good feel for what it’ll be like opening day. I can imagine arriving early and facing a manageable crowd... I can also imagine arriving early and facing way bigger crowds than I expected. Hard to say.


I plan to Uber to the park on opening day. Probably get there by 530am. Same as I did for Hollywood Studios. Avoid the whole parking mess that is sure to happen.


----------



## CastAStone

DLRExpert said:


> I plan to Uber to the park on opening day. Probably get there by 530am. Same as I did for Hollywood Studios. Avoid the whole parking mess that is sure to happen.


I'd further suggest getting dropped off somewhere else like on Katella and walking.


----------



## Skyegirl1999

MonocularVision said:


> I understand that. I was pointing out that this text was likely copied from previous web content when the BG’s were for SWGE itself.


I’m not following, since those earlier messages wouldn’t have mentioned enjoying SWGE... but that’s ok.


----------



## Skyegirl1999

vharris2828 said:


> has anyone that’s been to Disney world done rider switch? Does it work the same as most rides with rider switch or do they stick you into a later boarding group?


At WDW, everyone needs a boarding group in order to ride, even with to rider switch, and then they assign you a return window like they do for other rides.


----------



## MonocularVision

Skyegirl1999 said:


> I’m not following, since those earlier messages wouldn’t have mentioned enjoying SWGE... but that’s ok.



Good point!  Still has the feel of modifying existing content incorrectly but


----------



## midnight star

Sorry if this is a redundant question. Between trying to understand the rules at WDW and here, I'm having an info overload 

At DL, the only way to do ROTR is to be in a boarding group? There will be no stand by line just like HS?


----------



## dina444444

midnight star said:


> Sorry if this is a redundant question. Between trying to understand the rules at WDW and here, I'm having an info overload
> 
> At DL, the only way to do ROTR is to be in a boarding group? There will be no stand by line just like HS?


Correct, for now.


----------



## MonocularVision

montreid said:


> It doesn't really explicitly say that.  I'm not sure if the app will recognize entry into one or the other parks.   It typically doesn't; but they may have added additional coding into the app for this.    I'm just surprised as they don't require this for FP/Maxpass -- if you're single park, you can still grab the other park. (why would you true, but it's still there -- they have to make specific coding to do this otherwise).



It actually does explicitly mention DL:


> *After entering Disneyland Park*, you can request to join the virtual queue and will be assigned a boarding group, either with the Disneyland app or at select locations within the park.


Note that the bolding isn’t mine, it is on the original page.

In my previous comments I predict that you will be able to still get it in DCA but the more I am thinking about it, I am not so sure now. I am guessing the BG system is entirely separate from the FP system


----------



## dieumeye

MonocularVision said:


> It actually does explicit mention DL:
> 
> Note that the bolding isn’t mine, it is on the original page.
> 
> In my previous comments I predict that you will be able to still get it in DCA but the more I am thinking about it, I am not so sure now. I am guessing the BG system is entirely separate from the FP system


It’s interesting that they bolded that on their site. Makes me think someone there reads these forums and saw the speculation about DCA.


----------



## ilovedisneylandsomuch

Thx for this.  Question re Disneyland Cast Preview:  are cast member allowed to bring one non cast member with them?  If so, if I hang at at Small World kiosk where tickets being distributed, is it possible that a cast member who is not using their plus one on a friend may let me go in with them if I ask them nicely?  How late are these previews happening on Friday?  thx


----------



## SOCALMouseMommy

Skyegirl1999 said:


> It’s hard to know how much time to invest in something that comes down to a lottery...



^^^THIS!!! A thousand times this!


----------



## yulilin3

ilovedisneylandsomuch said:


> Thx for this.  Question:  are cast member allowed to bring one non cast member with them?  If so, if I hang at at Small World kiosk where tickets being distributed, is it possible that a cast member who is not using their plus one on a friend may let me go in with them if I ask them nicely?  How late are these previews happening on Friday?  thx


Wow im confused.  I don't think you're on the right thread.  Are you thinking of DL?


----------



## MonocularVision

MonocularVision said:


> They mentioned boarding groups and backup boarding groups but nothing about getting a FP or park ticket if your BG isn’t called like they do at DHS.
> In fact, they specifically state “having an assigned boarding group will not guarantee entrance to the attraction” in the blog post which makes it sound like there is no recourse.



Quoting myself here but I just asked on the WDW version of this thread and there was never and still has not been any official communication that folks gets anything if their FP isn’t called. But over there if your (_non-backup_) BG ends up not getting called you _automatically_ get both a FP *and* a one day return ticket to Hollywood Studios. Wonder if they do something similar.


----------



## ilovedisneylandsomuch

yulilin3 said:


> Wow im confused.  I don't think you're on the right thread.  Are you thinking of DL?


Yes Disneyland as it says above in the comment


----------



## CastAStone

SOCALMouseMommy said:


> ^^^THIS!!! A thousand times this!


Is it really any different than if it was on FastPass? Everyone would get MaxPass and would book out the entire day in the same amount of time they book out the boarding groups.
Disney seems to actually be foregoing an extra $15/guest this way.


----------



## yulilin3

ilovedisneylandsomuch said:


> Yes Disneyland as it says above in the comment


You're on the wrong forum.  Head to the Disneyland one.
You edited you're post after i had replied to it


----------



## ilovedisneylandsomuch

yulilin3 said:


> You're on the wrong forum.  Head to the Disneyland one.
> You edited you're post after i had replied to it


No I didnt. And this forum is loaded with Disneyland speculation.   No need for you to reply.


----------



## Skyegirl1999

CastAStone said:


> Is it really any different than if it was on FastPass? Everyone would get MaxPass and would book out the entire day in the same amount of time they book out the boarding groups.
> Disney seems to actually be foregoing an extra $15/guest this way.


But then there would be a standby line...

Given the reliability issues and the desire to NOT have an hours-long standby line, I understand why they are doing this in lieu of FP.  But it does create a situation where no amount of dedication or time investment or anything will help, which makes it tricky.

I understand why they don’t want the logistics of a long queue or people consistently showing up overnight (although I’m still wondering about opening day...).  But it does make it tough to decide how hard to try.  If you put in hours and then miss out on a BG, there’s nothing you can do about it... a little different than putting in hours, missing out on a FP, so guess you’ll be waiting a few hours to ride!


----------



## yulilin3

ilovedisneylandsomuch said:


> No I didnt. And this forum is loaded with Disneyland speculation.   No need for you to reply.


Well,  you did,  that's alright i forget to add details sometimes.  Anyways the correct forum is DL, not sure if they have a CM preview thread going on there


----------



## SOCALMouseMommy

Skyegirl1999 said:


> People at DHS have also been tapping in and then leaving the park and fleeing to an area with good cell service before the BGs open.  Something to consider depending how congested Main Street gets.


Smart!!!!! I wonder what DCA will be like at that time. Maybe would be a good strategy to scan into DL, then head over to DCA?


----------



## Jkpark

Skyegirl1999 said:


> I understand why they don’t want the logistics of a long queue or people consistently showing up overnight (although I’m still wondering about opening day...).  But it does make it tough to decide how hard to try.  If you put in hours and then miss out on a BG, there’s nothing you can do about it... a little different than putting in hours, missing out on a FP, so guess you’ll be waiting a few hours to ride!


This is what I'm struggling with - especially as I splurged on DLH for my next trip and would also be giving up early entry at DCA to hope I can get a BG.  I'll be watching how things go after the initial weekend madness and hopefully with it not being summer or school break, it will be manageable by my visit.


----------



## JMommyof3

SOCALMouseMommy said:


> Smart!!!!! I wonder what DCA will be like at that time. Maybe would be a good strategy to scan into DL, then head over to DCA?


But once you scan into DCA, you won't be in DLP anymore so the system wouldn't recognize you as being "in the park".  Should be interesting to see how early they start letting people in.  It takes a lot longer to scan everyone in at DL than WDW.  It might work to everyones advantage if it takes longer for people to enter since BG won't fill up in 2 minutes if there's a limited number of people who are in the park.  Part of the problem is the large number of people who are eligible to get the BG are already in the park before it goes live vs. a slow number entering would obviously space out the allocation of BG.  Just a random thought.


----------



## aymiewilson

SOCALMouseMommy said:


> Smart!!!!! I wonder what DCA will be like at that time. Maybe would be a good strategy to scan into DL, then head over to DCA?



That's actually kind of what I'm thinking of doing. I'm going for a trip the week after RotR opens. We'll be in parks Saturday Jan 25 - Monday Jan 27. Since there's a Magic Morning at DLP on Jan 25, I figure we can easily be through the DLP turnstiles by 8 am. Then we can just grab our BG and run right back over to DCA. I don't remember if I ever tried to do this before, but with MaxPass, can you make a FP reservation for the other park even if it's not open yet? Like.. say we get thru the DLP turnstiles at 7:35 am, can I then open the app and reserve a FP for something in DCA even though DCA doesn't open until 8 am?


----------



## ilovedisneylandsomuch

Thx for this. Question: are cast member allowed to bring one non cast member with them? If so, if I hang at at Small World kiosk where tickets being distributed, is it possible that a cast member who is not using their plus one on a friend may let me go in with them if I ask them nicely? How late are these previews happening on Friday? thx


----------



## lozzypop

Susie63 said:


> Telus. I am looking into Roam mobility.


I have a Telus pay-as-you-go plan and use Roam Mobility Sim cards when I am in Disneyland. I find Roam to work very well, and have had no issues. I used their talk/text plans for a few years, and added data on my last two trips. The WiFi in Disneyland is just too spotty - even when you are in the right location.


----------



## Skyegirl1999

aymiewilson said:


> with MaxPass, can you make a FP reservation for the other park even if it's not open yet? Like.. say we get thru the DLP turnstiles at 7:35 am, can I then open the app and reserve a FP for something in DCA even though DCA doesn't open until 8 am?


Yes.


ilovedisneylandsomuch said:


> Thx for this. Question: are cast member allowed to bring one non cast member with them? If so, if I hang at at Small World kiosk where tickets being distributed, is it possible that a cast member who is not using their plus one on a friend may let me go in with them if I ask them nicely? How late are these previews happening on Friday? thx


I would not try this (for a whole bunch of reasons).


----------



## Malroy

ilovedisneylandsomuch said:


> Thx for this. Question: are cast member allowed to bring one non cast member with them? If so, if I hang at at Small World kiosk where tickets being distributed, is it possible that a cast member who is not using their plus one on a friend may let me go in with them if I ask them nicely? How late are these previews happening on Friday? thx



I have seen evidence (two non cast members I follow on Instagram) of this - the second part of your question, I have no idea, but I do know that CMs can bring a guest.


----------



## KateDrake

We've found with going back and forth so much that it was worth it to upgrade to North American roaming. I think it is about $8 per month on our two phones? We did it over the summer for a trip back home and found it to be worth it just to keep it!


----------



## Mathmagicland

Disney Parks Blog article posted today says there will be In-park opportunities to join a boarding group for those not using the app - 

https://disneyparks.disney.go.com/b...sistance-launching-jan-17-at-disneyland-park/
**There also will be the ability to join a boarding group from select locations inside Disneyland park, if you are not using the app.


----------



## dina444444

Malroy said:


> I have seen evidence (two non cast members I follow on Instagram) of this - the second part of your question, I have no idea, but I do know that CMs can bring a guest.


They are entering the front of the park with special tickets from my understanding and it’s holding up the gates somewhat from what I’ve heard.


----------



## Mathmagicland

MonocularVision said:


> Any experience with WiFi that might be available before rope drop? I notice in the app (image below) that there are two spots listed in the circle and one listed in the Esplanade (couldn’t get it in my screenshot without zooming too far out). Was planning on my two youngest (with no cell service iPhones) to help us with getting a Boarding Pass for RoTR but wondering where positioning them might be best.


Tickets are not scanned to be in the Esplanade, so you’ll need to be inside Disneyland to join the virtual queue.


----------



## ilovedisneylandsomuch

Skyegirl1999 said:


> Yes.
> 
> I would not try this (for a whole bunch of reasons).


Thats not an answer.   Bet you cant give one answer.    There is zero reason not to try it.   Im a doer.   Was asking specifically if employees can bring a loved one.


----------



## ilovedisneylandsomuch

Malroy said:


> I have seen evidence (two non cast members I follow on Instagram) of this - the second part of your question, I have no idea, but I do know that CMs can bring a guest.


Cool!  So if Cast Member can bring a quest thats huge.  Im going to try this today.  A WHOLE BUNCH of reasons why this is good to give it a shot.  ESPECIALLY that I might get to ride the ride today!  If not, hey, Im stuck at Disneyland lol


----------



## Kender

ilovedisneylandsomuch said:


> Cool!  So if Cast Member can bring a quest thats huge.  Im going to try this today.  A WHOLE BUNCH of reasons why this is good to give it a shot.  ESPECIALLY that I might get to ride the ride today!  If not, hey, Im stuck at Disneyland lol



Please do not bother a CM with this. It's rude to put them on the spot like that and, as mentioned, it seems they have special tickets issued for this event prior to entry. They are not going to be able to take a random guest they do not know in with them. And no one should risk their job for a stranger.


----------



## CastAStone

ilovedisneylandsomuch said:


> Cool!  So if Cast Member can bring a quest thats huge.  Im going to try this today.  A WHOLE BUNCH of reasons why this is good to give it a shot.  ESPECIALLY that I might get to ride the ride today!  If not, hey, Im stuck at Disneyland lol


You are asking them to risk getting fired.


----------



## CastAStone

ilovedisneylandsomuch said:


> Cool!  So if Cast Member can bring a quest thats huge.  Im going to try this today.  A WHOLE BUNCH of reasons why this is good to give it a shot.  ESPECIALLY that I might get to ride the ride today!  If not, hey, Im stuck at Disneyland lol


Also, posts about violating park rules are not allowed on Disboards @theluckyrabbit


----------



## Susie63

lozzypop said:


> I have a Telus pay-as-you-go plan and use Roam Mobility Sim cards when I am in Disneyland. I find Roam to work very well, and have had no issues. I used their talk/text plans for a few years, and added data on my last two trips. The WiFi in Disneyland is just too spotty - even when you are in the right location.


I picked up two Roam cards for $10 at London Drugs. That will give us 3 phones if we use one as a hotspot.


----------



## MonocularVision

Mathmagicland said:


> Tickets are not scanned to be in the Esplanade, so you’ll need to be inside Disneyland to join the virtual queue.



You can enter Disneyland and then either 1. Stay at the turnstiles to be within WiFi range or 2. Exit back to the Esplanade to use the WiFi.


----------



## BlueRibbon

Getting back on track here: Can one safely assume that if the front gate opens at 7 or 7:30, Main St.(up to the rope) will be able to handle the crowds? The possibility is that folks who show up at 7 thinking that they stand an equal chance have to wait outside the front gate until crowding eases. Which of course means that their chances of getting a BG diminish with time.


----------



## ilovedisneylandsomuch

CastAStone said:


> Also, posts about violating park rules are not allowed on Disboards @theluckyrabbit


PUH-lease.  They are allowed to bring a guest.  I used to be a Disney Employee.  And if I wished to take anyone to an event, I was allowed to do so.  ANY.  ONE.   Violating what rules?   Getting fired?  Over allowing a guest (friend, lover, date you found on Tinder) to join you? Lol.

Im off to Disneyland tonight!  Ill report back while negative nellies envy not even taking chances in life.


----------



## Skyegirl1999

BlueRibbon said:


> Getting back on track here: Can one safely assume that if the front gate opens at 7 or 7:30, Main St.(up to the rope) will be able to handle the crowds? The possibility is that folks who show up at 7 thinking that they stand an equal chance have to wait outside the front gate until crowding eases. Which of course means that their chances of getting a BG diminish with time.


I think the bigger issue is the speed at which they can process people into the parks.

Depending how crazy it gets, I would not assume that arriving at the gate at 7 would get you into the park at 8.  And arriving at security at 7 doesn’t guarantee you entrance into the park by 8 even now.


----------



## BlueRibbon

Going by the official documentation, the parking lots open 90 minutes before park opening, meaning that they'll open at 6:30am on Friday the 17th. Hopefully some news will come out about them opening earlier. 

Otherwise we may see a lot of people going to the drop-off first to allow their party to get in line, then going around to park the car.


----------



## Version 6

The announcement says "as needed". Could that mean that there may in fact not be boarding groups right away?


----------



## CastAStone

Version 6 said:


> The announcement says "as needed". Could that mean that there may in fact not be boarding groups right away?


They will 100% hand out boarding groups the first day. If it winds up that no one shows up, they’ll stop. that’s what happened with the SWGE opening at WDW.

I have trouble believing that will happen here, but who knows.


----------



## msteddom

ilovedisneylandsomuch said:


> Thx for this. Question: are cast member allowed to bring one non cast member with them? If so, if I hang at at Small World kiosk where tickets being distributed, is it possible that a cast member who is not using their plus one on a friend may let me go in with them if I ask them nicely? How late are these previews happening on Friday? thx



I don’t think that is appropriate.


----------



## nikkislaght

disneylover102 said:


> That makes me nervous too! I feel like those who get there way earlier should have some kind of advantage to get on the ride...


The ride boarding groups not opening till park opening levels the playing field . If you get to the park early and already are scanned in that’s your advantage. V someone still outside the gates at park opening . At some point the ride will start using FP and have the standby line opened up . Just like Smugglers run, now has just the standby line .


----------



## nikkislaght

I’m assuming that you can get a boarding pass from DCA ? So if you are using your early morning all you need to do is be in the app at park opening and hit get boarding pass ? And then when your group is called go over to DL ?


----------



## disneylover102

I think I’ll still get there really early to be in the front of the line for a few reasons:
1. It would help me find where I don’t need to rely on the internet to get a BG just in case. 
2. In case they decide to open up BGs earlier, I’ll have an advantage (I think there were a few times toward the beginning at WDW when they opened up BGs earlier than they said they would)
3. I won’t forget about Maxpass for other rides! If I get in earlier, I can get my first Fastpass earlier. 

I might regret getting there super early but I’d rather regret getting there too early and still getting to ride than regretting getting there too late and not being able to ride.


----------



## Weedy

nikkislaght said:


> I’m assuming that you can get a boarding pass from DCA ? So if you are using your early morning all you need to do is be in the app at park opening and hit get boarding pass ? And then when your group is called go over to DL ?


I think you will need to be in the Disneyland Park. This was posted today


----------



## montreid

nikkislaght said:


> The ride boarding groups not opening till park opening levels the playing field . If you get to the park early and already are scanned in that’s your advantage. V someone still outside the gates at park opening . At some point the ride will start using FP and have the standby line opened up . Just like Smugglers run, now has just the standby line .


Exactly.   Advantage to the early risers willing to go for the opening of the park to grab a virtual BG -- yes.   It give no advantage to the 2AM vs 4AM vs 8AM (scanned into park) arrival if opening is at 8AM.  

The key is to get everyone who arrives early enough to get scanned into the park -- this has been a challenge for DLR in the past with the scan + take picture bottleneck.


----------



## ifan

ilovedisneylandsomuch said:


> PUH-lease.  They are allowed to bring a guest.  I used to be a Disney Employee.  And if I wished to take anyone to an event, I was allowed to do so.  ANY.  ONE.   Violating what rules?   Getting fired?  Over allowing a guest (friend, lover, date you found on Tinder) to join you? Lol.
> 
> Im off to Disneyland tonight!  Ill report back while negative nellies envy not even taking chances in life.



I've seen your posts in both the WDW thread and now here. I've been trying to bite my tongue this whole time, but you've made it incredibly difficult.

Are you aware of how your posts come off to others in this forum? You are seeking advice, and then when you get a response that isn't what you want to hear...you are disrespectful, rude, intolerant, and lacking any form of tact. There are different, better ways of treating fellow humans. Especially in a forum full of fans with a shared loved. 

Can you do what you are asking? Well, sure. You might only make 30 employees feel super uncomfortable before finding one that says yes. Might you be asked to stop what you are doing if it bothers enough people? Also, yes. I wish you the best of luck, otherwise G-d forbid you might have to wait another seven days. SEVEN DAYS. OH MY!


----------



## Lewdannie

I think this post on the Disneyland Blog answers one of the unknowns.
https://disneyparks.disney.go.com/b...sistance-launching-jan-17-at-disneyland-park/"_Request to join a boarding group to ride the attraction, once you have entered Disneyland park_."
It explicitly refers to Disneyland park several other times which I interpret to mean that you will not be able to get a boarding pass if you have only entered DCA.


----------



## Lewdannie

This thread has convinced me to get a travel sim for our visit.
Any idea which will give me better coverage/performance

A. AT&T or

B. T-Mobile

?


----------



## guynhawaii

Lewdannie said:


> I think this post on the Disneyland Blog answers one of the unknowns.
> https://disneyparks.disney.go.com/b...sistance-launching-jan-17-at-disneyland-park/"_Request to join a boarding group to ride the attraction, once you have entered Disneyland park_."
> It explicitly refers to Disneyland park several other times which I interpret to mean that you will not be able to get a boarding pass if you have only entered DCA.


Aloha and mahalo.

Well, if Disney doesn't modify the park hours with DLP opening one to two hours before DCA, there will be extensive congestion between the two parks and a significant delay of entries into DCA.  I think the great majority of customers will go into the DLP first to register for a BG.  

It will interesting to watch and observe how Disney modifies policies and hours striving for the most efficient model.


----------



## nikkislaght

0





Weedy said:


> I think you will need to be in the Disneyland Park. This was posted today
> 
> View attachment 464200


Thank You.


----------



## vickiea

Check out Gigsky. You can buy the cards on Amazon and the rates are good. The cards can be used all over the world, so you can reuse them. That is what we will use, we are coming from Canada too.


----------



## Ionan89

ilovedisneylandsomuch said:


> PUH-lease.  They are allowed to bring a guest.  I used to be a Disney Employee.  And if I wished to take anyone to an event, I was allowed to do so.  ANY.  ONE.   Violating what rules?   Getting fired?  Over allowing a guest (friend, lover, date you found on Tinder) to join you? Lol.
> 
> Im off to Disneyland tonight!  Ill report back while negative nellies envy not even taking chances in life.



No. First, if they ARE allowed to bring a guest, that guest has to be with them when they go through the turnstiles so the ticket can get scanned. So even if you wait by the FP machines, it'd be too late at that point. Also, any CM who's doing the Cast Preview will either already have their plus 1 OR know better not to take a stranger along with them.


----------



## theluckyrabbit

Stepping in here to remind everyone participating in this thread to keep their comments respectful to each other. It is entirely possible to discuss a topic and even to disagree with each other while remaining respectful and courteous to each other. There is no need to be argumentative, sarcastic, or demeaning to anyone. If anyone here sees a comment that is out of line or a poster who is causing a problem, please report it using the "report" button at the bottom of the post.
Now, back to the discussion!


----------



## disneylover102

Does anyone know if it’s easy to get motion sick on ROTR? My mom can’t do Star Tours or Guardians but she can do anything else. I’m just wondering what I should do about the BG for her.


----------



## wench

disneylover102 said:


> Does anyone know if it’s easy to get motion sick on ROTR? My mom can’t do Star Tours or Guardians but she can do anything else. I’m just wondering what I should do about the BG for her.


Has she tried taking dramamine before riding?  I get very motion sick on rides like Star Tours.  But, taking Dramamine beforehand keeps me from getting nauseated.


----------



## SirBill

disneylover102 said:


> Does anyone know if it’s easy to get motion sick on ROTR? My mom can’t do Star Tours or Guardians but she can do anything else. I’m just wondering what I should do about the BG for her.



I get somewhat motion sick from just one or two Star Tours rides, and I would say if I kept my eyes open through Flights Of Passage for two whole rides I would surely perish.

I got no motion sickness at all from ROTR, even the drop part is very smooth and doesn't seem to trigger whatever causes motion sickness.  I would say anyone can ride it if they can handle other moving cart kinds of rides.


----------



## SirBill

montreid said:


> Exactly.   Advantage to the early risers willing to go for the opening of the park to grab a virtual BG -- yes.   It give no advantage to the 2AM vs 4AM vs 8AM (scanned into park) arrival if opening is at 8AM.
> 
> The key is to get everyone who arrives early enough to get scanned into the park -- this has been a challenge for DLR in the past with the scan + take picture bottleneck.



By all means try showing up after 4am and see how it goes!

The earlier you wait in line, there are several advantages:

1) Do you like warm beverages without a 40 minute wait?
2) You can find an advantageous position inside the park ahead of time and get your device ready for optimum use.
3) You can possibly check with a cast member early to confirm the system thinks you are in the park (have not actually done this yet).
4) You can get to rope drop popular rides as you would any other day.
5) Hey, it's an event!

Something to consider, is that Disney seems to take a lot of actions based on crowd size (or at least they did at Hollywood Studios around this ride).  Sure they may be letting people in at 7am... or that may start earlier, if crowds outside are really huge well before that.  How many multiples of all possible boarding groups worth of people will enter the park before Disney decides to enable boarding group access, even if it's before official park opening time?  If they know for sure people entering the park after a certain point will not be able to get a boarding pass or make it more unlikely for everyone inside to get a boarding pass, is it not kinder to tell them BG's are all gone before they come in and use a days worth of park ticket they could save for another day?

Probably any other weekend will be more stable and then showing up at 2am or 4am may not make much of a difference.  But opening weekend...


----------



## Amunet

Thursday, January 23rd, 9am park open with 8am EMH/MM should I be at the gates by 7am? That will be the first day we activate our tickets so we will need pictures too.
I'm guessing the best place to be at 8:55am to get a BG will be in the least populated area as possible. Where would that be? Toontown?


----------



## montreid

Please everyone -- CAREFUL OF COMMENTS FOR SPOILERS!  A lot of purists on this board and trying glean best information without exposing to spoilers.  Though well intended responses, if any ride concerns, please use that thread on attractions to get this information.  

@SirBill - Opening weekend -- I don't know if they are going to do anything different now that they worked through a few renditions in WDW and never gone back or changed even after the few days of BGs gone in 90sec.    They may let folk in earlier at the turnstiles, but the BG drop will be at the opening to give everyone in the park, following the post rules, an equal shot of grabbing the BGs when it opens.  

I do still believe the learning curve and bottleneck will be at the turnstiles.  If DLR is going insist on DL entry only, they are creating crowd management issues by forcing a 50% reduction available entrypoints and will here a massive cry nearing 800A if its 20+ deep still


----------



## ironband74

Scuttlebutt from Micechat is that TS parking lot will be open at 2:00AM. With Ticket booths (and therefore the Esplanade) open at 5:00AM. Supposedly the info came from City Hall, so could be a hip shot or could be real intel.


----------



## BlueRibbon

Interesting thing to remember is that the notice says that the Toy Story Lot will open at 2am. Those of us coming from the North will have to remember to push away our reflex to head towards Mickey and Friends.


----------



## disneylover102

So what about those of us who can walk to or have someone drop us off at Downtown Disney which closes at 2 AM the night before? Will they kick you out if you go in right before it closes?


----------



## Skyegirl1999

disneylover102 said:


> So what about those of us who can walk to or have someone drop us off at Downtown Disney which closes at 2 AM the night before? Will they kick you out if you go in right before it closes?


I doubt it?  I mean, if people are there lining up, they’ll end up *somewhere*.  They’ll be lined up at the park entrance, or at the security entrance, or something, you know?


----------



## Skyegirl1999

So, the more that I think about it and talk to people IRL, the more I think opening day ROTR might not be crazy.  It still might be!  But some thoughts:

As SWGE taught us, many people will stay away from openings due to their perception of crowds.
Getting into a BG is a morning thing.  *Disneyland people are not morning people.*  This is why DL at rope drop is typically so glorious.  I think WDW, with SO MANY PEOPLE staying on-site and such a higher percentage of tourists, is just a different animal.  Disneyland’s crowds show up later.  A new evening parade?  It’s gonna be bananas.  But getting there at 6am on a Friday?  Ehhhhh... are thousands and thousands of people going to put forth that effort? I think when we hit Spring Break (or President’s Day week), there will be a lot more tourists flooding the gates in the wee hours.  But probably not so much this weekend.  Hotels don’t look crazy, either. 
There is a limited pool of people who can attend something on a Friday morning.
A lot of local people have let their APs expire.  I’d be very interested to see numbers on APs, because anecdotally, over half of the people I knew with passes a year ago no longer have them.  I do know a bunch of people planning to use the three-day ticket deal, but none of them are using it this weekend, because of the whole crowd-perception thing. 
Is Star Wars really such a draw right now, and is riding on opening day in CA important to a huge amount of people?  The fandom is not necessarily vibing on Disney’s work here... I think there is a lot of excitement and demand for this ride, no doubt.  But I don’t know if it’s a situation where people are feeling the urge to go *on* opening day. (I mean, I am! But I don’t know anyone else who is. Including a large group of 20-something Disney and SW fans that I was chatting with the other night... they’re the types who rush to the parks to snap up the latest spirit jersey, but NONE of them plan to hit the parks on the 17th.)
Anyway, of course this is all pure speculation.  Maybe there are 15,000 people planning to get there before the park opens on opening day.  But I kind of don’t think so.  Maybe. Ha.


----------



## dieumeye

Skyegirl1999 said:


> So, the more that I think about it and talk to people IRL, the more I think opening day ROTR might not be crazy.  It still might be!  But some thoughts:
> 
> As SWGE taught us, many people will stay away from openings due to their perception of crowds.
> Getting into a BG is a morning thing.  *Disneyland people are not morning people.*  This is why DL at rope drop is typically so glorious.  I think WDW, with SO MANY PEOPLE staying on-site and such a higher percentage of tourists, is just a different animal.  Disneyland’s crowds show up later.  A new evening parade?  It’s gonna be bananas.  But getting there at 6am on a Friday?  Ehhhhh... are thousands and thousands of people going to put forth that effort? I think when we hit Spring Break (or President’s Day week), there will be a lot more tourists flooding the gates in the wee hours.  But probably not so much this weekend.  Hotels don’t look crazy, either.
> There is a limited pool of people who can attend something on a Friday morning.
> A lot of local people have let their APs expire.  I’d be very interested to see numbers on APs, because anecdotally, over half of the people I knew with passes a year ago no longer have them.  I do know a bunch of people planning to use the three-day ticket deal, but none of them are using it this weekend, because of the whole crowd-perception thing.
> Is Star Wars really such a draw right now, and is riding on opening day in CA important to a huge amount of people?  The fandom is not necessarily vibing on Disney’s work here... I think there is a lot of excitement and demand for this ride, no doubt.  But I don’t know if it’s a situation where people are feeling the urge to go *on* opening day. (I mean, I am! But I don’t know anyone else who is. Including a large group of 20-something Disney and SW fans that I was chatting with the other night... they’re the types who rush to the parks to snap up the latest spirit jersey, but NONE of them plan to hit the parks on the 17th.)
> Anyway, of course this is all pure speculation.  Maybe there are 15,000 people planning to get there before the park opens on opening day.  But I kind of don’t think so.  Maybe. Ha.


I hope you’re right! One of the reasons I want to go opening day is because I think it might be less crowded than the rest of the opening weekend. Fingers crossed!!


----------



## montreid

Agree.  I think the sweet spot really is Friday for the ride.  The weekend will bring in MLK and the following is Lunar New Year.


----------



## EmJ

SirBill said:


> By all means try showing up after 4am and see how it goes!
> 
> The earlier you wait in line, there are several advantages:
> 
> 1) Do you like warm beverages without a 40 minute wait?
> 2) You can find an advantageous position inside the park ahead of time and get your device ready for optimum use.
> 3) You can possibly check with a cast member early to confirm the system thinks you are in the park (have not actually done this yet).
> 4) You can get to rope drop popular rides as you would any other day.
> 5) Hey, it's an event!
> 
> Something to consider, is that Disney seems to take a lot of actions based on crowd size (or at least they did at Hollywood Studios around this ride).  Sure they may be letting people in at 7am... or that may start earlier, if crowds outside are really huge well before that.  How many multiples of all possible boarding groups worth of people will enter the park before Disney decides to enable boarding group access, even if it's before official park opening time?  If they know for sure people entering the park after a certain point will not be able to get a boarding pass or make it more unlikely for everyone inside to get a boarding pass, is it not kinder to tell them BG's are all gone before they come in and use a days worth of park ticket they could save for another day?
> 
> Probably any other weekend will be more stable and then showing up at 2am or 4am may not make much of a difference.  But opening weekend...


I'm speculating that boarding groups will not open until published opening time even on the first day and the rest of opening weekend, regardless of crowd size. People *freaked out* on the couple of occasions where boarding groups were completely gone at WDW before the published opening time of the park. Since then, and for weeks now, WDW has been consistent about not opening boarding groups until published opening time, even if that means getting a group becomes a functional lottery that ends in 2-10 minutes. Disney also does not want to incentivize lining up at 4 am, and certainly not at 2 am. It is a security hazard and a cost to Disney, which then has to pay for personnel to be on site.


----------



## EmJ

Amunet said:


> Thursday, January 23rd, 9am park open with 8am EMH/MM should I be at the gates by 7am? That will be the first day we activate our tickets so we will need pictures too.
> I'm guessing the best place to be at 8:55am to get a BG will be in the least populated area as possible. Where would that be? Toontown?


Do you plan to enter for EMH/MM? Either way, I'd personally be there at 6:00 am. Also, unless you are entering for EMH/MM and Toontown is ordinarily accessible during that time (which I don't think it is, right?), then I doubt you'll be able to stake a spot there. It's most likely that everyone who enters for EMH/MM will be limited to the areas of the park open during that time, and everyone not entering for EMH/MM will be limited to Main Street.


----------



## IsleofDisney

montreid said:


> Agree.  I think the sweet spot really is Friday for the ride.  The weekend will bring in MLK and the following is Lunar New Year.



Of the 3 days (4 if you count Monday MLK Holiday) I think you're correct in saying Friday might be the least crowded day to go. Especially if you go early. Flex PHs are now blocked out on the 18th & 19th. The blocked out days in the past were crowded more than normal. I reserved the 18th for my family a while ago and im dreading having to get up super early and  deal with the crowds. Oh well, if we don't get a BG, you'll find us at DCA enjoying the first few days of the Lunar Festival, we at least have that!!


----------



## SOCALMouseMommy

IsleofDisney said:


> Of the 3 days (4 if you count Monday MLK Holiday) I think you're correct in saying Friday might be the least crowded day to go. Especially if you go early. Flex PHs are now blocked out on the 18th & 19th. The blocked out days in the past were crowded more than normal. I reserved the 18th for my family a while ago and im dreading having to get up super early and  deal with the crowds. Oh well, if we don't get a BG, you'll find us at DCA enjoying the first few days of the Lunar Festival, we at least have that!!


Are flex blocked? Or is it just that all the reservations are gone? I thought I saw both days available to reserve at one point?


----------



## SOCALMouseMommy

Skyegirl1999 said:


> So, the more that I think about it and talk to people IRL, the more I think opening day ROTR might not be crazy.  It still might be!  But some thoughts:
> 
> As SWGE taught us, many people will stay away from openings due to their perception of crowds.
> Getting into a BG is a morning thing.  *Disneyland people are not morning people.*  This is why DL at rope drop is typically so glorious.  I think WDW, with SO MANY PEOPLE staying on-site and such a higher percentage of tourists, is just a different animal.  Disneyland’s crowds show up later.  A new evening parade?  It’s gonna be bananas.  But getting there at 6am on a Friday?  Ehhhhh... are thousands and thousands of people going to put forth that effort? I think when we hit Spring Break (or President’s Day week), there will be a lot more tourists flooding the gates in the wee hours.  But probably not so much this weekend.  Hotels don’t look crazy, either.
> There is a limited pool of people who can attend something on a Friday morning.
> A lot of local people have let their APs expire.  I’d be very interested to see numbers on APs, because anecdotally, over half of the people I knew with passes a year ago no longer have them.  I do know a bunch of people planning to use the three-day ticket deal, but none of them are using it this weekend, because of the whole crowd-perception thing.
> Is Star Wars really such a draw right now, and is riding on opening day in CA important to a huge amount of people?  The fandom is not necessarily vibing on Disney’s work here... I think there is a lot of excitement and demand for this ride, no doubt.  But I don’t know if it’s a situation where people are feeling the urge to go *on* opening day. (I mean, I am! But I don’t know anyone else who is. Including a large group of 20-something Disney and SW fans that I was chatting with the other night... they’re the types who rush to the parks to snap up the latest spirit jersey, but NONE of them plan to hit the parks on the 17th.)
> Anyway, of course this is all pure speculation.  Maybe there are 15,000 people planning to get there before the park opens on opening day.  But I kind of don’t think so.  Maybe. Ha.


I hope your theory holds through Tuesday!


----------



## IsleofDisney

SOCALMouseMommy said:


> Are flex blocked? Or is it just that all the reservations are gone? I thought I saw both days available to reserve at one point?



Reservations are gone for 18th & 19th.


----------



## socaldisneylover

IsleofDisney said:


> Reservations are gone for 18th & 19th.


Next to go will be Saturday 1/25, probably within a few days.


----------



## DisneyDork1969

ironband74 said:


> Scuttlebutt from Micechat is that TS parking lot will be open at 2:00AM. With Ticket booths (and therefore the Esplanade) open at 5:00AM. Supposedly the info came from City Hall, so could be a hip shot or could be real intel.
> View attachment 464273



I just finally heard back from a CM friend about this...DL is creating a "Holding Area" starting at 3am...so guess where I'll be....


----------



## SirBill

DisneyDork1969 said:


> I just finally heard back from a CM friend about this...DL is creating a "Holding Area" starting at 3am...so guess where I'll be....



So what does that mean for people hanging out starting before 2am I wonder...  I did think they wouldn't let people just hang out in front of the ticket gates all night.  Guess I'll just go to the gates and they can move me.


----------



## SirBill

Skyegirl1999 said:


> So, the more that I think about it and talk to people IRL, the more I think opening day ROTR might not be crazy.  It still might be!  But some thoughts:
> 
> As SWGE taught us, many people will stay away from openings due to their perception of crowds.



Why are the hotels all over pretty much all booked up if that was the case?  Also since most people saw it was not really that crowded with the previous opening, wouldn't that entice them to come after all not expecting crowds?



Skyegirl1999 said:


> Getting into a BG is a morning thing.  *Disneyland people are not morning people.*



Were not morning people...  Welcome to a world with ROTR.



Skyegirl1999 said:


> But probably not so much this weekend.  Hotels don’t look crazy, either.



As someone who had to get a hotel, I have to disagree here - is this a normal hotel availability map for Disneyland?  This is checking for Jan 16-18, the ones that are green have either a room or two left or are $800+/night.  It has been like this for quite some time, indeed there is more green here than I've seen as a while as some people make last minute cancellations:





Skyegirl1999 said:


> ....
> Is Star Wars really such a draw right now, and is riding on opening day in CA important to a huge amount of people?  The fandom is not necessarily vibing on Disney’s work here....
> Anyway, of course this is all pure speculation.  Maybe there are 15,000 people planning to get there before the park opens on opening day.  But I kind of don’t think so.  Maybe. Ha.



There are quite a lot of people vibing on Star Wars right now.  In particular ROTR has had such glowing press and a ton of great YouTube coverage, I think it has (rightfully) created a ton of interest.  I'm really surprised your friends do not want to go, but I think across even just all of LA there are quite a lot of people who will be drawn to try this out as there is a huge base of Star Wars fans there and there's not much as Star Wars as ROTR.


----------



## Amunet

EmJ said:


> Do you plan to enter for EMH/MM? Either way, I'd personally be there at 6:00 am. Also, unless you are entering for EMH/MM and Toontown is ordinarily accessible during that time (which I don't think it is, right?), then I doubt you'll be able to stake a spot there. It's most likely that everyone who enters for EMH/MM will be limited to the areas of the park open during that time, and everyone not entering for EMH/MM will be limited to Main Street.


Oh, yes, sorry, we will be doing MM.
Ah, I didn't realize only a few areas are open, I see what you mean now. I was thinking the farthest from the entrance where people will less likely to be.
May I ask why you suggest 6am?


----------



## dina444444

SirBill said:


> Why are the hotels all over pretty much all booked up if that was the case?  Also since most people saw it was not really that crowded with the previous opening, wouldn't that entice them to come after all not expecting crowds?
> 
> 
> 
> Were not morning people...  Welcome to a world with ROTR.
> 
> 
> 
> As someone who had to get a hotel, I have to disagree here - is this a normal hotel availability map for Disneyland?  This is checking for Jan 16-18, the ones that are green have either a room or two left or are $800+/night.  It has been like this for quite some time, indeed there is more green here than I've seen as a while as some people make last minute cancellations:
> 
> View attachment 464345
> 
> 
> 
> There are quite a lot of people vibing on Star Wars right now.  In particular ROTR has had such glowing press and a ton of great YouTube coverage, I think it has (rightfully) created a ton of interest.  I'm really surprised your friends do not want to go, but I think across even just all of LA there are quite a lot of people who will be drawn to try this out as there is a huge base of Star Wars fans there and there's not much as Star Wars as ROTR.


There’s a big convention next weeekend at the Anaheim convention center (NAMM). There’s a handful of large conventions that affect hotel availability each year.


----------



## longtimedisneylurker

SirBill said:


> As someone who had to get a hotel, I have to disagree here - is this a normal hotel availability map for Disneyland? This is checking for Jan 16-18, the ones that are green have either a room or two left or are $800+/night. It has been like this for quite some time, indeed there is more green here than I've seen as a while as some people make last minute cancellations



While I'm sure Star Wars has some effect, I don't think that's what is primarily driving the hotel prices or vacancy rates. There is a huge convention, the NAMM convention in Anaheim January 15-19. Hotel rates for these dates were already high back during the summer before the Rise of the Resistance opening date was announced, and it has grown worse since.


----------



## Susie63

SirBill said:


> Why are the hotels all over pretty much all booked up if that was the case?  Also since most people saw it was not really that crowded with the previous opening, wouldn't that entice them to come after all not expecting crowds?
> 
> 
> 
> Were not morning people...  Welcome to a world with ROTR.
> 
> 
> 
> As someone who had to get a hotel, I have to disagree here - is this a normal hotel availability map for Disneyland?  This is checking for Jan 16-18, the ones that are green have either a room or two left or are $800+/night.  It has been like this for quite some time, indeed there is more green here than I've seen as a while as some people make last minute cancellations:
> 
> View attachment 464345
> 
> 
> 
> There are quite a lot of people vibing on Star Wars right now.  In particular ROTR has had such glowing press and a ton of great YouTube coverage, I think it has (rightfully) created a ton of interest.  I'm really surprised your friends do not want to go, but I think across even just all of LA there are quite a lot of people who will be drawn to try this out as there is a huge base of Star Wars fans there and there's not much as Star Wars as ROTR.


Where do I find a map like this for February?


----------



## azdisneylover

EmJ said:


> I'm speculating that boarding groups will not open until published opening time even on the first day and the rest of opening weekend, regardless of crowd size. People *freaked out* on the couple of occasions where boarding groups were completely gone at WDW before the published opening time of the park. Since then, and for weeks now, WDW has been consistent about not opening boarding groups until published opening time, even if that means getting a group becomes a functional lottery that ends in 2-10 minutes. Disney also does not want to incentivize lining up at 4 am, and certainly not at 2 am. It is a security hazard and a cost to Disney, which then has to pay for personnel to be on site.




I bet the Starbucks in DTD will take notice and open up earlier to caffinate (SP) the crowds.


----------



## vharris2828

SirBill said:


> Why are the hotels all over pretty much all booked up if that was the case?  Also since most people saw it was not really that crowded with the previous opening, wouldn't that entice them to come after all not expecting crowds?
> 
> 
> 
> Were not morning people...  Welcome to a world with ROTR.
> 
> 
> 
> As someone who had to get a hotel, I have to disagree here - is this a normal hotel availability map for Disneyland?  This is checking for Jan 16-18, the ones that are green have either a room or two left or are $800+/night.  It has been like this for quite some time, indeed there is more green here than I've seen as a while as some people make last minute cancellations:
> 
> View attachment 464345
> 
> 
> 
> There are quite a lot of people vibing on Star Wars right now.  In particular ROTR has had such glowing press and a ton of great YouTube coverage, I think it has (rightfully) created a ton of interest.  I'm really surprised your friends do not want to go, but I think across even just all of LA there are quite a lot of people who will be drawn to try this out as there is a huge base of Star Wars fans there and there's not much as Star Wars as ROTR.



It’s because of NAAM convention, hotel
Pricing goes back to way more reasonable Sunday the 19th.  Like hotels that are like $400+ are back into low $100s.


----------



## EmJ

Amunet said:


> Oh, yes, sorry, we will be doing MM.
> Ah, I didn't realize only a few areas are open, I see what you mean now. I was thinking the farthest from the entrance where people will less likely to be.
> May I ask why you suggest 6am?


Just because if EMH/MM starts at 8:00, then I think The Masses are likely to be showing up at 7:00. Personally, I'd rather have a good lead on them to make parking easier (if you are driving), plus I just find it less stressful to be at the front of the line and know I will be let in quickly when it opens, as opposed to the back of the line and wondering what the heck is going on up there. We are rope droppers everywhere we go, and usually use the time in line to eat a snack, take turns using the bathroom, and put on sunblock. We also allow The Boy to play with the cellphone or watch videos during the morning wait since it is super boring for him and we don't allow him to use it when waiting in lines for attractions.


----------



## Amunet

EmJ said:


> Just because if EMH/MM starts at 8:00, then I think The Masses are likely to be showing up at 7:00. Personally, I'd rather have a good lead on them to make parking easier (if you are driving), plus I just find it less stressful to be at the front of the line and know I will be let in quickly when it opens, as opposed to the back of the line and wondering what the heck is going on up there. We are rope droppers everywhere we go, and usually use the time in line to eat a snack, take turns using the bathroom, and put on sunblock. We also allow The Boy to play with the cellphone or watch videos during the morning wait since it is super boring for him and we don't allow him to use it when waiting in lines for attractions.


I see. We are staying right across the street  So maybe 6:45?
Yes we rope drop too, I'm just hoping the MM will help us be able to get a boarding group, that and it will be a Thursday.


----------



## EmJ

Amunet said:


> I see. We are staying right across the street  So maybe 6:45?
> Yes we rope drop too, I'm just hoping the MM will help us be able to get a boarding group, that and it will be a Thursday.


I’m sure the fact that you’ll already be in for MM will be helpful. At least it can’t hurt anyway! I hope you’re able to ride


----------



## wowsmom

dina444444 said:


> There’s a big convention next weeekend at the Anaheim convention center (NAMM). There’s a handful of large conventions that affect hotel availability each year.



Yup, City of Anaheim posted on their fb page that they are expecting more than 110,000 for NAMM!


----------



## Aurora0427

Skyegirl1999 said:


> At WDW, everyone needs a boarding group in order to ride, even with to rider switch, and then they assign you a return window like they do for other rides.



So are you stuck waiting in the long lines twice????? First group goes through and then rider swap parent has to wait in the slog again to ride? That’s going to take for freaking ever.


----------



## Aurora0427

This entire ROTR process stresses me out! Am I the only one??????


----------



## BlueRibbon

Aurora0427 said:


> This entire ROTR process stresses me out! Am I the only one??????



Nope


----------



## disneylover102

Aurora0427 said:


> This entire ROTR process stresses me out! Am I the only one??????


Definitely not.


----------



## jl1cam

Has it been confirmed if you actually need to be in Disneyland Park to join a BG at opening?  Or would it be possible to get scanned in (possibly 7AM or earlier), then walk out of the park to join a BG at 8AM, regardless of your location? I saw a post that mentioned that worked at WDW.  I wonder if the Disney app will tie you to your location.


----------



## montreid

Aurora0427 said:


> So are you stuck waiting in the long lines twice????? First group goes through and then rider swap parent has to wait in the slog again to ride? That’s going to take for freaking ever.


Swap at ride entrance and get access to FP line on the swap


----------



## montreid

jl1cam said:


> Has it been confirmed if you actually need to be in Disneyland Park to join a BG at opening?  Or would it be possible to get scanned in (possibly 7AM or earlier), then walk out of the park to join a BG at 8AM, regardless of your location? I saw a post that mentioned that worked at WDW.  I wonder if the Disney app will tie you to your location.


If it works like FP programming, no need to be in park AFTER scanning into the park.  I've grabbed FP no problem in the hotel offsite.  same for WDW for the BG.


----------



## Skyegirl1999

Aurora0427 said:


> So are you stuck waiting in the long lines twice????? First group goes through and then rider swap parent has to wait in the slog again to ride? That’s going to take for freaking ever.


I’m not sure what long lines you mean... At WDW, most reports are for a short wait once your BG is called (unless the ride breaks down).  Usually rider swap goes through the FP line, but I’m not positive how it works for this.  I was just saying everyone needs a boarding group; it’s not like when you rider swap off of a FP and can just have one FP. 



jl1cam said:


> Has it been confirmed if you actually need to be in Disneyland Park to join a BG at opening?  Or would it be possible to get scanned in (possibly 7AM or earlier), then walk out of the park to join a BG at 8AM, regardless of your location? I saw a post that mentioned that worked at WDW.  I wonder if the Disney app will tie you to your location.


Based on how Maxpass works and how it’s working at WDW, you should be able to scan in and leave.


----------



## MikeRx

Just a reminder, if scan in and leave does work as anticipated, the entire party needs to be present to scan in at the gate.  You can’t be the family runner with everyone’s ticket and expect to get everyone in a boarding group.  
Mike


----------



## Tinkerbell19672

Aurora0427 said:


> This entire ROTR process stresses me out! Am I the only one??????



Nope, I am too.  I confused how it works but I guess will find out when I’m there in a couple of weeks. I was hoping there would be an advantage to staying onsite, I think there was when GE first opened?


----------



## BlueRibbon

Tinkerbell19672 said:


> I was hoping there would be an advantage to staying onsite, I think there was when GE first opened?



The only advantage as I recall is that you were guaranteed a "reservation" to get into SWGE.  The way things are playing out now with the BGs is that with Early Morning Magic, you may not have to worry as much about the crowds in the esplanade to get your ticket scanned. You'll have your own entrance and get past the crowds a bit earlier. 

When it comes to the BGs though, resort guests have equal chance as everyone else.


----------



## EmJ

The boarding group system isn’t so different from MaxPass, there’s just a couple “extra” fences around it, and everyone can do it on their phone even without paying.

1. Scan everyone who wishes to ride into DLR before the published opening time.
2. Wait in Main Street, or other park areas if you’re there for MM/EMH.
3. At the published park opening time, boarding groups will become available to book.
4. Click “Join Boarding Group” in the app and select everyone who wishes to ride.
5. Pray.
6. The app will tell you what your boarding group number is.
7. When it’s your turn to board, you will get a push notification, or can monitor which groups are boarding on the screens around DL.
8. You have two hours after your boarding group is called to get to ROTR.
9. Ride!

The challenging parts come in at #5 and #9. With #5, because everyone is trying to get a boarding group at the same time, cellular connectivity can make a difference, plus the total available boarding groups for the day have been going very fast at WDW. Like, 10 minutes or less fast.

The other issue is that Disney can’t know what its true ride capacity is on any given day, since ride breakdowns or other issues may slow boarding beyond what was anticipated. Early boarding groups have a good chance of getting on; late boarding groups might not get called. On occasion, WDW has had to clear the line due to a breakdown, so even early boarding groups are not guaranteed a ride. Disney has been comping those folks with a ROTR FP and, in some cases a 1 day ticket, to ride another time. We will have to see what DL does.


----------



## panda123

montreid said:


> Swap at ride entrance and get access to FP line on the swap


It's been reported on the WDW thread that once you're in line at RotR and boarding group scanned it could be anywhere from 5 minutes to a bit over an hour to get through the queue, depending on how the ride is doing and if a bunch of folks are showing up at the same time. So the other part of your group may have to wait up to an hour and a half but then will be able to go through fast pass part of the queue which takes you right to the beginning of the ride. It's a lot like doing rider swap where the first party is doing a standby line that's an hour or so long, give or take, except that all folks wanting to ride do need a boarding group.


----------



## montreid

panda123 said:


> It's been reported on the WDW thread that once you're in line at RotR and boarding group scanned it could be anywhere from 5 minutes to a bit over an hour to get through the queue, depending on how the ride is doing and if a bunch of folks are showing up at the same time. So the other part of your group may have to wait up to an hour and a half but then will be able to go through fast pass part of the queue which takes you right to the beginning of the ride. It's a lot like doing rider swap where the first party is doing a standby line that's an hour or so long, give or take, except that all folks wanting to ride do need a boarding group.


Yep. Just like any other swap....gotta wait in the standard lines the first time and the swap gets to bypass the line as much as possible.  In this case, with the experience, that means FP line that merges right at the beginning of the first experience


----------



## vharris2828

Aurora0427 said:


> So are you stuck waiting in the long lines twice????? First group goes through and then rider swap parent has to wait in the slog again to ride? That’s going to take for freaking ever.


I’m worried about this too. And you’re not the only one! the whole thing stresses me out. I’m so stressed about crowds the week we are going and all these people camping to ride this. I hope the whole week isn’t just absolutely bonkers.


----------



## vharris2828

montreid said:


> Swap at ride entrance and get access to FP line on the swap


So I’m a bit confused on something. Do boarding groups work how a fast pass works regarding rider switch? So with fast pass parent 1 and child 1 grab fastpass and ride. Get the rider switch and then parent 2 and child 2 can ride next. If it works that way would that mean parent 1 and child 1 show up early to hopefully grab boarding passes. Get rider switch when they ride And then parent 2 and child 2 ride with the rider swap. Or do all four need a boarding pass first thing in the morning?


----------



## Skyegirl1999

vharris2828 said:


> So I’m a bit confused on something. Do boarding groups work how a fast pass works regarding rider switch? So with fast pass parent 1 and child 1 grab fastpass and ride. Get the rider switch and then parent 2 and child 2 can ride next. If it works that way would that mean parent 1 and child 1 show up early to hopefully grab boarding passes. Get rider switch when they ride And then parent 2 and child 2 ride with the rider swap. Or do all four need a boarding pass first thing in the morning?


They all need boarding passes.


----------



## smercerdiemont

Sorry if this has been asked before, I am getting super nervous about our upcoming trip. My whole party needs to be scanned/ enter the park that morning to try to get BG for us all, correct? 
We do not have early entry, so if we get there to line up at 6:30 for a 8:00 opening, what happens if we get to the front of the line to get scanned in by 7:20, probably not happening, but what if? Will they turn us away or are we allowed to wait at rope drop?


----------



## montreid

IF they continue the same protocol as WDW....
1.  Open turnstiles sometime before opening....usually 30minutes before opening.   They may open earlier if crowds are very deep and probably on the first few days is may guess.  
2. Hold nonMM at main Street untill opening
3. At opening...will drop BG in app and all folk scanned into DL will be able to request a BG number.


----------



## smercerdiemont

montreid said:


> IF they continue the same protocol as WDW....
> 1.  Open turnstiles sometime before opening....usually 30minutes before opening.   They may open earlier if crowds are very deep and probably on the first few days is may guess.
> 2. Hold nonMM at main Street untill opening
> 3. At opening...will drop BG in app and all folk scanned into DL will be able to request a BG number.



Thank you!


----------



## midnight star

Aurora0427 said:


> This entire ROTR process stresses me out! Am I the only one??????


Yeah if we are somehow able to do it in Florida, I might just hold off on doing it here. Until the kinks are worked out. At least with WDW, it's been going for a while so you kind of know what to expect.


----------



## ZCarroll

Lewdannie said:


> This thread has convinced me to get a travel sim for our visit.
> Any idea which will give me better coverage/performance
> 
> A. AT&T or
> 
> B. T-Mobile
> 
> ?



I don't know if it's changed but I was t-mobile customer from the beginning (when it was voicestream) for over 20 years and the difficulty I experienced with it at DL was one of the reasons I finally switched.... when I was asking around what people were using at the parks that were able to connect while we weren't AT&T was the top answer.   I've been with Verizon a few years now so I don't know if t-mobile has improved in that time but it was so bad we actually brought walkie talkies to use while we were in the parks to communicate with each other.... I just checked out of curiosity and it does sound like people are reporting major improvement with tmobile in the last year or so at the parks but AT&T might still be better.


----------



## Aurora0427

montreid said:


> Swap at ride entrance and get access to FP line on the swap



Ok, so only your first party waits in the line. I’ve read the lines at WDW were up to 70 minutes when the ride opened.... another poster just posted that the lines are 5 minutes to an hour. So basically the person who has to wait with my three year old won’t have to go through the entire line again like out first group. Not sure if I’m making sense!


----------



## Aurora0427

midnight star said:


> Yeah if we are somehow able to do it in Florida, I might just hold off on doing it here. Until the kinks are worked out. At least with WDW, it's been going for a while so you kind of know what to expect.



I think I feel extra anxious because when we are going we will have my parents and a toddler who is ONE INCH TOO SHORT to ride. All the potential chaos at rope drop and the potential for extra crowds everywhere else is what’s adding to my anxiety. I’m probably over reacting.... if it’s too much we’ll just skip it and my parents will just have to miss it. The focus of this trip is my daughter turning 4.... Disney threw me for a loop when they announced the ROTR opening. I’m just glad we aren’t going opening weekend!


----------



## IsleofDisney

ZCarroll said:


> I don't know if it's changed but I was t-mobile customer from the beginning (when it was voicestream) for over 20 years and the difficulty I experienced with it at DL was one of the reasons I finally switched.... when I was asking around what people were using at the parks that were able to connect while we weren't AT&T was the top answer.   I've been with Verizon a few years now so I don't know if t-mobile has improved in that time but it was so bad we actually brought walkie talkies to use while we were in the parks to communicate with each other.... I just checked out of curiosity and it does sound like people are reporting major improvement with tmobile in the last year or so at the parks but AT&T might still be better.


We have TMobile and haven't experienced technical issues with connecting and I'm one of those who is always on the DL app checking FP availability, often finding ones that look unavailable. The only issues is if we are in a queue that goes deep in a building, like IJA or GotG:MB. I know Verizon's coverage is the best but the bill I pay is ridiculously low for 5 lines, free Netflix, & 50 Gigs data per line. I'm sticking to TMobile.


----------



## panda123

Aurora0427 said:


> Ok, so only your first party waits in the line. I’ve read the lines at WDW were up to 70 minutes when the ride opened.... another poster just posted that the lines are 5 minutes to an hour. So basically the person who has to wait with my three year old won’t have to go through the entire line again like out first group. Not sure if I’m making sense!


That's correct. The second part of your rider swap group will go through the fast pass path instead of the regular queue and won't need to go through the regular line again that the first group did.


----------



## montreid

IsleofDisney said:


> We have TMobile and haven't experienced technical issues with connecting and I'm one of those who is always on the DL app checking FP availability, often finding ones that look unavailable. The only issues is if we are in a queue that goes deep in a building, like IJA or GotG:MB. I know Verizon's coverage is the best but the bill I pay is ridiculously low for 5 lines, free Netflix, & 50 Gigs data per line. I'm sticking to TMobile.


Didn't have an issue at WDW on tmobile and rarely an issue in DLR except for sorin' and gotg.  Ija...at the well you get reception to catch up Midway through the queue....weird but it is the tmobile way!


----------



## Aurora0427

panda123 said:


> That's correct. The second part of your rider swap group will go through the fast pass path instead of the regular queue and won't need to go through the regular line again that the first group did.



Thank you.... one less thing to worry about! Maybe my almost four year old will have a growth spurt over the next few weeks. Ha!


----------



## socaldisneylover

Aurora0427 said:


> I think I feel extra anxious because when we are going we will have my parents and a toddler who is ONE INCH TOO SHORT to ride.


Don't they have shoes for that?


----------



## panda123

Aurora0427 said:


> I think I feel extra anxious because when we are going we will have my parents and a toddler who is ONE INCH TOO SHORT to ride. All the potential chaos at rope drop and the potential for extra crowds everywhere else is what’s adding to my anxiety. I’m probably over reacting.... if it’s too much we’ll just skip it and my parents will just have to miss it. The focus of this trip is my daughter turning 4.... Disney threw me for a loop when they announced the ROTR opening. I’m just glad we aren’t going opening weekend!


Not sure when you're going but it's possible that your toddler might be tall enough. They measure with shoes on and your toddler might grow just enough to make up the difference. I thought my daughter would be too short but had a bit of a growth spurt before our trip and with shoes on was past 40 inches.  It's worth measuring again when you get there!

Edited to add: just saw your post! Will keep my fingers crossed for you!


----------



## Aurora0427

socaldisneylover said:


> Don't they have shoes for that?



I know right? We were at the parks Thursday and Friday and even with Ugg boots on she’s 1/2” too short.


----------



## Aurora0427

panda123 said:


> Not sure when you're going but it's possible that your toddler might be tall enough. They measure with shoes on and your toddler might grow just enough to make up the difference. I thought my daughter would be too short but had a bit of a growth spurt before our trip and with shoes on was past 40 inches.  It's worth measuring again when you get there!
> 
> Edited to add: just saw your post! Will keep my fingers crossed for you!



Ha thanks! I’m keeping my fingers crossed she grows just enough!


----------



## Carl4628

Quick Question about joining a boarding group. Do you actually have to enter DL park? Or, does it work like fast pass where you can scan into DCA and join a boarding group just like you can book a fast pass for DL?


----------



## dina444444

Carl4628 said:


> Quick Question about joining a boarding group. Do you actually have to enter DL park? Or, does it work like fast pass where you can scan into DCA and join a boarding group just like you can book a fast pass for DL?


Per the Disney Parks Blog official announcement you have to enter Disneyland park to join a boarding group.


----------



## ZCarroll

There is no doubt that having the BG start at park opening helps avoid early crowds...  those that would be willing to line up the night before would now question the point of investing so much time with no guarantee it will give them an advantage. I say yay to that... I'd even love it if they didn't open BGs until an hour after park opening, that would help immensely.  I'm just so done with the insane crowds of people waiting for hours for things making it almost impossible to navigate the parks.   Actually, why don't they just have online reservations for the ride? Wouldn't that solve so many issues and make everyone happy being able to know before you go whether or not you will be able to ride and plan your vacation around it? I'm also concerned that with this current method we will no longer have those nice mornings.... would really suck to have to get up early on vacation with no benefit, curious to find out just how much this is going to change things up.


----------



## montreid

ZCarroll said:


> There is no doubt that having the BG start at park opening helps avoid early crowds...  those that would be willing to line up the night before would now question the point of investing so much time with no guarantee it will give them an advantage. I say yay to that... I'd even love it if they didn't open BGs until an hour after park opening, that would help immensely.  I'm just so done with the insane crowds of people waiting for hours for things making it almost impossible to navigate the parks.   Actually, why don't they just have online reservations for the ride? Wouldn't that solve so many issues and make everyone happy being able to know before you go whether or not you will be able to ride and plan your vacation around it? I'm also concerned that with this current method we will no longer have those nice mornings.... would really suck to have to get up early on vacation with no benefit, curious to find out just how much this is going to change things up.


I think this BG method is of LESS impact compared to it being in WDW where planning starts 180 days ahead for food and 60 days for rides whereas here in DLR we don't FP until in the park.  

BG is essentially a FP.  I think is they ran it like MFSR we'd have issues with hours if lines.   We enjoyed SR.  But ROTR really is the showcase experience despite the mystique of the MF.


----------



## Aurora0427

ZCarroll said:


> I'm also concerned that with this current method we will no longer have those nice mornings.... would really suck to have to get up early on vacation with no benefit, curious to find out just how much this is going to change things up.



This is what I’m worried about. Is Mr. Toad going to have a 20 minute wait at 9:15 because of all the hoards of people showing up to get a ROTR boarding group? We love our quiet rope drop park!!!!


----------



## dieumeye

Aurora0427 said:


> This is what I’m worried about. Is Mr. Toad going to have a 20 minute wait at 9:15 because of all the hoards of people showing up to get a ROTR boarding group? We love our quiet rope drop park!!!!


I don’t think it’s going to change things in the long run. There will probably be an initial fervor, but the advantage of being local (both AP and non-AP) is that visiting Disneyland isn’t necessarily a once-in-a-lifetime cross country vacation where it is your one and only chance to do everything. The local population can be a lot more choosy about when to go and when not to go.

The whole boarding group concept was initially created to control access to the entire land when overcrowded. It was required here at Disneyland for one day.

So, I don’t think we’re going to have tens of thousands of locals showing up first thing in the morning for years and years to come.


----------



## Aurora0427

dieumeye said:


> I don’t think it’s going to change things in the long run. There will probably be an initial fervor, but the advantage of being local (both AP and non-AP) is that visiting Disneyland isn’t necessarily a once-in-a-lifetime cross country vacation where it is your one and only chance to do everything. The local population can be a lot more choosy about when to go and when not to go. So, I don’t think we’re going to have tens of thousands of locals showing up first thing in the morning for years and years to come.



Well I was actually referring to what it would be like initially. We are local, and we are going January 25-27 for my little ones bday. So I’m a bit concerned, but agree that things will settle down after awhile.


----------



## dina444444

Hi all!

I’m  planning to do a chart like on the dhs thread. I’m going to need everyone’s help to do this though. The below data points are what I’m going to be looking for:


What time the turn stiles opened
What time the boarding groups went live at
First group of the day
Time guaranteed groups distribution ended
Time backup groups distribution ended
First backup group number 
First group of the day to be called
Last group of the day to be called
If there was a delayed opening what time did the ride open


----------



## disneylover102

dina444444 said:


> Hi all!
> 
> I’m  planning to do a chart like on the dhs thread. I’m going to need everyone’s help to do this though. The below data points are what I’m going to be looking for:
> 
> 
> What time the turn stiles opened
> What time the boarding groups went live at
> First group of the day
> Time guaranteed groups distribution ended
> Time backup groups distribution ended
> First backup group number
> First group of the day to be called
> Last group of the day to be called
> If there was a delayed opening what time did the ride open


I’ll be glad to help when I go on the 17th and 18th!


----------



## luvallprincesses

We planned our (probably) once in a lifetime trip to DLR for the first week of March from the east coast long before RotR was scheduled to open. But we’re huge Star Wars fans too so we’re really torn on how to approach our 4 park days now.  We wanted to get MaxPass instead of park hoppers.  Wanted to use the early magic morning on our first morning and become familiar with the park. But now I think we need to try to get into a BG in case we don’t get on our first day and need to use our second DLR day as a backup plan for RotR.  But is using early magic our first morning and trying to get a boarding group that same morning a good plan?  We’ll have to be sure to NOT be in an attraction exactly at normal gate open time to get online instantly. And now there is a Pixar after hours event on the 3rd night of our trip making me wonder about staying away from DCA that day. And F! is only on Friday. Maybe we just need to buy park hoppers after all. I didn’t think DLR was going to require nearly the planning like our regular experience at the World, but these unexpected events, especially RotR, have me thinking otherwise.


----------



## Susie63

We were not getting hoppers either but now we will start everyday in DL. Five days = 5 tries at a boarding group.


----------



## montreid

It's really hard NOT to do Maxpass+ Hopping.  You lose a lot of opportunities and efficiencies without either.


----------



## twodogs

Aurora0427 said:


> This is what I’m worried about. Is Mr. Toad going to have a 20 minute wait at 9:15 because of all the hoards of people showing up to get a ROTR boarding group? We love our quiet rope drop park!!!!


At least at DHS, it used to be pretty quiet and reasonable early in the mornings, and now people there say RD is completely ruined because everyone shows up for RD to get a BG and then stays around and lines up for the rides since they are already there.  Take a look at wait times first thing in the morning on the app.  Not sure if this will happen at DLR, but it has at WDW.


----------



## Aurora0427

twodogs said:


> At least at DHS, it used to be pretty quiet and reasonable early in the mornings, and now people there say RD is completely ruined because everyone shows up for RD to get a BG and then stays around and lines up for the rides since they are already there.  Take a look at wait times first thing in the morning on the app.  Not sure if this will happen at DLR, but it has at WDW.



This is exactly what I’m afraid of


----------



## Lewdannie

luvallprincesses said:


> Maybe we just need to buy park hoppers after all. I didn’t think DLR was going to require nearly the planning like our regular experience at the World, but these unexpected events, especially RotR, have me thinking otherwise.


My best mate and I are in EXACTLY the same boat as you!
We are staying onsite and have hoppers but may have to forgo EMH at DCA in order to get boarding pass every day. We will just use MaxPass and hop back to DCA.
But, you never know, it might all calm down by the time we get there and we will be able to EMH rope-drop DCA then head over to Disneyland to get the boarding pass.

BTW March 5 is forecast to be super quiet at DCA during the day


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## vharris2828

twodogs said:


> At least at DHS, it used to be pretty quiet and reasonable early in the mornings, and now people there say RD is completely ruined because everyone shows up for RD to get a BG and then stays around and lines up for the rides since they are already there.  Take a look at wait times first thing in the morning on the app.  Not sure if this will happen at DLR, but it has at WDW.


I really wish they’d just do an online boarding group or something for this very reason  we loved our mornings. We are probably getting park hoppers which we never do because we like just taking our time in one park each day but we are going the week after opening and I’m thinking we need the flexibility with the masses of people there first thing.


----------



## midnight star

dina444444 said:


> Per the Disney Parks Blog official announcement you have to enter Disneyland park to join a boarding group.


Does the Monorail entrance count as DL park? You technically ride it into Tomorrowland.


----------



## dina444444

midnight star said:


> Does the Monorail entrance count as DL park? You technically ride it into Tomorrowland.


Yes it does, but it typically does not open until the park officially opens so I don’t recommend using it first thing in the morning.


----------



## DisneyDork1969

Official Disneyland announcement about DCA entry and boarding passes:

"However, Disney has confirmed that you must be in Disneyland Park in order to join a boarding group, and you will not be able to join the virtual queue from across the esplanade."


----------



## montreid

Aurora0427 said:


> This is what I’m worried about. Is Mr. Toad going to have a 20 minute wait at 9:15 because of all the hoards of people showing up to get a ROTR boarding group? We love our quiet rope drop park!!!!


Quiet Rope Drop?   I'm not sure we experience the same RD as you.  Most of the craziness isn't every toward Mr. Toad.  PP for sure.


----------



## dieumeye

DL has longer hours more often than DHS. I wonder how this will impact DL RotR. In theory, more time means more BGs distributed. But I’ve always heard that DHS RotR needs the overnight time for maintenance, adjustments, repairs, and resetting.

Also, I’ve heard that DL RotR is having issues during the CM previews (like unplanned hour+ downtime). But haven’t heard whether the general consensus is that it’s running well or not.

So curious to see how DL RotR performs compared to DHS RotR.


----------



## Aurora0427

montreid said:


> Quiet Rope Drop?   I'm not sure we experience the same RD as you.  Most of the craziness isn't every toward Mr. Toad.  PP for sure.


 
You missed the point of my post.... obviously the rush at rope drop isn’t towards Mr. Toad. My point is simply with all the craziness of more people getting there at rope drop in order to get a BG for ROTR, will it then cause an increase of wait times throughout the park, for rides that historically were walk on the first hour or two. This is what’s happening at DHS. 

Currently rope drop is only crazy if you are headed to smugglers run or Peter Pan. We don’t, and end up getting everything we enjoy riding done before lunchtime.


----------



## dina444444

Aurora0427 said:


> You missed the point of my post.... obviously the rush at rope drop isn’t towards Mr. Toad. My point is simply with all the craziness of more people getting there at rope drop in order to get a BG for ROTR, will it then cause an increase of wait times throughout the park, for rides that historically were walk on the first hour or two. This is what’s happening at DHS.
> 
> Currently rope drop is only crazy if you are headed to smugglers run or Peter Pan. We don’t, and end up getting everything we enjoy riding done before lunchtime.


Disneyland has a lot more attractions compared to DHS, I don’t see traffic patterns changing that much when ROTR opens.


----------



## Etonduf

montreid said:


> It's really hard NOT to do Maxpass+ Hopping.  You lose a lot of opportunities and efficiencies without either.



I agree. I realize that it's easy to spend other people's money and say, "oh, just get both" but you should at least consider if it's an option. We go every other year and would postpone a trip until we could get hoppers+maxpass if necessary. This time we got tickets through LMTC and saved enough to cover the MaxPasses.

Again, I know that might not be possible; so I guess maybe I'd get MP if I had to choose one .


----------



## CastAStone

A few thoughts,

Disneyland is not Hollywood Studios. When Disneyland opens each morning, it opens with 24 rides and 40+ attractions, and the ability to walk-hop to DCA. When DHS opens, it opens with 8 rides and then the next most interesting thing to do is go sign up for Jedi training. The people-eating shows (and the ability to walk-hop to Epcot) open hours later. Rope Drop will undoubtedly be busier for a while, but it won’t be the situation at DHS. I anticipate no change at all on rides geared at children.
Getting to the park for an 8 or 9 AM rope drop is going to be very difficult for locals. It’s still LA and LA traffic. Which means 5 AM wake up call for people who don’t live in OC. It may be busy at RD, we’ll see, but I think the sustained 15 minute BG run outs will be exclusive to DHS except opening weekend (maybe) and holidays.
DLP is open 2-4 more hours than DHS most days. That’s a lot more BGs.


----------



## Aurora0427

dina444444 said:


> Disneyland has a lot more attractions compared to DHS, I don’t see traffic patterns changing that much when ROTR opens.



This is true! I guess we’ll see how it all pans out soon enough!


----------



## jl1cam

DisneyDork1969 said:


> Official Disneyland announcement about DCA entry and boarding passes:
> 
> "However, Disney has confirmed that you must be in Disneyland Park in order to join a boarding group, and you will not be able to join the virtual queue from across the esplanade."



Where is this announcement?  If that is the case, then it looks like you can't scan in, leave the park, and join a BG at opening.  It looks like you need to stay in the park.


----------



## Skyegirl1999

jl1cam said:


> Where is this announcement?  If that is the case, then it looks like you can't scan in, leave the park, and join a BG at opening.  It looks like you need to stay in the park.


I’d take it to mean that a scan into DCA doesn’t qualify you for a BG, only a scan into DL does.  I don’t think it has anything to do with scanning into DL and then walking into Downtown Disney, for instance.


----------



## Tinkerbell19672

Lewdannie said:


> My best mate and I are in EXACTLY the same boat as you!
> We are staying onsite and have hoppers but may have to forgo EMH at DCA in order to get boarding pass every day. We will just use MaxPass and hop back to DCA.
> But, you never know, it might all calm down by the time we get there and we will be able to EMH rope-drop DCA then head over to Disneyland to get the boarding pass.
> 
> BTW March 5 is forecast to be super quiet at DCA during the day



This is my dilemma too. I’ll be there 1/24, hoping to find out more before I go.


----------



## Skyegirl1999

dieumeye said:


> Also, I’ve heard that DL RotR is having issues during the CM previews (like unplanned hour+ downtime).


Yup.  I follow a lot of Disney CMs on social media, and while I’ve avoided most of the ROTR stuff because spoilers, I’ve seen a lot of posts about long delays, skeletons wearing Mickey ears with captions about “Boarding Group 47 at the end of the day, just waiting to ride” - that one made me reaaaal nervous, because 47???

Friday is going to be so stressful, ahhhh!


----------



## KPeterso

Skyegirl1999 said:


> I’d take it to mean that a scan into DCA doesn’t qualify you for a BG, only a scan into DL does.  I don’t think it has anything to do with scanning into DL and then walking into Downtown Disney, for instance.



I am hoping that is what it means. For what its worth, when I was getting a return time for something yesterday, i asked the cast member at the kiosk if we had to scan into DL or would DCA work. She said I had to scan into DL, but I was free to go over to DCA once I had a boarding group.

We are going Saturday 1/18. Here's hoping we get a boarding group. Need to think about what time I want to be out of the house. Those going Friday, will you look at what time the wheelchair rentals look like they are open? Will have to pick up one for my Mom.


----------



## ZCarroll

dina444444 said:


> Disneyland has a lot more attractions compared to DHS, I don’t see traffic patterns changing that much when ROTR opens.



I don't see how it possibly couldn't.... it's like night and day difference in crowds at the park at 10am vs 1pm going from being described as deserted to insane wall to wall packed people crowds the same day and that's with a lot of people actually leaving in the middle of the day for a break.  I'm pretty confident all those people that were unwilling to get up a few hours earlier will do so if it's the only way to get on rotr and there's no way that's not going to make an impact. But I'll be very happy to be wrong on this!


----------



## vharris2828

CastAStone said:


> A few thoughts,
> 
> Disneyland is not Hollywood Studios. When Disneyland opens each morning, it opens with 24 rides and 40+ attractions, and the ability to walk-hop to DCA. When DHS opens, it opens with 8 rides and then the next most interesting thing to do is go sign up for Jedi training. The people-eating shows (and the ability to walk-hop to Epcot) open hours later. Rope Drop will undoubtedly be busier for a while, but it won’t be the situation at DHS. I anticipate no change at all on rides geared at children.
> Getting to the park for an 8 or 9 AM rope drop is going to be very difficult for locals. It’s still LA and LA traffic. Which means 5 AM wake up call for people who don’t live in OC. It may be busy at RD, we’ll see, but I think the sustained 15 minute BG run outs will be exclusive to DHS except opening weekend (maybe) and holidays.
> DLP is open 2-4 more hours than DHS most days. That’s a lot more BGs.


You make some valid points, it has calmed my anxiety over this a tad haha.


----------



## Kellina

I didn't read through every page, so forgive me if this was already asked... Does your whole party need to be there to scan in/ get a boarding group? I know it's not open yet, but this is what I'm hearing for Disney World. 

We're going the first weekend in February/ first week of March! Just looking ahead and starting to plan!!


----------



## Skyegirl1999

Kellina said:


> I didn't read through every page, so forgive me if this was already asked... Does your whole party need to be there to scan in/ get a boarding group? I know it's not open yet, but this is what I'm hearing for Disney World.
> 
> We're going the first weekend in February/ first week of March! Just looking ahead and starting to plan!!


Yes.  Only people who have entered the park can join a boarding group.


----------



## montreid

Kellina said:


> I didn't read through every page, so forgive me if this was already asked... Does your whole party need to be there to scan in/ get a boarding group? I know it's not open yet, but this is what I'm hearing for Disney World.
> 
> We're going the first weekend in February/ first week of March! Just looking ahead and starting to plan!!


You can *read the first post* and it'll give you that information and so much more.


----------



## MonocularVision

montreid said:


> You can *read the first post* and it'll give you that information and so much more.



Too bad folks aren’t going to read this post either.


----------



## ZCarroll

montreid said:


> You can *read the first post* and it'll give you that information and so much more.



I didn't actually see that (that the whole party needs to be there) from the first post myself... while it does say you can request to join the virtual queue after entering the park I'm not sure that in itself would explicitly exclude the possibility of creating a group with some members not scanned in the park even though that feels like the most likely assumption I can definitely understand that it might still be a question if just one person from a group needs to be there to request to join.


----------



## Malcon10t

"Request to join a boarding group to ride the attraction, once you have entered Disneyland park."

Anyone wanting to ride must have entered Disneyland park.

This also kind of clarifies "Can I enter DCA?"  From this reading, no, you must be scanned into DL.


----------



## tlovesdis

KPeterso said:


> I am hoping that is what it means. For what its worth, when I was getting a return time for something yesterday, i asked the cast member at the kiosk if we had to scan into DL or would DCA work. She said I had to scan into DL, but I was free to go over to DCA once I had a boarding group.
> 
> We are going Saturday 1/18. Here's hoping we get a boarding group. Need to think about what time I want to be out of the house. Those going Friday, will you look at what time the wheelchair rentals look like they are open? Will have to pick up one for my Mom.



Wheelchair rentals doesn't open until park opening unfortunately.


----------



## KPeterso

tlovesdis said:


> Wheelchair rentals doesn't open until park opening unfortunately.



I don't think that is quite true. It is definitely open before as we rope drop a lot and it is always open before the park to get one. They were when we had the reservation for Galaxies Edge in June. Just wondering if they will be open earlier. If not, we will go in and get the boarding group and then head back out to get one.


----------



## jfk4

Referring back to my original list of questions, here's what I think we know right now.   This is based on my reading of this group and other sources.   Let me know if I got something wrong, though.

>  Will parties be open to secure boarding passes from either park, or only in Disneyland?

It sounds like you will have to enter Disneyland in order to enter a boarding group.   I assume that once you've scanned into the park you can probably get a boarding pass from anywhere, but that remains to be proven.

> Will it be possible to secure multiple boarding passes per day?

Unknown.   At least initially I suspect that it will be difficult to secure a boarding pass any time beyond the initial rush, so this will probably remain unanswered until things calm down.

> Will it be necessary to get a new version of the Disneyland app?

It doesn't seem like it.   Disney hasn't released a new version.

> What is the procedure for guests who don't have cell phones?

Disney cast members will apparently serve up boarding group numbers from the old Buzz Lightyear / Star Tours Fast Pass area.   It isn't clear whether they are available from other sites as well.

> What is the typical highest boarding group number issued, and when do boarding passes run out?

Unknown.    The DHS version seems to typically get up into the high hundreds, but it varies from day to day.

> Does everyone in my party have to scan into the park in order to join a boarding group?

Yes.   No one in the party will receive a boarding pass if even a single member hasn't entered the park.   You'll need to remove absent members from your party in order to join.


----------



## wench

jfk4 said:


> Referring back to my original list of questions, here's what I think we know right now.   This is based on my reading of this group and other sources.   Let me know if I got something wrong, though.
> 
> >  Will parties be open to secure boarding passes from either park, or only in Disneyland?
> 
> It sounds like you will have to enter Disneyland in order to enter a boarding group.   I assume that once you've scanned into the park you can probably get a boarding pass from anywhere, but that remains to be proven.
> 
> > Will it be possible to secure multiple boarding passes per day?
> 
> Unknown.   At least initially I suspect that it will be difficult to secure a boarding pass any time beyond the initial rush, so this will probably remain unanswered until things calm down.
> 
> > Will it be necessary to get a new version of the Disneyland app?
> 
> It doesn't seem like it.   Disney hasn't released a new version.
> 
> > What is the procedure for guests who don't have cell phones?
> 
> Disney cast members will apparently serve up boarding group numbers from the old Buzz Lightyear / Star Tours Fast Pass area.   It isn't clear whether they are available from other sites as well.
> 
> > What is the typical highest boarding group number issued, and when do boarding passes run out?
> 
> Unknown.    The DHS version seems to typically get up into the high hundreds, but it varies from day to day.
> 
> > Does everyone in my party have to scan into the park in order to join a boarding group?
> 
> Yes.   No one in the party will receive a boarding pass if even a single member hasn't entered the park.   You'll need to remove absent members from your party in order to join.


You can not ride multiple times in 1 day at this point.  The DLR website says “You will be able to join one boarding group per day.“


----------



## disneylover102

jfk4 said:


> > Will it be necessary to get a new version of the Disneyland app?
> 
> It doesn't seem like it.   Disney hasn't released a new version.


Actually I believe you do need to update the app. Today when I opened the app it said to update for information regarding SWGE. I did update it and there isn’t anything new that I noticed but I’m sure there will be soon.


----------



## CableKC

I'm reading the First Post and this passage about getting the Boarding pass itself:



> There also will be the ability to join a boarding group from select locations inside Disneyland park, if you are not using the app. The boarding group is tied to admission that will be scanned upon entry of the attraction.



Do we have to go to a physical location ( I think near Buzz Lightyear Ride in TomorrowLand ) and receive the boarding pass through the app through some scan or something at that location?

or

If we have the App; once we physically enter the DL park itself ( after getting the ticket scanned ), are we able to immediately use the App to request the Boarding Pass itself?

For example; if I am boarding the Monorail at Downtown Disney ( where I think the ticket is scanned to go into DL ), should I be able to request the Boarding Pass itself once I get past the Monorail Gate ( before boarding the Monorail itself )?

Apologies for asking a stupid question; but when I read the initial post, I am a little confused as to how soon I can get the Boarding Pass.  My guess is that I can get the boarding pass via the App once my ticket is scanned to enter DL ( which should.....technically work....once I enter the Monorail...which requires a ticket scan ).


----------



## montreid

CableKC said:


> I'm reading the First Post and this passage about getting the Boarding pass itself:
> 
> 
> 
> Do we have to go to a physical location ( I think near Buzz Lightyear Ride in TomorrowLand ) and receive the boarding pass through the app through some scan or something at that location?
> 
> or
> 
> If we have the App; once we physically enter the DL park itself ( after getting the ticket scanned ), are we able to immediately use the App to request the Boarding Pass itself?
> 
> For example; if I am boarding the Monorail at Downtown Disney ( where I think the ticket is scanned to go into DL ), should I be able to request the Boarding Pass itself once I get past the Monorail Gate ( before boarding the Monorail itself )?
> 
> Apologies for asking a stupid question; but when I read the initial post, I am a little confused as to how soon I can get the Boarding Pass.  My guess is that I can get the boarding pass via the App once my ticket is scanned to enter DL ( which should.....technically work....once I enter the Monorail...which requires a ticket scan ).


first question:  if app, get your BG there.  If NO APP, there will be 'places' to get BG.   'possible' location is the buzz since that's where CMs where told to go for their hard ticket during rampup trials.  

second question:  Monorail - Don't know - we don't have an answer for the Monorail since not spelled out nor experience at HS in WDW.   If you use it - report back!


----------



## disneylover102

CableKC said:


> I'm reading the First Post and this passage about getting the Boarding pass itself:
> 
> 
> 
> Do we have to go to a physical location ( I think near Buzz Lightyear Ride in TomorrowLand ) and receive the boarding pass through the app through some scan or something at that location?
> 
> or
> 
> If we have the App; once we physically enter the DL park itself ( after getting the ticket scanned ), are we able to immediately use the App to request the Boarding Pass itself?
> 
> For example; if I am boarding the Monorail at Downtown Disney ( where I think the ticket is scanned to go into DL ), should I be able to request the Boarding Pass itself once I get past the Monorail Gate ( before boarding the Monorail itself )?
> 
> Apologies for asking a stupid question; but when I read the initial post, I am a little confused as to how soon I can get the Boarding Pass.  My guess is that I can get the boarding pass via the App once my ticket is scanned to enter DL ( which should.....technically work....once I enter the Monorail...which requires a ticket scan ).


It won’t be available until published park opening hours. It is based on your ticket being scanned though so you should definitely be in the park before opening.


----------



## CableKC

montreid said:


> first question:  if app, get your BG there.  If NO APP, there will be 'places' to get BG.   'possible' location is the buzz since that's where CMs where told to go for their hard ticket during rampup trials.
> 
> second question:  Monorail - Don't know - we don't have an answer for the Monorail since not spelled out nor experience at HS in WDW.   If you use it - report back!


I will try and let all of you know.   Thanks.


----------



## theluckyrabbit

KPeterso said:


> I don't think that is quite true. It is definitely open before as we rope drop a lot and it is always open before the park to get one. They were when we had the reservation for Galaxies Edge in June. Just wondering if they will be open earlier. If not, we will go in and get the boarding group and then head back out to get one.


Please report back on your experience after your visit. It will be helpful to others to know whether they can get a wheelchair before entering or whether they will have to enter first, then go get the wheelchair. TIA!


----------



## BlueRibbon

disneylover102 said:


> Actually I believe you do need to update the app. Today when I opened the app it said to update for information regarding SWGE. I did update it and there isn’t anything new that I noticed but I’m sure there will be soon.



Do you have apple or android? Just looked at google play and the last update for Android was back in November.


----------



## dina444444

BlueRibbon said:


> Do you have apple or android? Just looked at google play and the last update for Android was back in November.


iOS just pushed the update today so I imagine the android one can’t be far behind


----------



## jxhide

Will the Disneyland App refresh itself when it's time to reserve BG or do you have to manually refresh or quit the app. If you have to manually refresh, how do you do it?


----------



## dina444444

jxhide said:


> Will the Disneyland App refresh itself when it's time to reserve BG or do you have to manually refresh or quit the app. If you have to manually refresh, how do you do it?


For wdw you have to manually refresh to do that you close the SWGE section and reopen it.


----------



## DisneyDork1969

disneylover102 said:


> Actually I believe you do need to update the app. Today when I opened the app it said to update for information regarding SWGE. I did update it and there isn’t anything new that I noticed but I’m sure there will be soon.



I just updated my app as well...its an Android. Let's see how it goes on Friday...


----------



## tsumgirl

BlueRibbon said:


> Do you have apple or android? Just looked at google play and the last update for Android was back in November.


I have an Android and received the update notification today, as well.


----------



## montreid

tsumgirl said:


> I have an Android and received the update notification today, as well.


If you run the app constantly; close it out and reopen.  It'll notify you of the new update 80MB


----------



## CaliforniaGirl09

Anxiously awaiting reports on Friday. I'm hoping with the delay in opening the ride will run smoother in Disneyland. We lucked out at WDW last Thursday and had a seamless experience with an early boarding group, but delays and temporary shut downs are pretty much the norm there. I'm looking forward to our DLR trip on 1/24-1/26 and more chances to ride. It was fun comparing SWGEs, which are very similar. [Aside: Interestingly Oga's doesn't seem as big a deal there. There were plenty of walkups and there weren't any limits on drinks (i.e. you could get more than two). They said there was a 45 minute limit, but it didn't seem to be enforced. They also still have the carbon freeze ] 

I hope DLRs IT is up to the task, but we shall see on Friday. My biggest worry is how they are going to handle the turnstiles with big crowds and photos. I'm hoping I don't have to get up super early to make sure we are through the gates and inside the park.


----------



## Blue32

I understand the need to confirm the owner of the park ticket but it seems like with availability of tech, Disney could figure out a new way of doing this rather than photos at the gate creating these slowdowns.


----------



## Skyegirl1999

Blue32 said:


> I understand the need to confirm the owner of the park ticket but it seems like with availability of tech, Disney could figure out a new way of doing this rather than photos at the gate creating these slowdowns.


100%

It will be interested to see if ROTR brings this issue to the forefront and sparks a change in the entrance procedures.


----------



## Pickles2000

Susie63 said:


> We have never used our phones in the parks. Wifi was inconsistent and data was  crazy expensive with our Canadian phones.


Some of the Canadian companies aren’t as bad as they used to be for roaming. With mine (TELUS) on our trip in Spring this year it was just $7 a day on top of my regular bill to use my Canadian data. And it only charged on the days I used it. Well worth it for not having to try and find Wi-Fi for using Disney apps in the park. Looks like it’s $8 now.


----------



## dieumeye

Looks like some possible rain in the forecast Thursday night into early Friday morning. If it happens, maybe that’ll keep some people away, or at least slow down how early a crowd starts to form?


----------



## baozi

Android update is available now.



dina444444 said:


> iOS just pushed the update today so I imagine the android one can’t be far behind


----------



## Aurora0427

Blue32 said:


> I understand the need to confirm the owner of the park ticket but it seems like with availability of tech, Disney could figure out a new way of doing this rather than photos at the gate creating these slowdowns.



The entrance procedures at Disneyland make me crazy. It seems so inefficient compared to the WDW technology. There was a family of 6 in front of us on Saturday and it took ten minutes to scan them all in and take photos.


----------



## KPeterso

theluckyrabbit said:


> Please report back on your experience after your visit. It will be helpful to others to know whether they can get a wheelchair before entering or whether they will have to enter first, then go get the wheelchair. TIA!



Will do! I am sure it will help others so I will report back! Now to get a plan in place for how early to arrive on Saturday morning!


----------



## KPeterso

Aurora0427 said:


> The entrance procedures at Disneyland make me crazy. It seems so inefficient compared to the WDW technology. There was a family of 6 in front of us on Saturday and it took ten minutes to scan them all in and take photos.



It feels like there is always a group of 8-10 (or 2 to 3 groups like that) in front of me at the entrance. And then having to also check IDs for a couple who were using the SoCal ticket offer. Drives me crazy how inefficient the process is! And the next person for the picture is never right at the front of the group so they have to move all around to get that person to the front and then repeat for the next person. I wish they had about half the gates as ones for those who do not need a new picture (such as AP or already taken previous days).


----------



## dina444444

KPeterso said:


> Will do! I am sure it will help others so I will report back! Now to get a plan in place for how early to arrive on Saturday morning!


I’m planning to be at the parking structure by 6:30 on Saturday to attempt to ride. I’ll only be riding if I get a boarding group that’s called by 11am since I have a plane to catch to wdw that afternoon.


----------



## KPeterso

dina444444 said:


> I’m planning to be at the parking structure by 6:30 on Saturday to attempt to ride. I’ll only be riding if I get a boarding group that’s called by 11am since I have a plane to catch to wdw that afternoon.



That is kind of the time I was thinking to arrive at the parking structure! I have more time to devote to waiting for a boarding group to be called! 

And have fun at WDW! My next trip is in 52 days! But who's counting?


----------



## socaldisneylover

dieumeye said:


> Looks like some possible rain in the forecast Thursday night into early Friday morning. If it happens, maybe that’ll keep some people away, or at least slow down how early a crowd starts to form?


On Sunday night, it was looking like the storm would come through on Thursday, and be gone by late Thursday night.

But on this morning's news, the current model shows the rain starting in Anaheim at around 8:00 PM Thursday Night, and continuing until 9:00 AM Friday Morning.  The main part of the storm passing through between Midnight & 6 AM.  Hopefully it doesn't slow down any further, but I'm starting to get worried that Friday morning may be a wet one.

The forecast indicated that there was little chance this storm won't hit.


----------



## tlovesdis

KPeterso said:


> I don't think that is quite true. It is definitely open before as we rope drop a lot and it is always open before the park to get one. They were when we had the reservation for Galaxies Edge in June. Just wondering if they will be open earlier. If not, we will go in and get the boarding group and then head back out to get one.



Maybe it has changed but in my personal experience i have had to sit and wait for it to open at regular park hours.  I've never been able to get one at early entry.  But it has been about a year so again maybe it changed.


----------



## Aurora0427

KPeterso said:


> It feels like there is always a group of 8-10 (or 2 to 3 groups like that) in front of me at the entrance. And then having to also check IDs for a couple who were using the SoCal ticket offer. Drives me crazy how inefficient the process is! And the next person for the picture is never right at the front of the group so they have to move all around to get that person to the front and then repeat for the next person. I wish they had about half the gates as ones for those who do not need a new picture (such as AP or already taken previous days).



YESSSSS!!!! All of this! Or they have to get the kid out of the stroller for his picture.  My husband always asks which line and I reply “it doesn’t matter. Whichever one we choose will be the one that takes forever.” 

Anyway, back on topic! I can’t wait to hear how everything goes Friday for you guys going opening day!!!!! Hopefully you don’t get a family of ten in front of you!!!!


----------



## SirBill

As long as everyone is updating apps, don't forget to update the Disney Play app as well if you use the Datapad in SWGE - they have new stuff related to the Rise of the Resistance ride.


----------



## Malcon10t

Aurora0427 said:


> The entrance procedures at Disneyland make me crazy. It seems so inefficient compared to the WDW technology. There was a family of 6 in front of us on Saturday and it took ten minutes to scan them all in and take photos.


I guess we have been fortunate.  Rarely does it take more than 15-20 second for the person to swipe the ticket and take the pic.  The problem is usually with people not being prepared.  Or people using 1 Park tickets trying to get in both parks, or APs not checking block out date and arguing they were sure this weekend was open when they bought the pass a year ago....


----------



## deli8788

I will be at DL on the 18th19th. Completely unaware of the ROTR opening when I planned our trip. Don't be mad...not the biggest Star Wars fan so I am not super interested in riding it. If I can get a BG, cool. But I am still kinda nervous about crowds and what time I should be getting to the park to make sure we get in at rope drop and can make use of the rest of the park (which is my priority).


----------



## Lvsdisney

Blue32 said:


> I understand the need to confirm the owner of the park ticket but it seems like with availability of tech, Disney could figure out a new way of doing this rather than photos at the gate creating these slowdowns.



Do they also do the finger print like at WDW? That goes pretty quickly when scanning for the first time.


----------



## VandVsmama

Lvsdisney said:


> Do they also do the finger print like at WDW? That goes pretty quickly when scanning for the first time.


No finger printing


----------



## dina444444

Lvsdisney said:


> Do they also do the finger print like at WDW? That goes pretty quickly when scanning for the first time.


Nope. They take a picture. Takes way more time than the fingerprints.


----------



## Pamela M

Jkpark said:


> I am a little nervous about moving Oga's day of as we are a group of 10 but we will just adjust as needed once we get there. Thanks for sharing your experience!


If it runs like WDW you'll have 2 hours after your boarding group is called so you can finish a dining reservation or fastpass and get to the boarding group.


----------



## disneylover102

deli8788 said:


> I will be at DL on the 18th19th. Completely unaware of the ROTR opening when I planned our trip. Don't be mad...not the biggest Star Wars fan so I am not super interested in riding it. If I can get a BG, cool. But I am still kinda nervous about crowds and what time I should be getting to the park to make sure we get in at rope drop and can make use of the rest of the park (which is my priority).


Follow this thread on the 17th to find out what a good strategy is


----------



## Aurora0427

Malcon10t said:


> I guess we have been fortunate.  Rarely does it take more than 15-20 second for the person to swipe the ticket and take the pic.  The problem is usually with people not being prepared.  Or people using 1 Park tickets trying to get in both parks, or APs not checking block out date and arguing they were sure this weekend was open when they bought the pass a year ago....



Yes, I’d say you’ve been very fortunate. We’ve been to Disneyland ten plus times since moving here in June, and the only time we’ve ever had a 15-20 second experience is when we are coming in at an off time and there is literally no one in front of us.


----------



## Evita_W

Blue32 said:


> I understand the need to confirm the owner of the park ticket but it seems like with availability of tech, Disney could figure out a new way of doing this rather than photos at the gate creating these slowdowns.


The problem is with California laws, other theme parks in California used to use biometrics, but have since stopped due to some potential lawsuits based around California privacy laws. From my understanding the same laws are responsible for Disneyland not being able to have MagicBands either (thank goodness for that part).


----------



## Malcon10t

Aurora0427 said:


> Yes, I’d say you’ve been very fortunate. We’ve been to Disneyland ten plus times since moving here in June, and the only time we’ve ever had a 15-20 second experience is when we are coming in at an off time and there is literally no one in front of us.


We have had longer times too, but when things are running smoothly, it really doesn't take that long, and definitely not 10 mins for 6 people for the norm.  And I am looking at busier times.  Over Christmas, they were taking pictures on second entry to speed up first time in the morning.  We spent 2 weeks then, and we do check the lines normally looking for papers in hand, but during Christmas papers were everywhere.

We go for a long weekend, at least once if not twice a month, and we joke that between Nov/Dec, we spend more time at DL than at home.  I figure we have spent somewhere around 40 days since last June (heck, Dec alone we had 15 days.) . So, we do experience a lot of variation to timing.


----------



## Malcon10t

Evita_W said:


> The problem is with California laws, other theme parks in California used to use biometrics, but have since stopped due to some potential lawsuits based around California privacy laws. From my understanding the same laws are responsible for Disneyland not being able to have MagicBands either (thank goodness for that part).


I personally love MagicBands, as far as entering parks, paying, opening doors, etc. Similar to how I can use my iWatch for many things. I did not like how the park could follow me (which is why they can't be used in CA.)


----------



## mydisneymoney

Apologies if this has been asked but this thread is so big I really do not have time to read it all.  Can you track which boarding group is currently being loaded so you can get an idea of when your group might be ready to go?  I should say are they posting it at WDW currently?  I hope this makes sense.


----------



## disneylover102

mydisneymoney said:


> Apologies if this has been asked but this thread is so big I really do not have time to read it all.  Can you track which boarding group is currently being loaded so you can get an idea of when your group might be ready to go?  I should say are they posting it at WDW currently?  I hope this makes sense.


Yes. I took a screenshot of the WDW app. Right now the park is closed (it’s after 9 there) but normally on this screen it says what BG # it currently is.


----------



## Malcon10t

mydisneymoney said:


> Apologies if this has been asked but this thread is so big I really do not have time to read it all.  Can you track which boarding group is currently being loaded so you can get an idea of when your group might be ready to go?  I should say are they posting it at WDW currently?  I hope this makes sense.


Yes, it will show on the screen, plus there are push notifications.  When we were doing the preview, they had a web page up for us which would update every couple mins and let us know what boarding groups were up.  (Example, Cast Preview currently is groups 39-51 for DL.) . We will know more in a couple days!!


----------



## DisneyDork1969

disneylover102 said:


> Yes. I took a screenshot of the WDW app. Right now the park is closed (it’s after 9 there) but normally on this screen it says what BG # it currently is.



How do you reach that screen on the app? Are you in the park now?


----------



## Go💛Go

DisneyDork1969 said:


> How do you reach that screen on the app? Are you in the park now?


You can reach that screen by tapping on Find Out More. 

You can try it now; you don’t need to be in or even close to a park.


----------



## Jkpark

Malcon10t said:


> I guess we have been fortunate.  Rarely does it take more than 15-20 second for the person to swipe the ticket and take the pic.  The problem is usually with people not being prepared.  Or people using 1 Park tickets trying to get in both parks, or APs not checking block out date and arguing they were sure this weekend was open when they bought the pass a year ago....


This has been more my experience. 




Pamela M said:


> If it runs like WDW you'll have 2 hours after your boarding group is called so you can finish a dining reservation or fastpass and get to the boarding group.


Yes - but we have droid depot reservations shortly thereafter, so something will have to give if we are lucky to get a BG, and then unlucky to be called conflicting with those other reservations - we will figure it out though.


----------



## CableKC

I spoke to the DL Reservation CM and asked about the boarding passes and the Monorail.   She said that once we scan our ticket to enter the park, the option to get the Boarding passes for RotR should become active on the DL App.   I asked her specifically about the Monorail entrance and she said that it should work there as well once you get scanned in to the DL park, the option should be there.   My guess is that scanning into the Monorail to take over to DL is considered the same as entering the park in the front gate at the main entrance ( which makes sense since there isn't a separate scan of your ticket once you exit the monorail near the Finding Nemo ride ).


----------



## Evita_W

CableKC said:


> I spoke to the DL Reservation CM and asked about the boarding passes and the Monorail.   She said that once we scan our ticket to enter the park, the option to get the Boarding passes for RotR should become active on the DL App.   I asked her specifically about the Monorail entrance and she said that it should work there as well once you get scanned in to the DL park, the option should be there.   My guess is that scanning into the Monorail to take over to DL is considered the same as entering the park in the front gate at the main entrance ( which makes sense since there isn't a separate scan of your ticket once you exit the monorail near the Finding Nemo ride ).


Yes, that would be fine, the only question is if entering DCA will work or not.


----------



## SOCALMouseMommy

CableKC said:


> I spoke to the DL Reservation CM and asked about the boarding passes and the Monorail.   She said that once we scan our ticket to enter the park, the option to get the Boarding passes for RotR should become active on the DL App.   I asked her specifically about the Monorail entrance and she said that it should work there as well once you get scanned in to the DL park, the option should be there.   My guess is that scanning into the Monorail to take over to DL is considered the same as entering the park in the front gate at the main entrance ( which makes sense since there isn't a separate scan of your ticket once you exit the monorail near the Finding Nemo ride ).


This sounds risky. I've passed the monorail station before on my way to the parks and although the park had already opened, they hadn't let anyone through the turnstile at the monorail station yet. Maybe they will be more prepared for this situation though and be sure to open the turnstiles at the monorail earlier.


----------



## Vysecity

The 19th and 20th still available on Flex pass. Maybe it wont be SO packed??? Maybe???


----------



## twodogs

Vysecity said:


> The 19th and 20th still available on Flex pass. Maybe it wont be SO packed??? Maybe???


It has been variously booked for 1/18 and 1/19 but only for DL, then today, nothing is booked.  Guess people are not interested in this ride, so I should have no problem getting an excellent BG on 1/18 and 1/19 when I will be there!!  Ha ha I am probably being just a wee bit optimistic, but a girl can dream...


----------



## Vysecity

I feel ya! I'm scheduled 19th and 20th


----------



## socaldisneylover

twodogs said:


> It has been variously booked for 1/18 and 1/19 but only for DL, then today, nothing is booked.  Guess people are not interested in this ride, so I should have no problem getting an excellent BG on 1/18 and 1/19 when I will be there!!  Ha ha I am probably being just a wee bit optimistic, but a girl can dream...


Saturday is currently unavailable at DL, at least as of 4:45 PM Wednesday.

While there's nothing wrong with being optimistic, the manner in how accessing the ride is being handled makes this a different type of situation.  Fact is, if the park capacity is say 65K, and let's say they only expect 50K on Saturday, that's still 35K more people than will likely be able to get into a BG that day.

What's really important is how many people will be there at park opening.  My guess is there will easily be 15K, perhaps a few thousand more than that, since it will be only the 2nd day the ride is open, so demand will still be sky high.  There will be enough people determined to get into a BG, and willing to be there before 8 AM.

One guess I could make, is that DL is worried about what will happen when they put those signs out in the esplanade, that say all the BG's have already been filled, and that if you came to go on ROTR, you're wasting your time.  Now a regular guest might turn around and wait to use their ticket on another day, a Flex passholder with a reservation, may not care as much, and will go in and enjoy themselves, putting $$$ into DL's pocket due to concession/merch spending.

In other words, instead of the day's attendance spiking in early afternoon, like a normal Saturday, it may instead peak shortly after 8:00 AM, with many either deciding to be there trying for a BG, or skipping a visit altogether, since they know it won't be possible to get into one if not there at opening.


----------



## DLRExpert

socaldisneylover said:


> One guess I could make, is that DL is worried about what will happen when they put those signs out in the esplanade, that say all the BG's have already been filled, and that if you came to go on ROTR, you're wasting your time.  Now a regular guest might turn around and wait to use their ticket on another day, a Flex passholder with a reservation, may not care as much, and will go in and enjoy themselves, putting $$$ into DL's pocket due to concession/merch spending.
> 
> In other words, instead of the day's attendance spiking in early afternoon, like a normal Saturday, it may instead peak shortly after 8:00 AM, with many either deciding to be there trying for a BG, or skipping a visit altogether, since they know it won't be possible to get into one if not there at opening.


I would bet either more boarding group passes will be available or not as many people as you think will be there at opening.

The real issue comes if people with boarding passes cannot ride.


----------



## Malcon10t

The way the ride has been breaking down still, there is a decent chance people with Boarding Groups might not be able to ride.  It happened last Sat during testing.  Ride went down about 2pm, and came up intermittently thru the afternoon/evening, and those with later BGs did not get to ride. (I made sure I got mine early!)  I heard it went down a couple times on Sunday too.


----------



## Skyegirl1999

FYI, both City Hall and Chamber of Commerce told me parking opens at 4am.  I’m not sure there’s been an official announcement about that?


----------



## Malcon10t

Skyegirl1999 said:


> FYI, both City Hall and Chamber of Commerce told me parking opens at 4am.  I’m not sure there’s been an official announcement about that?


"Rumor" I have heard is parking opens at 2am, ticket booths at 5am, and they will be opening the gates at 6am, although no boarding passes til 8am.  I'm curious as to what time they will open security tents.  Should be 2am if they are opening parking then (or in other words, they won't close security Thurs night...)


----------



## Skyegirl1999

Malcon10t said:


> "Rumor" I have heard is parking opens at 2am, ticket booths at 5am, and they will be opening the gates at 6am, although no boarding passes til 8am.  I'm curious as to what time they will open security tents.  Should be 2am if they are opening parking then (or in other words, they won't close security Thurs night...)


I had also heard 2am.  Interesting that both parks said 4am - I don’t trust that, but interesting.

Side note: parks were eeeeeeeeeeempty today.  Like, Frozen show only opened the Orchestra empty.  Immediate FPs available for almost everything at about 4:00 today.


----------



## midnight star

Skyegirl1999 said:


> I had also heard 2am.  Interesting that both parks said 4am - I don’t trust that, but interesting.
> 
> Side note: parks were eeeeeeeeeeempty today.  Like, Frozen show only opened the Orchestra empty.  Immediate FPs available for almost everything at about 4:00 today.



I saw pics of that emptiness....The buzz seems higher for this ride, but I am wondering if it will be empty again. Since it's NAMM some people are scared off by that.


----------



## midnight star

Did Disney say how long these boarding groups are supposed to last?


----------



## BGinCali

Skyegirl1999 said:


> FYI, both City Hall and Chamber of Commerce told me parking opens at 4am.  I’m not sure there’s been an official announcement about that?


 Do you know if this is for Friday only, or are they initially planning this for the weekend as well? (My AP expires Sunday, so hoping between Saturday and Sunday I can ride it once!)


----------



## Katiebird

BGinCali said:


> Do you know if this is for Friday only, or are they initially planning this for the weekend as well? (My AP expires Sunday, so hoping between Saturday and Sunday I can ride it once!)


I’m guessing it depends on what happens Friday.


----------



## Amunet

Malcon10t said:


> "Rumor" I have heard is parking opens at 2am, ticket booths at 5am, and they will be opening the gates at 6am, although no boarding passes til 8am.  I'm curious as to what time they will open security tents.  Should be 2am if they are opening parking then (or in other words, they won't close security Thurs night...)


Are those times an estimate for this opening weekend or for the first couple months?


----------



## vharris2828

Skyegirl1999 said:


> I had also heard 2am.  Interesting that both parks said 4am - I don’t trust that, but interesting.
> 
> Side note: parks were eeeeeeeeeeempty today.  Like, Frozen show only opened the Orchestra empty.  Immediate FPs available for almost everything at about 4:00 today.


I’m kicking myself for not going this week and choosing next week instead  Yesterday looked empty too.


----------



## Aurora0427

Skyegirl1999 said:


> I had also heard 2am.  Interesting that both parks said 4am - I don’t trust that, but interesting.
> 
> Side note: parks were eeeeeeeeeeempty today.  Like, Frozen show only opened the Orchestra empty.  Immediate FPs available for almost everything at about 4:00 today.



I so wish we could’ve blown off school and gone today, but we went last Thursday night and Friday and tied in the Anaheim Ducks/ Dallas Stars game. We are totally playing hooky this week next year!


----------



## Skyegirl1999

midnight star said:


> Did Disney say how long these boarding groups are supposed to last?


I think they’ll keep them for awhile, especially with the ride being so unreliable.  It’s easier to pause BGs and potentially clear a reasonably small line vs having a 4-hour standby line to deal with if it breaks down.  

Could be wrong, of course... they haven’t said.


----------



## Katiebird

Amunet said:


> Are those times an estimate for this opening weekend or for the first couple months?



They’re for Friday morning. Depending on what happens then, it could be for the entire weekend (though I doubt it because they really don’t want to have to keep parking and security open like that if they can help it), or even longer. 

My guess is that boarding groups will stick around for a while, but the initial madness will wear off in a few weeks. That doesn’t mean that boarding groups will remain available all day, though


----------



## SirBill

SOCALMouseMommy said:


> This sounds risky. I've passed the monorail station before on my way to the parks and although the park had already opened, they hadn't let anyone through the turnstile at the monorail station yet. Maybe they will be more prepared for this situation though and be sure to open the turnstiles at the monorail earlier.



They don't care if you are physically in the park, just that you scanned a ticket to enter the park - at WDW you can scan in, leave, and still get a BG when they release them.  So if you are held at the monorail turnstiles it will not matter as far as getting a BG.

I'm not sure though how early they would run the monorail compared to how early they'll be letting people get into the downtown Disney area.


----------



## Elk Grove Chris

Katiebird said:


> They’re for Friday morning. Depending on what happens then, it could be for the entire weekend (though I doubt it because they really don’t want to have to keep parking and security open like that if they can help it), or even longer.
> 
> My guess is that boarding groups will stick around for a while, but the initial madness will wear off in a few weeks. That doesn’t mean that boarding groups will remain available all day, though



I had the same thoughts-which is why I am going on the 30th.


----------



## CastAStone

Jkpark said:


> Yes - but we have droid depot reservations shortly thereafter, so something will have to give if we are lucky to get a BG, and then unlucky to be called conflicting with those other reservations - we will figure it out though.


At WDW people have reported success asking the Guest Experience Team to modify them to a later boarding group if their reservation looks likely to conflict. YMMV.


----------



## Gaugersaurus

I plan to be there around 4am tomorrow morning. I'll try to do play-by-play updates to give everyone an idea of how it goes!


----------



## CastAStone

GOOD LUCK to all braving it tomorrow! 

May The Force/EarlyBG Be With You!


----------



## Vysecity

May the odds be ever in your favor...


----------



## Skyegirl1999

SirBill said:


> They don't care if you are physically in the park, just that you scanned a ticket to enter the park - at WDW you can scan in, leave, and still get a BG when they release them.  So if you are held at the monorail turnstiles it will not matter as far as getting a BG.
> 
> I'm not sure though how early they would run the monorail compared to how early they'll be letting people get into the downtown Disney area.


Being held at the turnstiles means you HAVEN’T had your ticket scanned yet - which would mean you can’t get a BG.  I’d be nervous about the monorail entrance.



Gaugersaurus said:


> I plan to be there around 4am tomorrow morning. I'll try to do play-by-play updates to give everyone an idea of how it goes!


We are aiming for a 5:30 arrival (I’d go earlier, but balancing when to drag my kiddo out of bed)... We may adjust depending if line-ups start tonight and stuff like that.  If you see this cutie, say hello!  I’ll be in a Mandalorian bound that sort of makes me look like a foil-wrapped baked potato, so you can say hi to me, too.


----------



## disneylover102

So just to clarify, when your ticket is scanned you will see the option to get a BG but you won’t actually be able to reserve one until 8 right?


----------



## ironband74

MIcechat now suggests that TS parking lot will be open at 12:01AM, while the other parking structures will open at the usual 6:30am.

I'm looking forward to living vicariously through those of you who are going.  I'll be sending positive vibes for a low boarding group!


----------



## ironband74

disneylover102 said:


> So just to clarify, when your ticket is scanned you will see the option to get a BG but you won’t actually be able to reserve one until 8 right?


That's the story we're getting - the button will be there but not be active until 8.


----------



## CaliforniaGirl09

Gaugersaurus said:


> I plan to be there around 4am tomorrow morning. I'll try to do play-by-play updates to give everyone an idea of how it goes!





Skyegirl1999 said:


> We are aiming for a 5:30 arrival (I’d go earlier, but balancing when to drag my kiddo out of bed)... We may adjust depending if line-ups start tonight and stuff like that.  If you see this cutie, say hello!  I’ll be in a Mandalorian bound that sort of makes me look like a foil-wrapped baked potato, so you can say hi to me, too. View attachment 465511


Good luck you guys, and I can't wait to hear how it goes. Love the costume--what a cutie!


----------



## SOCALMouseMommy

Skyegirl1999 said:


> Being held at the turnstiles means you HAVEN’T had your ticket scanned yet - which would mean you can’t get a BG.  I’d be nervous about the monorail entrance.
> 
> 
> We are aiming for a 5:30 arrival (I’d go earlier, but balancing when to drag my kiddo out of bed)... We may adjust depending if line-ups start tonight and stuff like that.  If you see this cutie, say hello!  I’ll be in a Mandalorian bound that sort of makes me look like a foil-wrapped baked potato, so you can say hi to me, too. View attachment 465511


I can’t wait to hear about your experience! I love your dedication and willingness to do this craziness with your kiddo!


----------



## Gaugersaurus

Skyegirl1999 said:


> We are aiming for a 5:30 arrival (I’d go earlier, but balancing when to drag my kiddo out of bed)... We may adjust depending if line-ups start tonight and stuff like that. If you see this cutie, say hello! I’ll be in a Mandalorian bound that sort of makes me look like a foil-wrapped baked potato, so you can say hi to me, too.


Your kiddo's outfit is so cute, we'll keep an eye out for you! I'll be there in my SWGE shirt and SW knit cap along with DGF and possibly my mom. I was originally planning for 5:30 arrival as well but having to deal with the 91 between the 15 & 55 means earlier arrival and braving the cold & slight possibility of rain will be better.


----------



## KPeterso

Skyegirl1999 said:


> Being held at the turnstiles means you HAVEN’T had your ticket scanned yet - which would mean you can’t get a BG.  I’d be nervous about the monorail entrance.
> 
> 
> We are aiming for a 5:30 arrival (I’d go earlier, but balancing when to drag my kiddo out of bed)... We may adjust depending if line-ups start tonight and stuff like that.  If you see this cutie, say hello!  I’ll be in a Mandalorian bound that sort of makes me look like a foil-wrapped baked potato, so you can say hi to me, too. View attachment 465511



Love your daughter's outfit! She looks ready!

Can't wait to hear the updates from all going tomorrow. Hoping it gives me a better idea for Saturday morning!!!! My co-worker rode the other day with his brother who is a cast member and told me it was the most amazing ride ever. Still jealous he got to ride if I am honest with myself!


----------



## Lvsdisney

Ahh! I'm excited to see the reports for tomorrow and Saturday. Our first park day is Sunday and I'm debating whether to even attempt to get there before rope drop. We are staying until Tuesday, so I am crossing fingers Tuesday is a little less crazy and hopefully get a BG that day.  Full disclosure: I planned this trip around my son's birthday and had NO IDEA that ROTR was opening this weekend until after I already booked our flights...


----------



## twodogs

We will be there bravely trying to get a Boarding Group Saturday morning for RORT.  Staying at GCH, so we have EMH but BGs won’t open until regular park opening.  I just want to make sure we are physically in the park by regular park opening.  I am wondering if the crowds waiting to enter for EMH will be in nice line behind each entrance gate (normal morning procedure) or if it will be a mass of people in the Espalade?  I figure it will look somewhat similar to the 60th Anniversary and I wondered if some of you who were there that day remember if the crowd was lines or a mass?  Just trying to mentally prepare for the degree of chaos!!


----------



## crystal1313

For the 60th we got in line at 4am and were originally lined up at the shuttle drop off area between the espalade and Harbor Blvd.  At some point, they had us walk over to the entrance gates and line up.  I recall everyone kinda spreading out to all the gates and lining up like normal.  It was for sure lines though, not a big mass.  It was pretty organized as I remember it. Hope that helps!  And have a wonderful trip!!


----------



## VandVsmama

I'll be with y'all in spirit!


----------



## dina444444

crystal1313 said:


> For the 60th we got in line at 4am and were originally lined up at the shuttle drop off area between the espalade and Harbor Blvd.  At some point, they had us walk over to the entrance gates and line up.  I recall everyone kinda spreading out to all the gates and lining up like normal.  It was for sure lines though, not a big mass.  It was pretty organized as I remember it. Hope that helps!  And have a wonderful trip!!


My guess is it will be similar tomorrow for the start. The toy story lot will be open overnight so they can hold people outside of security.


----------



## twodogs

Thank you both!!  Crystal, that really helps me understand the process.  We will be coming from GCH, so through DTD.  I am hoping it will be orderly lines, but at DHS, the pictures have just shown a huge mass of people, and I can only imagine the pushing and jostling that happens when they open the turnstiles.  They have stopped using finger prints on admission at DHS to help speed up getting folks in the parks.  The photo process at DLR always makes me crazy because sometimes you get behind a large group who all need pictures taken and don’t have their things together.  Did they do pictures on the 60th?


----------



## twodogs

And Crystal, were you near the front of a line at the turnstiles by getting there at 4am??  I don‘t think I can convince my family to get out there at 4am, even for ROTR!!


----------



## dina444444

twodogs said:


> And Crystal, were you near the front of a line at the turnstiles by getting there at 4am??  I don‘t think I can convince my family to get out there at 4am, even for ROTR!!


Just for reference that was a 24 hour day and the parks opened at 6am.


----------



## twodogs

I will report back on our experience from Saturday (and maybe Sunday if I can convince my family to try for it again...).  I hope we just manage to get a BG on Saturday and actually get to ride.  We never do TS meals at DLR, but this trip (before we knew when ROTR would open), I booked BB Fantasmic package for lunch Saturday.  I hope that if we do get a ROTR BG, it does not overlap our lunch or F!  If we are lucky enough to get a BG, I will just talk to GS if there is overlap and figure something out.  MTFBW us all!!


----------



## socaldisneylover

Coming by bus, and had originally thought about taking the earliest one, which would get me to park by 5:45.  But now I'm thinking I might just get an extra hour of sleep, and arrive by 6:45.  I don't think that waiting on Main St. from 6:00 to 8:00 is going to get me any advantage necessarily, and I am hoping an hour plus is enough time to get through entrance, although I am sure it will be.


----------



## dina444444

I’m going Saturday morning. Plan to get to the parking structure around 6:15am. I have to get a low number boarding group in order to ride since I have a 3:15 flight off to WDW. But if I don’t get called in time I have a friend that will use my boarding pass and I’ll get to ride in WDW again next week.


----------



## crystal1313

Hi Michelle, I do not remember if they took photos on the 60th.  I did not have an AP at that point, but we went the day before the actual 60th anniversary and I do not recall if they took my photo or not.  

Yes, we were about 20ish people back from the turnstiles.  Everyone was really excited and there was no pushing or shoving or anything like that at all.  

@dina444444 I do not remember the parks being open 24 hours on July 17th, that is what I was talking about for the 60th anniversary.


----------



## Pamela M

Aside from here where are people going to get news on how opening is goin? Are there twitter or instagram accounts to follow?


----------



## dina444444

crystal1313 said:


> Hi Michelle, I do not remember if they took photos on the 60th.  I did not have an AP at that point, but we went the day before the actual 60th anniversary and I do not recall if they took my photo or not.
> 
> Yes, we were about 20ish people back from the turnstiles.  Everyone was really excited and there was no pushing or shoving or anything like that at all.
> 
> @dina444444 I do not remember the parks being open 24 hours on July 17th, that is what I was talking about for the 60th anniversary.


Oh no that day was a breeze compared to the start of the 60th. The start of the 60th was the nutso 24 hour day. I got to the parks at 6:45 that day with no waits to park at the structure or security and the park opened early and everything was walk on.


----------



## crystal1313

dina444444 said:


> Oh no that day was a breeze compared to the start of the 60th. The start of the 60th was the nutso 24 hour day. I got to the parks at 6:45 that day with no waits to park at the structure or security and the park opened early and everything was walk on.


Oh ok!  Whew!  I thought I was going crazy...LOL.  I was not there for the craziness of the 24 hour day.  Only the actual bday on 7/17.  =)


----------



## dina444444

crystal1313 said:


> Oh ok!  Whew!  I thought I was going crazy...LOL.  I was not there for the craziness of the 24 hour day.  Only the actual bday on 7/17.  =)


Yeah the actual day of the 60th was a pretty slow day for summer time. But the first day of the celebration was sheer insanity. People were holding spots on main st. by 10am for the first paint the night parade.


----------



## corgi_monster

ironband74 said:


> That's the story we're getting - the button will be there but not be active until 8.



Given Disney IT's track record, I will be intermittently refreshing the app as soon as I get in the park.  Perhaps this might be one occasion when IT glitches work in our favor.  You never know and one can hope, right?


----------



## Aurora0427

Good luck to everyone going tomorrow! I can’t wait to read about your experiences. The wait times at the park today are the lowest I’ve ever seen! Wish we were there!!! 

May the Force be with You!!!!!


----------



## Malroy

Pamela M said:


> Aside from here where are people going to get news on how opening is goin? Are there twitter or instagram accounts to follow?


i follow  couple people on insta who I'm presuming will be there - mrcheezypop (also does great YouTube videos!) and patrickadougall (also does YouTube)


----------



## Skyegirl1999

So, are they just not announcing the parking situation?

I mean, tomorrow is like eight hours away... I realize there have been a lot of rumors, but shouldn’t Disney be officially stating what will be open and when?


----------



## ironband74

Skyegirl1999 said:


> So, are they just not announcing the parking situation?
> 
> I mean, tomorrow is like eight hours away... I realize there have been a lot of rumors, but shouldn’t Disney be officially stating what will be open and when?


Best I can do is a moderator comment from the Parks Blog:

https://disneyparks.disney.go.com/b...yland-park/?CMP=SOC-TW.DLR|SWGE_RR_BlogRRBlog
"Toy Story Parking Lot will be open at midnight and guests will be directed accordingly."

It's the first "official" word I've seen.


----------



## CastAStone

ironband74 said:


> Best I can do is a moderator comment from the Parks Blog:
> 
> https://disneyparks.disney.go.com/b...yland-park/?CMP=SOC-TW.DLR|SWGE_RR_BlogRRBlog
> "Toy Story Parking Lot will be open at midnight and guests will be directed accordingly."
> 
> It's the first "official" word I've seen.


If I were them I wouldn’t announce that I’m doing anything differently either. If you say parking opens at 2 AM then you have a line of cars at 2 AM. Better to say nothing and prepare for everything.


----------



## Skyegirl1999

ironband74 said:


> Best I can do is a moderator comment from the Parks Blog:
> 
> https://disneyparks.disney.go.com/b...yland-park/?CMP=SOC-TW.DLR|SWGE_RR_BlogRRBlog
> "Toy Story Parking Lot will be open at midnight and guests will be directed accordingly."
> 
> It's the first "official" word I've seen.


Well, we always park at Toy Story, so I guess this is good news for us!  Fingers crossed that things aren’t ridiculously crazier than I anticipate...


----------



## IsleofDisney

Pamela M said:


> Aside from here where are people going to get news on how opening is goin? Are there twitter or instagram accounts to follow?



D23's Inside Disney will be live streaming the event starting at 8 am tomorrow morning. You can find more info on the D23 website.


----------



## IsleofDisney

Skyegirl1999 said:


> Being held at the turnstiles means you HAVEN’T had your ticket scanned yet - which would mean you can’t get a BG.  I’d be nervous about the monorail entrance.
> 
> 
> We are aiming for a 5:30 arrival (I’d go earlier, but balancing when to drag my kiddo out of bed)... We may adjust depending if line-ups start tonight and stuff like that.  If you see this cutie, say hello!  I’ll be in a Mandalorian bound that sort of makes me look like a foil-wrapped baked potato, so you can say hi to me, too. View attachment 465511



How fun!! What a cutie, and it looks like she's into it too! We'll be there on Saturday bright and early. Can't wait to hear the first reports back of the ride.


----------



## midnight star

Have fun everyone that is going


----------



## EmJ

Good luck tonight and tomorrow everyone! We aren't leaving for another 74 days (but who's counting?), but I will be living vicariously through you!


----------



## Kender

I am living vicariously through everyone going because being a responsible adult is sadly winning out   . But I did consider for a moment driving the 6-7 hours down, taking a nap along the way somewhere, trying for a BG, and then napping again before driving the 6-7 hours home later in the day. And honestly I think it's only winning out because I do want to ride with my mom the first time I ride ROTR.

Good luck to everyone! Guests and especially CMs!

Eagerly awaiting those first reports from those planning to get there early


----------



## heathpack

dieumeye said:


> You can use EMH on check in day. 5:30 should be plenty of time to check in and get to the park for the EMH line, although who knows how many people will be waiting at the main gate for regular parking opening.
> 
> As for monorail, we don’t really know the specifics of how the gates will operate once RotR opens, but I’d doubt that there will be any benefit to entering via monorail, it might be slower, or not open at all.



The last time we checked in early morning at VGC to avail ourselves of EMH, we arrived shortly before 6am and were told we had to wait until 6am to be checked in, as that’s the earliest possible hotel check in time.  You may want to call first to clarify.


----------



## heathpack

CaliforniaGirl09 said:


> We'll be staying at VGC for the weekend of Jan 24th. I'm hoping we'll be able to take advantage of the hotel entrance, although I suspect it would get packed early. I've been following the WDW thread since day one, and it's starting to stress me out. I was hoping DL would give resort guests a slot like they did for the opening, but I guess not. The cynical part of me thinks that after the perceived "flop" of the GE opening that they want a madhouse for the RotR opening.



On EMH days, the Grand Californian entrance to CA is only open to Grand Californian guests, or at least that was the case in Sept when we were there.  It was quick to get through turnstiles. 

On nonEMH days, the entrance is open to all resort guests and is very slow.


----------



## CaliforniaGirl09

heathpack said:


> On EMH days, the Grand Californian entrance to CA is only open to Grand Californian guests, or at least that was the case in Sept when we were there.  It was quick to get through turnstiles.
> 
> On nonEMH days, the entrance is open to all resort guests and is very slow.


Yep. VGC is the Villas at the Grand Californian—the DVC part but still part of the hotel. Looks like this is moot though since only DL entrance will work. Bummer


----------



## heathpack

CaliforniaGirl09 said:


> Yep. VGC is the Villas at the Grand Californian—the DVC part but still part of the hotel. Looks like this is moot though since only DL entrance will work. Bummer



Yes I know.  We are VGC owners too.


----------



## heathpack

heathpack said:


> Yes I know.  We are VGC owners too.



PS We booked the night of Jan 24 eleven months ago- because we like to go when it was slow.  Lol, we’re still pretty happy to go and maybe get to ride ROTR.  When the positive early reports on ROTR at WDW were posted, we added a free hotel night at the Fairfield Inn for Thursday Jan 23.  We’d normally just drive down day-of and check in to VGC at 6am.  But we expect bedlam so sleeping super close seemed wise.  We’re going all in and trying for ROTR Fri and Sat.

But I also booked a late Feb freebie night at the Fairfield Inn.  And we’ve got VGC reservations for a single night in Apr and two nights in Aug.

When I replied to you I didn’t realize you were also a VGC owner.  Mostly I didn’t want someone not “in the know” pegging their hopes on a quick entry through the Grand Californian entry on a non EMH day.


----------



## BlueRibbon

Opening at midnight now? I'm taking my oldest and youngest daughters and we're leaving the house at about 2:45am(so says the plan). We live about 10-15 minutes away, I'm hoping the lines into the parking lot won't be too bad! I'll let you know how it goes!


----------



## Skyegirl1999

BlueRibbon said:


> Opening at midnight now? I'm taking my oldest and youngest daughters and we're leaving the house at about 2:45am(so says the plan). We live about 10-15 minutes away, I'm hoping the lines into the parking lot won't be too bad! I'll let you know how it goes!


Yes, please report how it is when you get there!  I’m going to get up and check my phone around 4 in hopes I can find some reports.


----------



## dieumeye

Skyegirl1999 said:


> Yes, please report how it is when you get there!  I’m going to get up and check my phone around 4 in hopes I can find some reports.


Same here. I’m still on the fence. I mean, I want to go but word that TS parking lot is opening at midnight has me worried it’ll be a mob scene by the time I would reasonably want to get there!


----------



## brentm77

Skyegirl1999 said:


> Yes, please report how it is when you get there!  I’m going to get up and check my phone around 4 in hopes I can find some reports.



I am staying on site.  I plan to head over by around 5ish.  I will report here what it looks like at that time.


----------



## Lewdannie

Attractions 360 is reporting on Twitter that ..."all annual passes are unblocked for the Opening of Rise of the Resistance tomorrow including SoCal Resident tix"


----------



## disneylover102

Going at 2 AM. We’ll see how this goes...


----------



## SirBill

Just spoke to two security guards moving people through bag check exit - they said the bag check would be open all night (the one leading to Harbor), if that changes anyone’s plans.  Looked fully staffed.  Probably will be there around 2:45 myself unless I wake earlier.  No rain yet it looks like.


----------



## CaliforniaGirl09

heathpack said:


> PS We booked the night of Jan 24 eleven months ago- because we like to go when it was slow.  Lol, we’re still pretty happy to go and maybe get to ride ROTR.  When the positive early reports on ROTR at WDW were posted, we added a free hotel night at the Fairfield Inn for Thursday Jan 23.  We’d normally just drive down day-of and check in to VGC at 6am.  But we expect bedlam so sleeping super close seemed wise.  We’re going all in and trying for ROTR Fri and Sat.
> 
> But I also booked a late Feb freebie night at the Fairfield Inn.  And we’ve got VGC reservations for a single night in Apr and two nights in Aug.
> 
> When I replied to you I didn’t realize you were also a VGC owner.  Mostly I didn’t want someone not “in the know” pegging their hopes on a quick entry through the Grand Californian entry on a non EMH day.


yep, we’ve owned vgc since the first year it opened. Love it. 
we booked months ago for our son‘s 23rd birthday on Saturday. Hoping we Get to ride. He wasn’t with us in wdw so he hasn’t ridden yet.


----------



## DisneyDork1969

I'm finally in Anaheim and plan to head over at Midnight to see how things are...will report back...


----------



## CableKC

Vysecity said:


> The 19th and 20th still available on Flex pass. Maybe it wont be SO packed??? Maybe???


Flex Pass?  What do you mean?   You mean the Disney MAX Pass?

Can you help explain to a newbie like myself how this Flex Pass any gauges attendance?


----------



## dina444444

CableKC said:


> Flex Pass?  What do you mean?   You mean the Disney MAX Pass?
> 
> Can you help explain to a newbie like myself how this Flex Pass any gauges attendance?


Flex is an AP pass. Details here:
https://disneyland.disney.go.com/guest-services/flex-passport/


----------



## DisneyDork1969

I'm at DL now and I'm lined up at gate #22...there's about 100 people already...


----------



## theluckyrabbit

DisneyDork1969 said:


> I'm at DL now and I'm lined up at gate #22...there's about 100 people already...


Good luck and lots of pixie dust to you! Thank you for reporting back.


----------



## panda123

Good luck to everyone out there tonight! I'll be living vicariously through this thread and crossing my fingers that you all manage to get a good boarding group.

Checked on the Disneyland app and it looks like it's ready to go with the boarding group sections.


----------



## disneylover102

Here at DL. There’s a lot of insane people here. Not a huge line at any turnstile but there’s probably 15 or so people in each line.


----------



## dieumeye

Went by M&F at 2:45am. Both the main entrance and the PP entrance were closed.

TS lot is wide open. There’s a small but steady trickle of people parking and heading to shuttles.

It is raining so I’m just sitting in my car to see if it dies down. I don’t know what the esplanade looks like, but from the looks of things here I don’t see any reason to go over there and stand in the rain just yet. My only goal is to be in the park before BGs open.

In true SoCal fashion, looks like there are quite a few people who came unprepared for rain. Supposed to end soon though.


----------



## BlueRibbon

3:15 now. Not much change from the last post. Maybe 20 ppl in each line. Gent on the bus said a lot of ppl are lined up at Mickey and friends and don't know about the Toy story lot. Rain has just let up but Im sure its keeping locals away.


----------



## yulilin3

Happy opening day RotR West,  from the East coast  MTFBWY


----------



## dieumeye

Left TS lot at 3:30am. They weren’t running security in the lot and it was a walk on to the shuttle. There were lots of shuttles lined up so they seem ready.

Zero line at Harbor security around 3:35am.

Rain has definitely stopped.

There’s people here in the esplanade, but lines at the gate aren’t even back to the monorail track.

Slow trickle from Harbor, and very slow trickle from DTD.

M&F trams don’t seem to be running so I’d assume it’s still closed.

I assume that the crowd will grow faster the later it gets, but at this point there should be no issue getting into park by the time BGs open at 8am.

Thankfully, there doesn’t seem to be any reason to be here this early for RotR (at least today!) but we’re having a good time!

At this point there’s no need for them to open the gates super early, but I hope they do because I’d rather not stand here for 4 hours!


----------



## Gaugersaurus

Just parked in Toy Story lot and it’s still a walk on to the shuttles. I don’t expect it will be much of an issue to get through security at harbor entrance there’s maybe 5 other people on the shuttle


----------



## theluckyrabbit

@dieumeye and @Gaugersaurus: Thanks for the updates! Good luck and please report back on how things are going!


----------



## dieumeye

Have heard a few people explaining BG concept to strangers in line. Hmm. How many people showed up here not knowing about BGs?

My main question isn’t how early does one need to show up, but instead, what is the LATEST you can show up and still be in the park by open.

Also, after following the DHS thread for so long, I have to say it actually is kind of nerve racking being here so early and knowing that I could be one slow finger away from a super late BG, or no BG at all!

Lines are just getting back to monorail track, although they are pretty loose. Still a slow trickle of people.


----------



## Gaugersaurus

Lines are all back to the monorail track now. Lots of excitement in the air. There’s a few CMs out offering to explain the virtual queue to folks walking in


----------



## Mathmagicland

dieumeye said:


> My main question isn’t how early does one need to show up, but instead, what is the LATEST you can show up and still be in the park by open.


This is my question also, not getting there today but will be there next week so starting to monitor DL process.


----------



## disneylover102

A cast member is inside the gates turning all the computers/ticket scanners on. Currently 4:22 AM.


----------



## brentm77

About 1000 people here now. Each line is at least 50 deep.


----------



## DisneyDork1969

At 4:15am, CM started turning on the ticket scanners and unlocking the gates. .there was a huddle of executives before this happened...not sure what's gonna happen next...also they started filling the brochure pockets....


----------



## TheMaxRebo

Best of luck to everyone there today for this important day for The Resistance ...May the Force be with you all!


----------



## Gaugersaurus

Lines are starting to extend beyond the planters now but people toward the end of the line are a lot more spread out than those up front


----------



## BlueRibbon

All the front gate CMs are working to prep the gates. They're out a littlebearlierbthan expected. Line is about 15 ppl deep beyond the monorail beam.


----------



## Skyegirl1999

Thanks so much for all the live updates.  I’m about to wake up the kiddo and head over.  Glad to hear it’s not a nightmare at this point (but also sounds like there are enough people there to make an effort).


----------



## dieumeye

Line are past monorail track but not to the middle of the esplanade. Assuming they open even reasonably early everyone here should easily be in park by BG open. 

Wonder what the parking lots are like now. Still a steady trickle from Harbor, and I can’t tell for sure but it doesn’t seem like M&F trams are running.


----------



## theluckyrabbit

For those who are in the esplanade now: How cold is it? Is it damp or have things pretty much dried up from the rain?


----------



## socaldisneylover

I wish I had anticipated this and slept another hour.  Not going to rush at this point, will take the 5:50 AM bus and be there by 6:45.


----------



## brentm77

I think we still will see big groups from the Disney hotel area.  Security had only has ten go through at 4:15, but said 1000 had come through the East side.


----------



## Gaugersaurus

theluckyrabbit said:


> For those who are in the esplanade now: How cold is it? Is it damp or have things pretty much dried up from the rain?


It’s still pretty cold/damp, ground is wet but no standing water. Monorail track is still dripping. It’s supposed to get colder as the morning goes on but right now it’s comfortable in a jacket


----------



## brentm77

Moist and a little cold, but not freezing. Light coat or jacket is enough if you run warm.


----------



## theluckyrabbit

Gaugersaurus said:


> It’s still pretty cold/damp, ground is wet by no standing water. Monorail track is still dripping. It’s supposed to get colder as the morning goes on but right now it’s comfortable in a jacket


Thank you! Just want those who are leaving now to be prepared -- especially if they'll be bringing little ones!


----------



## theluckyrabbit

brentm77 said:


> Moist and a little cold, but not freezing. Light coat or jacket is enough if you run warm.


Thank you!


----------



## Gaugersaurus

There’s a steady stream of people coming from the east side now. Lines are getting closer to the center of the esplanade


----------



## disneylover102

theluckyrabbit said:


> For those who are in the esplanade now: How cold is it? Is it damp or have things pretty much dried up from the rain?


It’s not really cold but it is still damp from the rain. Not bad. But I am from cold Utah so you might not want to trust my opinion


----------



## SirBill

A bit chilly now as the temp drops a bit before sunrise, I got here about 2;45 and am about 20 people from gates.... we got to see a lightsaber fly by on the monorail test vehicle.  Seemed like they were going to let us in at 5am, but not quite yet...


----------



## dieumeye

The rate of people arriving does seem to be picking up. Lines look to be to the middle of the esplanade.

Don’t want to over sell it or undersell it. There are a lot of people here at this point, but it is a manageable big crowd so far, not insane.

I assume they’ll have to do something once lines reach the DCA gates.


----------



## disneylover102

The lines are starting to get a bit close to DCA. I’m really hoping they let us in soon!


----------



## Gaugersaurus

Lines are starting to grow more quickly now. Still doesn’t look like trams from M&F are running yet


----------



## Gaugersaurus

Lines are almost back to DCA now. CMs are passing out maps and virtual queue information


----------



## dieumeye

Sorry for the kinda bad pic, but thought some folks like might to know this info about getting a BG without the app. This is from the RotR flier they are handing out. The rest of it explains how to download the app and join a BG.


----------



## dieumeye

According to the CM handing out instructions, he had no idea how many BGs would be distributed or whether they will use backup BGs.

If you don’t use the app, you can get a BG at the FP kiosk for Buzz or Splash Mountain. Posted a pic above.

Splash Mountain is an interesting choice. Either they expect people to be back that far in the park by 8am, or they expect BGs to last long enough for people to get back there from rope drop. Interesting.


----------



## dina444444

dieumeye said:


> According to the CM handing out instructions, he had no idea how many BGs would be distributed or whether they will use backup BGs.
> 
> If you don’t use the app, you can get a BG at the FP kiosk for Buzz or Splash Mountain. Posted a pic above.
> 
> Splash Mountain is an interesting choice. Either they expect people to be back that far in the park by 8am, or they expect BGs to last long enough for people to get back there from rope drop. Interesting.


My guess is they picked that ride since it doesn’t need its own machines cause people are not going to be riding in this weather.


----------



## Skyegirl1999

We’re on the Toy Story bus.  Steady line of cars entering, we waited behind a few to get in the lot.  The Woody side is full up to the lane where cars drive (like by the exit).

My daughter is currently wearing her pink reindeer onesie from Christmas, so she’s nice and toasty.


----------



## dieumeye

dina444444 said:


> My guess is they picked that ride since it doesn’t need its own machines cause people are not going to be riding in this weather.


Good point. Though if BGs only last 5-10 minutes, I don’t see how the Splash FP kiosk is going to be of much use, unless they let people past the hub prior to rope drop.


----------



## Gaugersaurus

Was just told we’ll probably be let into the parks before 7 so they can reduce the line in time to open DCA for EMH


----------



## dieumeye

Gaugersaurus said:


> Was just told we’ll probably be let into the parks before 7 so they can reduce the line in time to open DCA for EMH


Everyone here intends to be in the park before 8am. They have to know that, so I hope they open in plenty of time to get everyone in. There is plenty of time to get everyone here in if they open soon enough.

CMs at gate. Seems like they might open soon?


----------



## DisneyDork1969

Gates opening at 6am....


----------



## disneylover102

dina444444 said:


> My guess is they picked that ride since it doesn’t need its own machines cause people are not going to be riding in this weather.


Almost nobody.


----------



## SirBill

Cast members at booths now, going in!


----------



## dieumeye

Physical gates are opening.


----------



## Gaugersaurus

Gates just opened to start letting people in


----------



## Miffy

Good luck, everyone! From someone who experienced RotR twice in December--getting up the first day at 3:30 to get to DHS by 5--let me just say that this is all worth it. MTFBWY!


----------



## disneylover102

Letting us in now!!!!!!


----------



## SOCALMouseMommy

This is so exciting! Loving all the live reports!


----------



## Skyegirl1999

We made it to the line for the opening countdown.  We’re in two different lines and she’s kicking my butt getting towards the front.


----------



## disneylover102

They let us in and I got an IJ Fastpass and I can get another one before the park even opens. Gotta love Maxpass!!!

They are holding everybody at the front of Main Street.


----------



## socaldisneylover

Thanks for all the updates.  Will be at security in less than an hour.  Hope the lines have dwindled by then.


----------



## dieumeye

Everyone is filing into Main Street. CMs are calling out that you can’t go farther than Main Street and that BGs don’t open until 8am.

They are holding at the end of Main Street. Not even letting people into the hub. Everyone is packing in although I guess there’s no need to be anywhere in particular once in the park.

And yes, MaxPass is live!


----------



## Gaugersaurus

Took about 10 mins to get scanned in from the under the monorail. The line I was in stalled for a few minutes due to an issue with someone ahead of us so other lines may move quicker.

currently in Main Street cinema which is full with people looking for a place to sit


----------



## baozi

So several cases, if someone dares to try:
1) After scanning in, go back to the hotel and try to join at 8:00...
2) Enter DCA instead of Disneyland and try to join at 8:00...
3) Join both on app and physically on the fastpass koisk


----------



## SOCALMouseMommy

Skyegirl1999 said:


> We made it to the line for the opening countdown.  We’re in two different lines and she’s kicking my butt getting towards the front.


I just love that your daughter is down for this!


----------



## Mathmagicland

Gaugersaurus said:


> Was just told we’ll probably be let into the parks before 7 so they can reduce the line in time to open DCA for EMH


Have to wonder how many peeps will be going to DCA vs entering Disneyland for a boarding group,  

does anyone know at this point, can someone with a park hopper or AP & scanned into DCA join a BG while in DCA or must the ticket be scanned into DLR?


----------



## dina444444

Mathmagicland said:


> Have to wonder how many peeps will be going to DCA vs entering Disneyland for a boarding group,
> 
> does anyone know at this point, can someone with a park hopper or AP & scanned into DCA join a BG while in DCA or must the ticket be scanned into DLR?


You have to have scanned into Disneyland to enter a boarding group.


----------



## Mathmagicland

baozi said:


> So several cases, if someone dares to try:
> 1) After scanning in, go back to the hotel and try to join at 8:00...
> 2) Enter DCA instead of Disneyland and try to join at 8:00...
> 3) Join both on app and physically on the fastpass koisk


People at WDW DHS have reported success with #1 at hotels close to DHS, even though CMs there have said it would not be possible to do so,


----------



## DisneyDork1969

Gates opened at 6am and everyone is waiting on Main Street...BG won't open till 8am....


----------



## TheMaxRebo

dieumeye said:


> Everyone is filing into Main Street. CMs are calling out that you can’t go farther than Main Street and that BGs don’t open until 8am.
> 
> They are holding at the end of Main Street. Not even letting people into the hub. Everyone is packing in although I guess there’s no need to be anywhere in particular once in the park.
> 
> And yes, MaxPass is live!



being able to get a FP via MaxPass when in that early is definitely a nice extra perk of going early for a BG!


----------



## disneylover102

baozi said:


> So several cases, if someone dares to try:
> 1) After scanning in, go back to the hotel and try to join at 8:00...
> 2) Enter DCA instead of Disneyland and try to join at 8:00...
> 3) Join both on app and physically on the fastpass koisk


1) I don’t know. I wouldn’t risk it.
2) You can only get a BG at Disneyland.
3) At 8:00 I’m going to try getting a BG on my phone while rushing to Splash Mountain just in case.


----------



## montreid

Starbucks


----------



## Skyegirl1999

We’re across the street from Carnation Cafe, kiddo is sitting on the curb.  Briefly considered trying for Starbucks, but that’s INSANITY, so... no.


----------



## disneylover102

TheMaxRebo said:


> being able to get a FP via MaxPass when in that early is definitely a nice extra perk of going early for a BG!


Yes! I’ll have an Indiana Jones and Thunder FP before the park even opens!


----------



## dieumeye

baozi said:


> So several cases, if someone dares to try:
> 1) After scanning in, go back to the hotel and try to join at 8:00...
> 2) Enter DCA instead of Disneyland and try to join at 8:00...
> 3) Join both on app and physically on the fastpass koisk


Maybe tomorrow.


----------



## disneylover102

I’m sitting on the sidewalk on Main Street. I feel bad for those that don’t have that option...


----------



## dieumeye

Announcement over speakers welcomed everyone to DL and explained the virtual queue will be in use and open at 8.

Here’s to another two hours standing here waiting to push a button at the exact right second!!

Glad everyone is getting into the park!!!

I think the play here is getting in and sitting on a bench in town square.


----------



## Vysecity

I have EMH on Monday for DCA wondering if once I'm scanned in to Disneyland around 6:45 I can go enjoy the actual EMH and get my boarding pass from there. If not that sucks


----------



## EmJ

Vysecity said:


> I have EMH on Monday for DCA wondering if once I'm scanned in to Disneyland around 6:45 I can go enjoy the actual EMH and get my boarding pass from there. If not that sucks


Depending on your level of risk tolerance, we would all LOVE for you to try this, lol. Inquiring minds want to know!


----------



## kyliechristine

EmJ said:


> Depending on your level of risk tolerance, we would all LOVE for you to try this, lol. Inquiring minds want to know!



I’m here today and a CM told us that we do not have to be in the park to get a BG, we just had to be scanned into Disneyland beforehand.

Not sure on what would happen if you scan into DCA after scanning into DLR though.


----------



## TheMaxRebo

baozi said:


> So several cases, if someone dares to try:
> 1) After scanning in, go back to the hotel and try to join at 8:00...
> 2) Enter DCA instead of Disneyland and try to join at 8:00...
> 3) Join both on app and physically on the fastpass koisk



1) So at Batuu East in DHS, people have scanned into the park and then left before official park opening and been able to secure a BG via the app from the comfort of their hotel room.  No idea if Disneyland will be the same, but I would think likely
2) I believe you have to scan into Disneyland - BUT I would think you could scan into Disneyland then leave and go into DCA and secure a BG via the app from inside DCA, but it needs to register you as having entered Disneyland at some point to get a bG
3) I would be shocked if they let you get 2 BGs as even the ones given out physically at the fastpass kiosk will have to access you account/ticket so it would still be the same ticket but the app and physical BG would be attached too and atleast at DHS they really cracked down on not letting people get more than one BG in a day


----------



## CastAStone

It’s probably going to be the quietest EMH ever at DCA.

I almost wonder if (for those allowed) it’s OK to go ride like Soarin or RSR real quick right at 7 before dashing over to DL before 8.


----------



## hiroMYhero

Vysecity said:


> I have EMH on Monday for DCA wondering if once I'm scanned in to Disneyland around 6:45 I can go enjoy the actual EMH and get my boarding pass from there. If not that sucks


This has been proven to work at WDW. Guests have left Studios and joined a Boarding Group from Animal Kingdom.

The BG System just needs to know you entered DL at some time before joining a group...it doesn’t care where you are located at the time you access the BG system.


----------



## Aurora0427

This is so exciting! I love reading everyone’s play by play. I hope you all get a BG, stay warm, and find a place to sit for awhile. Just about 90 minutes to go!!!! May the Force be with you!!!!


----------



## dieumeye

I’m not so sure scanning into DL then scanning into DCA would allow you to get a BG.

Remember the whole thing about APs being blocked from entry into one park if you scanned in too soon after scanning into the other park? If it still works that way, I wouldn’t be sure you’d be able to do it.

Definitely would like someone to try!


----------



## Vysecity

hiroMYhero said:


> This has been proven to work at WDW. Guests have left Studios and joined a Boarding Group from Animal Kingdom.
> 
> The BG System just needs to know you entered DL at some time before joining a group...it doesn’t care where you are located at the time you access the BG system.




Ok thanks. If I can get a BG on Sunday I will risk it and try to get one from DCA on Monday


----------



## Etonduf

TheMaxRebo said:


> 3) I would be shocked if they let you get 2 BGs as even the ones given out physically at the fastpass kiosk will have to access you account/ticket so it would still be the same ticket but the app and physical BG would be attached too and atleast at DHS they really cracked down on not letting people get more than one BG in a day



I assume this is about maximizing the chance to get one while they're available rather than an effort to get two. I think I'd do the same if I were there this morning.


----------



## dieumeye

Advancing line to hub.

Bench status: wet!


----------



## TheMaxRebo

Etonduf said:


> I assume this is about maximizing the chance to get one while they're available rather than an effort to get two. I think I'd do the same if I were there this morning.



ah, ok that makes sense - definitely can see the benefit of at least being in the area of one of those kiosks while trying to secure a BG on your phone in case something goes wrong

at DHS people would try to be near the Guest Experience Team members for similar reasons - that if something goes wrong they can go to them for help/back up option

apologies if I misunderstood the question/intent (for the first few days at DHS people were able to get multiple BGs)


----------



## Whistlebee

Loving everyone’s live reports!  So much fun! Thanks for sharing.


----------



## Skyegirl1999

We veered towards Buzz when they opened up, so we’re now by the Astro Orbitors.

I’m definitely angling to be near the machines if my phone fails me.


----------



## Party.Of.4-NY>>>FL

hiroMYhero said:


> This has been proven to work at WDW. Guests have left Studios and joined a Boarding Group from Animal Kingdom.
> 
> The BG System just needs to know you entered DL at some time before joining a group...it doesn’t care where you are located at the time you access the BG system.


If I am remembering correctly, that poster was still in the AK parking lot when they joined their BG.  Having said that, I agree completely with your second paragraph.


----------



## SirBill

Opened up Main Street ropes, it was packed. Holding people at ropes for each land entrance, hopefully we can get on rides soon.


----------



## disneylover102

They just moved us to the Frontierland, Adventureland, and Fantasyland. I’m at the front of the rope at Frontierland!


----------



## brentm77

They opened the rope at main street and are letting us lineup at the entry to each land.  Will open those ropes at 8.  Heard they had to open hub, because crowd was to the gates.


----------



## disneylover102

Also there’s a couple Disney vloggers right next to me. Fresh Baked is there and one more that I don’t remember the name of.


----------



## IsleofDisney

Thank you all for the reports especially those in the wee hours in the morning. May your dedication and love for SW & Disney bless you with a BG! MTFBWYA!


----------



## dieumeye

Here’s an idea: if you have early entry into DL, you could get into Tomorrowland and post up by the Buzz FP machines to grab a BG that way right at park open.


----------



## oktracy

Best of luck everyone! Have a blast today. Thank you for your live up dates. We are headed down this afternoon staying at the Grand. Waiting anxiously to hear about BG’s.


----------



## Gaugersaurus

The park as a whole is still pretty empty. Don’t think it was absolutely necessary to get here in the wee hours in the morning, people are able to get in the gates with almost no wait now. We’ll see if it holds true for the whole weekend or not


----------



## socaldisneylover

Just walked right in with no line.


----------



## Mathmagicland

Gaugersaurus said:


> The park as a whole is still pretty empty. Don’t think it was absolutely necessary to get here in the wee hours in the morning, people are able to get in the gates with almost no wait now. We’ll see if it holds true for the whole weekend or not


Yes, I’m curious about tomorrow since it is an Early entrance day at Disneyland for some hotel guests.


----------



## Skyegirl1999

Gaugersaurus said:


> The park as a whole is still pretty empty. Don’t think it was absolutely necessary to get here in the wee hours in the morning, people are able to get in the gates with almost no wait now. We’ll see if it holds true for the whole weekend or not


The only thing I’m happy about in terms of having arrived early is that we’re close enough to Buzz to maaaaaybe think we have a chance of grabbing one that way if needed.

I was actually hoping they were going to keep the Main Street rope up, thereby limiting the numbers inside so the people inside would all get BGs for sure, but I understand why they want to be processing people in now rather than at 8.


----------



## cm123

socaldisneylover said:


> Just walked right in with no line.


Walked into Disneyland with no line? 

Which way did you enter the Esplanade from? Was there a line at security?


----------



## Weedy

dieumeye said:


> Advancing line to hub.
> 
> Bench status: wet!


It’s magic Disney water ... as soon as you sit on it it goes away


----------



## nocturnekings

Weedy said:


> It’s magic Disney water ... as soon as you sit on it it goes away


The official term is "Backside Water"


----------



## socaldisneylover

cm123 said:


> Walked into Disneyland with no line?
> 
> Which way did you enter the Esplanade from? Was there a line at security?


No line at security, came in Harbor entrance


----------



## socaldisneylover

Insane line for Starbucks though.  And Jolly Holiday.  Think they may still be in that line at 8.


----------



## montreid

CastAStone said:


> It’s probably going to be the quietest EMH ever at DCA.
> 
> I almost wonder if (for those allowed) it’s OK to go ride like Soarin or RSR real quick right at 7 before dashing over to DL before 8.


Soarin is a signal killer.  Would be ok with RS, but not soarin.

Yeah thinking dca is empty right now


----------



## Skyegirl1999

socaldisneylover said:


> Insane line for Starbucks though.  And Jolly Holiday.  Think they may still be in that line at 8.


I put in a mobile order for Jolly Holiday when it opens back at like 6:30.

In fact, I’ve mobile ordered my whole day.

Anyone notice the Lunar marketplace stuff is on mobile order?  That could be a Food and Wine game-changer!


----------



## nutshell

Start refreshing the app around 7:55, folks! Have fun!


----------



## ironband74

So fun watching everyone's updates.  @Skyegirl1999 , that's exactly what I would do if it were me and my kiddo.  May the force be with you all!


----------



## kboo

Will go back and read, but EMH only covers guests at DL Hotel and Grand Californian, no? If so, even if every single guest wanted to get a BG at EMH opening, there would probably be still be regular BGs available to offsite guests? If so, I could see (I hope) allowing EMH guests to get a BG first, since this might help split the attendance to on/off property days. On-property, just go to EMH and don't worry about it, and stay away from the non-EMH days, thus leaving more BGs open for local and offsite guests. 

Note: I am staying onsite in April, so I may have some bias here... but one distinction with DL and WDW is that WDW has so many onsite guests (possibly 100k in 30k rooms, acc to Google) that having morning EMH would shut out all offsite guests *and* a large number of onsite guests. So the fairness aspect of EMH may be different here. 

Note2: We got up "at the buttcrack of dawn" as my friend called it, to ride RotR 2x at WDW. 5:30am with a double stroller. It was worth it.


----------



## MikeRx

Watching the last 20 or so posts from the "the line today" is our *tomorrow*...

We drive from Phoenix after school today.  _May the boarding group be low for you and your family..._We are at the DLH for 3 nights and have prepared with 4 phones, updated apps and passes linked. We will mobile order Starbucks in DTD and pick it up on our walk to the gates.
Mike


----------



## Aurora0427

Ahhhhhh 31 more minutes for you guys!!!!!!!


----------



## hiroMYhero

Skyegirl1999 said:


> we’re close enough to Buzz to maaaaaybe think we have a chance of grabbing one that way if needed.


@Skyegirl1999  - Does it look like they’ve stationed extra CMs near the FP machines? If there are CMs with iPads, they can help guests join BGs with immediate results.

We needed a CM’s assistance at Studios because only I was recognized as being in the park. The CM quickly added DH and DD to the BG I booked for myself.

Following along as we’re back to being DLR APs and will be in DL soon!


----------



## dina444444

kboo said:


> Will go back and read, but EMH only covers guests at DL Hotel and Grand Californian, no? If so, even if every single guest wanted to get a BG at EMH opening, there would probably be still be regular BGs available to offsite guests? If so, I could see (I hope) allowing EMH guests to get a BG first, since this might help split the attendance to on/off property days. On-property, just go to EMH and don't worry about it, and stay away from the non-EMH days, thus leaving more BGs open for local and offsite guests.
> 
> Note: I am staying onsite in April, so I may have some bias here... but one distinction with DL and WDW is that WDW has so many onsite guests (possibly 100k in 30k rooms, acc to Google) that having morning EMH would shut out all offsite guests *and* a large number of onsite guests. So the fairness aspect of EMH may be different here.
> 
> Note2: We got up "at the buttcrack of dawn" as my friend called it, to ride RotR 2x at WDW. 5:30am with a double stroller. It was worth it.


Guests with 3 day or longer tickets bought in advance have magic morning during EMH at Disneyland.


----------



## CastAStone

Nothing at DCA has a posted wait over 5 minutes   (to be fair though, RSR is down)

Disneyland is showing wait times in the app for Fantasyland - did they open some rides?


----------



## Mathmagicland

kboo said:


> Will go back and read, but EMH only covers guests at DL Hotel and Grand Californian, no? If so, even if every single guest wanted to get a BG at EMH opening, there would probably be still be regular BGs available to offsite guests? If so, I could see (I hope) allowing EMH guests to get a BG first, since this might help split the attendance to on/off property days. On-property, just go to EMH and don't worry about it, and stay away from the non-EMH days, thus leaving more BGs open for local and offsite guests.
> 
> Note: I am staying onsite in April, so I may have some bias here... but one distinction with DL and WDW is that WDW has so many onsite guests (possibly 100k in 30k rooms, acc to Google) that having morning EMH would shut out all offsite guests *and* a large number of onsite guests. So the fairness aspect of EMH may be different here.
> 
> Note2: We got up "at the buttcrack of dawn" as my friend called it, to ride RotR 2x at WDW. 5:30am with a double stroller. It was worth it.


EMH is for Disneyland resort hotel guests only at DCA,  however for Disneyland it is also open to some guests at “good neighbor” hotels as well as people with 3-day park hopper tickets.  
Also, it’s my understanding from WDW DHS that BGs open afternoon published park opening only and does not open early for EMH guests,


----------



## CastAStone

Mathmagicland said:


> Also, it’s my understanding from WDW DHS that BGs open afternoon published park opening only and does not open early for EMH guests,


They did a morning EMH at WDW in December (with a different process in place than the current one) and it was a total disaster; they just cancelled all the morning EMH after that and added evening ones instead. Can't really do that at Disneyland, so tomorrow will be interesting. Still picturing people refusing to get in their Space Mountain car at 7:58.


----------



## dieumeye

CastAStone said:


> Nothing at DCA has a posted wait over 5 minutes   (to be fair though, RSR is down)
> 
> Disneyland is showing wait times in the app for Fantasyland - did they open some rides?


No rides open. Everyone still held in the hub.


----------



## ironband74

CastAStone said:


> Nothing at DCA has a posted wait over 5 minutes   (to be fair though, RSR is down)
> 
> Disneyland is showing wait times in the app for Fantasyland - did they open some rides?


It's also showing 15 min wait for MFSR:


----------



## Skyegirl1999

hiroMYhero said:


> @Skyegirl1999  - Does it look like they’ve stationed extra CMs near the FP machines? If there are CMs with iPads, they can help guests join BGs with immediate results.
> 
> We needed a CM’s assistance at Studios because only I was recognized as being in the park. The CM quickly added DH and DD to the BG I booked for myself.
> 
> Following along as we’re back to being DLR APs and will be in DL soon!


There are a bunch of CMs by the Buzz FP machines.  They’re distributing that way, so no iPads that I can see.


----------



## NorthernCalMom

Waiting & watching from SF, CA. We’ll be in the parks next in August 2020, so I’ll spend a lot of time on this thread between now and then, honing our “plan of attack.” Thank you to all of you here today for testing the system for those of us to come later! May the odds be ever in your favor... oooops... wrong fandom...


----------



## nursemelis374

They just have an update on KNX- said it isn’t too bad. Excited for everyone to ride and hoping it goes smoothly at 8!


----------



## KPeterso

Loving all the reports. 19 minutes to go! I wish you all luck and can't wait to give it a shot tomorrow myself!!!


----------



## montreid

The closest GET CM would be the hub on the right side and in Tomorrowland just outside the StarTours giftshop.  They would be ones I would hang out near for those with WiFi to poor signal too if can't get to Buzz stations


----------



## montreid

https://d23.com/d23-live/   is livestreaming in a few


----------



## SirBill

hiroMYhero said:


> @Skyegirl1999  - Does it look like they’ve stationed extra CMs near the FP machines? If there are CMs with iPads, they can help guests join BGs with immediate results.



Maybe?


----------



## Gaugersaurus

Been milling about between the hub and town square and it’s much more crowded now. I think showing up later would’ve worked in most cases. The only advantage of showing up early right now is being closer to CMs distributing BG to those with app issues


----------



## Gaugersaurus

Just did rope drop at 7:45


----------



## dieumeye

Rope drop! BGs still not opening until 8am


----------



## ironband74

Bonus!


----------



## SirBill

Wow people RAN at rope drop for Buzz queue, it’s totally packed now.


----------



## dieumeye

Tomorrowland is mobbed with people waiting at the Buzz FP machines.


----------



## ironband74

With the early rope drop, the BG distribution at Splash Mountain makes more sense.


----------



## Krandor

Just came back from WDW.  Hope eveyrthig goes smoothly today for all of you in california.  Amazing ride.  Hope they are all well prepared out there.


----------



## Gaugersaurus

I think “rope drop” was just to alleviate crowds at the hub. Star tours isn’t open yet and it’s impossible to get to buzz


----------



## Skyegirl1999

SirBill said:


> Wow people RAN at rope drop for Buzz queue, it’s totally packed now.


Yeah... we’re in it, but we didn’t run, so we’re just stuck in a mass of people and I’m sure we’re too far back.  Oh well.


----------



## midnight star

Wow you guys are troopers for being there so early!


----------



## ironband74

Less than 5 minutes to go!  I'm excited for ya'll.


----------



## montreid

GL all - 2minutes!


----------



## EmJ

*** silence as everyone IN Disneyland frantically refreshes their apps, and everyone NOT in Disneyland awaits updates ***


----------



## CastAStone

EmJ said:


> *** silence as everyone IN Disneyland frantically refreshes their apps, and everyone NOT in Disneyland awaits updates ***


Yuuuuuuup


----------



## montreid

dropped


----------



## dina444444

BG are open on the app. Just tried from home.


----------



## ironband74

I see the buttons are up


----------



## Gaugersaurus

Group 19!!


----------



## Mathmagicland

EmJ said:


> *** silence as everyone IN Disneyland frantically refreshes their apps, and everyone NOT in Disneyland awaits updates ***


That in itself, the silence, has to be amazing.


----------



## ironband74

Watching a live stream where people are starting to cheer as they get their BGs


----------



## CastAStone

I just peeked in the app and the Backup BG notice is already up


----------



## midnight star

CastAStone said:


> I just peeked in the app and the Backup BG notice is already up


----------



## socaldisneylover

Damn...kept saying it was full, then I got group 90


----------



## matthewthompson87

On backup BG by 8:01am!


----------



## Gaugersaurus

App says groups 82 and above “will not be called unless all other planned groups are called”


----------



## EmJ

CastAStone said:


> I just peeked in the app and the Backup BG notice is already up


Soooo... one minute?


----------



## Mathmagicland

At 8:01 the app says they are only distributing backup BGs.


----------



## ironband74

Damn!  The app says that initial BG distribution is complete and backup boarding groups are now being distributed.


----------



## SirBill

Got group 58, exactly at 8am...  82 and above appear to be backup BG today.


----------



## Emily Urena

Back up Boarding groups were out by 8:00:52 am


----------



## dieumeye

Group 25.

App says groups 82 and above are backups.


----------



## CastAStone

EmJ said:


> Soooo... one minute?


Yup.


----------



## EmJ

matthewthompson87 said:


> On backup BG by 8:01am!


Holy macaroni. Well. That really stinks for everyone that couldn't connect in the first minute, but there is probably some serious champagne popping going on in a board room somewhere. THIS is what the execs wanted SWGE to be. A massive, over the top hit.


----------



## KPeterso

wow - that was fast! Hope everyone here got a group!


----------



## CastAStone

SirBill said:


> Got group 58, exactly at 8am...  82 and above appear to be backup BG today.


The least they’ve ever gotten through at WDW is 86...that’s not showing a lot of confidence from Park Ops...


----------



## ashley0139

How often do they call backups in Florida?


----------



## Version 6

How do you see what group they are up to


----------



## EmJ

Gaugersaurus said:


> App says groups 82 and above “will not be called unless all other planned groups are called”


Based on WDW standards, 82 is a very low number of boarding groups. There have been a handful of days where they only got to around that many boarding groups, but once the ride was more fine tuned and the CM more experience, the numbers started getting to 150 and above. My guess is that DL only released a very small number today anticipating slow boarding and/or a lot of breakdowns. I would expect to see that number rise significantly in the coming weeks.


----------



## montreid

82 is reasonable for  day 1.    Remember open to 12mn today so A LOT longer hours than HS even when they extended it.

Graph of HS times


----------



## CastAStone

The good news is that Backup BGs are still available.


----------



## dieumeye

81 BGs seems like they went conservative for day 1, compared to what’s been happening at WDW. Still, one minute is fast!

Looks like backups are still available.

Now let’s see how the ride operates today!!


----------



## CastAStone

ashley0139 said:


> How often do they call backups in Florida?


They have called at least 1 backup BG all but 2 days so far. There's a chart in the WDW thread showing how many groups by day.


----------



## Katiebird

CastAStone said:


> The least they’ve ever gotten through at WDW is 86...that’s not showing a lot of confidence from Park Ops...



more like playing it safe. Otherwise they could be giving out a lot of compensation. I’m sure they plan for getting through a reasonable amount of back up groups as well, but it’s better to set the bar low and exceed it.


----------



## EmJ

CastAStone said:


> The least they’ve ever gotten through at WDW is 86...that’s not showing a lot of confidence from Park Ops...


WDW had to give a LOT of comp tickets in those first few days because they overestimated what they/the ride could handle. I think it is a really rational business decision to aim low in the first week or two. They will save themselves a lot of money on comps, and it's not like they will close the ride at 4 pm if all the boarding groups have been called. They still have the backup boarding groups, and then those people will be really happy.


----------



## only hope

The chart for WDW



SouthFayetteFan said:


> *For those with poor eyesight...I hid what I felt were a bunch of unnecessary columns.  We know the park opens the gates ahead of time, We know BGs are released at park open, etc.  So hopefully this is a little easier to read:
> View attachment 465679*
> ​


----------



## Emily Urena

Back up boarding groups gone by 8:09am


----------



## dina444444

Emily Urena said:


> Back up boarding groups gone by 8:09am


I'm not showing them gone yet on my app.
Edit: it just greyed out


----------



## wench

Got BG 71!!!!  That’s good enough for me.


----------



## Susie63

How many people are in a boarding group?


----------



## ironband74

Yeah, it looks like they are still distributing backup BGs at 8:10...So a lot seems to hedge on how the attraction does today.


----------



## only hope

Susie63 said:


> How many people are in a boarding group?



The estimate for Hollywood is 75-100 people but no one outside certain employees know for certain.


----------



## dina444444

Susie63 said:


> How many people are in a boarding group?


it's unknown but at DHS we are estimating between 75-100 people.


----------



## Katiebird

If anyone got there close to 8am, how was security and the lines for the turnstiles?


----------



## EmJ

Susie63 said:


> How many people are in a boarding group?


This is known only to The Powers That Be. There is speculation that the number might be 75/100. There is also speculation that the number changes depending on what objective The Powers That Be have. For example, if they want it to look like they got through a LOT of boarding groups and had a super productive day, they can just lower the number of people per group.


----------



## rmoxgt

reloading the “My Status” page did NOT work for me this morning. Had to close and reopen the app to get a backup BG of 110


----------



## Version 6

How do you see which BG is currently loading.


----------



## midnight star

I’m more shocked the app didn’t crash lol


----------



## Mathmagicland

As of 8:12 it appears Backup groups are now closed.


----------



## Version 6

rmoxgt said:


> reloading the “My Status” page did NOT work for me this morning. Had to close and reopen the app to get a backup BG of 110



Exact same boat here.


----------



## dina444444

Version 6 said:


> How do you see which BG is currently loading.


Ride hasn't started to board yet


----------



## CaliforniaGirl09

I tried from home and was in right away. Went all the way through until the screen that wanted me to remove people for not being in the park. The next time I clicked through I got the warning about a backup group. Wow that was fast! Way faster than WDW, although not apples to apples as they had a different system going at opening. Hope it calms down by next weekend. I hope everyone here got a group and gets on today.


----------



## goodeats

What about the hard print BG at Splash Mountain? Does the system print those on demand? Meaning they are all gone now too?


----------



## Jung-li

I wonder what the highest number for boarding groups was... more importantly for me- what was the Peter Pan rope drop like?


----------



## cm123

As far as joining a group on the app....for Android at least, seems that you don't want to be pulling up to refresh (so that the "join boarding group button" because enabled when you pull up)....you want to back out to the main ROTR page and click "my status" again and then click that "join boarding group" button. 

Can anyone confirm?


----------



## montreid

Highest reported on a live stream is BG142  -sounds hopeful for them


----------



## Skyegirl1999

We’re 46!

Can confirm that refreshing the status page didn’t work, but I quickly went back to the homepage using the back button, and that worked fine.


----------



## dieumeye

RotR isn’t open yet. They’re filming the crowd outside the front of the queue.


----------



## Krandor

cm123 said:


> As far as joining a group on the app....for Android at least, seems that you don't want to be pulling up to refresh (so that the "join boarding group button" because enabled when you pull up)....you want to back out to the main ROTR page and click "my status" again and then click that "join boarding group" button.
> 
> Can anyone confirm?



When I was at WDW on wednesday, I waited till 7:00:00 exactly to pull up the BG page and the button was lit then. The guy beside me was puttig down refreshing my status and it never lit for him until he existed out of the page. 

So in my experience refresh of the my status page does not seem to be a reliable strategy.


----------



## disneylover102

Aaahhh the stress is OVER (until tomorrow)! I was in the very front heading to ROTR just in case (a CM hinted at a slight possibility of them doing standby at first) and they weren’t doing standby so I just stood around until 8 and I GOT BG 73!!!! Then I went to MFSR and did the SR line and I was the only person on the ship and I was the pilot. I think they opened the SR line before the standby line.


----------



## montreid

@dina444444 

Data Points I believe - Correct if wrong:
5:45:  Gates Open for scan in. FP available to get.  Mobile orders available too
6:38:  HUB opened
7:45:  Rope Drop - Lands opened
8:00:  BG opened
8:00:52   Backup BGs start at 82
8:09:  Backup BGs filled ~142
8:24 --- not loading yet


----------



## ironband74

Skyegirl1999 said:


> We’re 46!
> 
> Can confirm that refreshing the status page didn’t work, but I quickly went back to the homepage using the back button, and that worked fine.


Phew - I was getting nervous after not hearing from you   Glad you guys got a good group!


----------



## Cookiemonster156

That banned website is saying they got group 105 despite waiting there since 12AM. Also, they are claiming its a randomized selection process (its not).


----------



## katyringo

Ya following along at home appreCiate all the posts! All my reliable Instagramer have gone weirdly silent....


----------



## ironband74

disneylover102 said:


> Aaahhh the stress is OVER (until tomorrow)! I was in the very front heading to ROTR just in case (a CM hinted at a slight possibility of them doing standby at first) and they weren’t doing standby so I just stood around until 8 and I GOT BG 73!!!! Then I went to MFSR and did the SR line and I was the only person on the ship and I was the pilot. I think they opened the SR line before the standby line.


Could you reach both pilot controls?  That would be sweet!


----------



## Gaugersaurus

I had the app loaded and I clicked more info from the homepage right when the clock turned to 8. It took a second to switch from greyed out to red and I was in. Sounds like the way to go is to start from the homepage right at 8am


----------



## Krandor

Cookiemonster156 said:


> That banned website is saying they got group 105 despite waiting there since 12AM. Also, they are claiming its a randomized selection process (its not).



What time you get there has zero effect on BGs. At opening everybody has equal shot at BG wether they have been in the park 1 minute or 5 hours. 

Getting there at 12am was not going to help at all.


----------



## kyliechristine

I can confirm that the status page does not work for trying to get a BG. I tried multiple times to join a boarding group from that page, but the page wouldn’t update at all. I then went back to homepage and tried to do it from there, but still didn’t work. i had to completely shut the app and reopen for it to finally show.

Thankfully @Gaugersaurus phone worked and he got us group 19.

CMs were advising people beforehand to have everyone in your party try to get BGs from each phone and whichever phone went through the fastest would work. Essentially don’t rely on one phone, which in my case I’m glad we didn’t.


----------



## CastAStone

Cookiemonster156 said:


> That banned website is saying they got group 105 despite waiting there since 12AM. Also, they are claiming its a randomized selection process (its not).


I got in a minor spat with them on twitter about the merits of the process a few weeks back. So it's not like they didn't know.


----------



## CastAStone

ironband74 said:


> Could you reach both pilot controls?  That would be sweet!


LOL when I rode with my 3YO they made him the other pilot (WHY???) and I wound up doing both controls. He took us into hyperspace and pushed buttons.


----------



## ironband74

Still not boarding...that's a little scary.  But R2-D2 is rolling around outside, so that's fun!


----------



## Krandor

ironband74 said:


> Still not boarding...that's a little scary.  But R2-D2 is rolling around outside, so that's fun!



That is not a good sign but happens quite often at WDW.  In fact, i'm not sure WDW has had a day where it hasn't broke down at least once.


----------



## dina444444

Krandor said:


> That is not a good sign but happens quite often at WDW.  In fact, i'm not sure WDW has had a day where it hasn't broke down at least once.


DHS is having a rough morning


----------



## surfca

Still not open. Already broken.


----------



## dieumeye

Any idea what the lowest BG is, assuming it’s not starting at 1?


----------



## dina444444

dieumeye said:


> Any idea what the lowest BG is, assuming it’s not starting at 1?


No clue until they start to board


----------



## Mathmagicland

The D23 live stream just ended, so maybe open soon?


----------



## Krandor

dina444444 said:


> DHS is having a rough morning



Yeah saw that. I had an issue like that Tuesday. Was going to do AK that day but when to DHS first and got like BG 15 and then after an hour the ride was still closed so decided to start heading toward AK anyway.. Of course as soon as I exit the park and am almost to my car I get the notification my group was called (about an hour and a half past park opening). 

The ride is definiely pretty unreliable right now but it is an amazing ride.  Hope a bunch in DLR do get to ride today.


----------



## aymiewilson

Skyegirl1999 said:


> We’re 46!
> 
> Can confirm that refreshing the status page didn’t work, but I quickly went back to the homepage using the back button, and that worked fine.



n00b here watching from home to prep for my visit next weekend. Has anyone posted screenshots or vids showing what exactly this means and what the status page is? If BGs are gonna run out in 52 seconds then I wanna be sure I do it right!

Also it seems like my strategy for all 3 in park days is gonna be to start at DLP so we get 3 trys to get a BG for RotR!


----------



## Raech

DLR boarding groups all gone for RotR in 3 mins today. Opening day.


----------



## CastAStone

aymiewilson said:


> n00b here watching from home to prep for my visit next weekend. Has anyone posted screenshots or vids showing what exactly this means and what the status page is? If BGs are gonna run out in 52 seconds then I wanna be sure I do it right!


It’s opening day and a holiday weekend. BGs are not usually going to run out in 52 seconds. I promise.


----------



## Abbey1

For those saying the refresh button doesn’t work, do you need to exit out of the app completely and reopen it, or just click on the RotR “find out more” link from the main page in the app in order to get a boarding group? We’ll be going next week and the stress is already getting to me


----------



## Mathmagicland

Did anyone try getting a BG today outside of Disneyland, ie scan ticket & then leave the park to join the BG?


----------



## Skyegirl1999

ironband74 said:


> Phew - I was getting nervous after not hearing from you   Glad you guys got a good group!


I had to feed the small person before I could post.


----------



## Miffy

aymiewilson said:


> n00b here watching from home to prep for my visit next weekend. Has anyone posted screenshots or vids showing what exactly this means and what the status page is? If BGs are gonna run out in 52 seconds then I wanna be sure I do it right!
> 
> Also it seems like my strategy for all 3 in park days is gonna be to start at DLP so we get 3 trys to get a BG for RotR!


There are apparently lots of videos on YouTube, but be careful, since many of them contain spoilers. There may be links on the first two pages of the DHS RotR thread, but I'm not 100% sure about that.


----------



## Skyegirl1999

Abbey1 said:


> For those saying the refresh button doesn’t work, do you need to exit out of the app completely and reopen it, or just click on the RotR “find out more” link from the main page in the app in order to get a boarding group? We’ll be going next week and the stress is already getting to me


The main page.


----------



## Rich M

CastAStone said:


> They did a morning EMH at WDW in December (with a different process in place than the current one) and it was a total disaster; .



Wasn't a disaster for me.  I got on 5 rides in the morning and got boarding group 2.  Sorry to anyone else that it was not good for.


----------



## Krandor

CastAStone said:


> It’s opening day and a holiday weekend. BGs are not usually going to run out in 52 seconds. I promise.



Yeah.  DHS had a few days at about a minute during the holidays but has stabilized right now at about 15 minutes for regular BGs which means anybody inside the park at opening time can get a guaranteed BG.  I expect DLR will likely settle to something similar in a few weeks.


----------



## KPeterso

So this is going to sound like a dumb question. I saw that we should have as many devices going at once. I normally do all the app stuff for my Mom and I. I can ensure the app is loaded on her phone too, but silly question, would she need her own login/password and then our APs linked on her phone too? And then do I make sure our 2 accounts are linked together? Or can I log both phones in with my information knowing the passes are all there?


----------



## dieumeye

Seems like they’ve got the characters vamping, promoting crowd to cheer, etc.

App is calling group 12.


----------



## ironband74

dieumeye said:


> Seems like they’ve got the characters vamping, promoting crowd to cheer, etc.
> 
> App is calling group 12.


So it begins...


----------



## Krandor

Abbey1 said:


> For those saying the refresh button doesn’t work, do you need to exit out of the app completely and reopen it, or just click on the RotR “find out more” link from the main page in the app in order to get a boarding group? We’ll be going next week and the stress is already getting to me



I just came back from WDW and got a low BG number 3 days in a row there. This is how I did it. Obviously YMMV. 

Day 1 - closed disney app. opened watch app with second hand and the second it it 7:00:00 launched disney app, did find out more and button was lit. Got around BG15.
Day 2 - closed disney app.  Open watched app with second hand and launched disney app a few seconds before 7:00:00.  At find out more BG button wasn't lit but did my status and was lit and joined and got around 19
Day 3 - Had app running but in the background on the home screen.  Again watched watch at and exactly 7:00:00 switched to disney app, hit find out more and button was lit.  BG 8.  

So my experience was going into the app right at opening worked better then trying to refresh over and over.  On day 3 there was a guy beside be reshesing my status and the button never lit.


----------



## gillep

KPeterso said:


> So this is going to sound like a dumb question. I saw that we should have as many devices going at once. I normally do all the app stuff for my Mom and I. I can ensure the app is loaded on her phone too, but silly question, would she need her own login/password and then our APs linked on her phone too? And then do I make sure our 2 accounts are linked together? Or can I log both phones in with my information knowing the passes are all there?



I know of quite a few people who log into the same account on multiple phones and have no issues.


----------



## vharris2828

Abbey1 said:


> For those saying the refresh button doesn’t work, do you need to exit out of the app completely and reopen it, or just click on the RotR “find out more” link from the main page in the app in order to get a boarding group? We’ll be going next week and the stress is already getting to me



We are there next week too and I’m dying from the anxiety this is all causing me


----------



## smercerdiemont

This a tiny bit off topic - but how is the opening affecting magic morning/ extra magic hours? I don’t know how it could be enforced with so many people coming in early for a BG.


----------



## dina444444

Now boarding. Group 12 is first group of the day.


----------



## dina444444

And it’s been down for about 2 hours now at DHS.


----------



## Krandor

gillep said:


> I know of quite a few people who log into the same account on multiple phones and have no issues.



And at WDW sometimes somebody not at the park wlll log into the account too and help get BGs as well... NOTE : This doesn't mean you can get BG for somebody not at the park.  The person at home is helping getting the BGs for the people who are at the park but may be on a better internet connecting and not fighting on wifi with everybody at the park.


----------



## ironband74

People are going in!  And getting handshakes from Chewie and Vi!


----------



## BlueRibbon

Just got home. I was ome who kept refreshing at 8am and got nothing. When I exited back to the main page, still got nothing. Had to cycle the app, then got access to the boarding groups and got Backup group 110. Bummer.


----------



## Rich M

BlueRibbon said:


> Just got home. I was ome who kept refreshing at 8am and got nothing. When I exited back to the main page, still got nothing. Had to cycle the app, then got access to the boarding groups and got Backup group 110. Bummer.



If the park is open to midnight do we think they will get through more BG?


----------



## montreid

BlueRibbon said:


> Just got home. I was ome who kept refreshing at 8am and got nothing. When I exited back to the main page, still got nothing. Had to cycle the app, then got access to the boarding groups and got Backup group 110. Bummer.


You still have a decent chance for tonight.


----------



## dina444444

Rich M said:


> If the park is open to midnight do we think they will get through more BG?


Yes. Today’s hours are like what dhs has the days between Xmas and NYE and we have those hours every weekend.


----------



## SirBill

What I’m wondering is, what happened to those people in the buzz/splash lines?  Within seconds people sprinted to fill Buzz line, around 50+ - does that line have a certain number of guaranteed passes?


----------



## Rich M

Have we heard if anyone inside of DCA could get a BG?


----------



## Mathmagicland

About 30 min since boarding started & it is up to BG 21


----------



## Vysecity

Now boarding group 21. That's good for backup groups no?


----------



## Gaugersaurus

Just got called at 9:11 for boarding group 19 I’ll post a spoiler free review afterward


----------



## vharris2828

Vysecity said:


> Now boarding group 21. That's good for backup groups no?


I would think so assuming there are no huge breakdowns.


----------



## brentm77

We were here at 4.  My daughter was only about 20 back at the kiosk. The other two in our group were refreshing phones. I got 92 on my phone. I was thrilled until I realized it was a backup. Daughter hadn't even reached the front of the line before they were nearly out of the backup passes, so it appears to be useless to try the kiosks. 

They are on boarding group 22 now, so crossing my fingers we get on before midnight.


----------



## gottalovepluto

smercerdiemont said:


> This a tiny bit off topic - but how is the opening affecting magic morning/ extra magic hours? I don’t know how it could be enforced with so many people coming in early for a BG.


My concern as well. I love EMH at DLR. I hope they don’t allow joining of boarding groups during it.


----------



## Evita_W

EmJ said:


> Holy macaroni. Well. That really stinks for everyone that couldn't connect in the first minute, but there is probably some serious champagne popping going on in a board room somewhere. THIS is what the execs wanted SWGE to be. A massive, over the top hit.


This is only the first day, we won't really know if it is a hit for a few weeks. If this is still an issue in 3-4 weeks where boarding groups end up full by 1 minute after park opening, they are going to have to figure something else out, as DL regulars won't put up with that long term.


EmJ said:


> WDW had to give a LOT of comp tickets in those first few days because they overestimated what they/the ride could handle. I think it is a really rational business decision to aim low in the first week or two. They will save themselves a lot of money on comps, and it's not like they will close the ride at 4 pm if all the boarding groups have been called. They still have the backup boarding groups, and then those people will be really happy.


Actually comps make them a lot of money, because the people who return now have to buy parking, will buy food, merchandise, etc.


----------



## SirBill

Comparing first day here vs first day for ROTR at WDW, I’d say more people were here earlier.  I got to the line earlier today (2:45 or so), there were easily 4x the number of people already in line compared to 4am at WDW opening.  And it was raining until 3:30 or so here...  At WDW they let us back to Galaxy’s Edge around 6:30am, here they rope dropped from the inner ropes around 7:45.

Also on a side note, at least in fantasyland there was no announcement at 8am to tell people to try and get a BG.


----------



## KPeterso

gillep said:


> I know of quite a few people who log into the same account on multiple phones and have no issues.



Thanks! I guess we will try that then!!!


----------



## NorthernCalMom

smercerdiemont said:


> This a tiny bit off topic - but how is the opening affecting magic morning/ extra magic hours? I don’t know how it could be enforced with so many people coming in early for a BG.


My guess from being in the parks during the time that Radiator Springs opened and just general experience with planning for my family usually in early August, so at a fairly busy time: EMH will be very light for all other rides, since many of the EMH folks will forego rides but will hover around the Buzz & Splash Mountain FP machine’s. No insider knowledge here, just an educated guess... I figure we’ll find out tomorrow?

EDITED TO ADD: My guess is that BG won’t be available during EMH but that resort guests will have the advantage of getting more early rides done than usual but will have to try to get a BG at official opening time with everybody else who’s rope dropping.


----------



## Marchband

Once your BG is called and you get over to the ride, how long is everyone waiting in line to get on it?


----------



## nutshell

Marchband said:


> Once your BG is called and you get over to the ride, how long is everyone waiting in line to get on it?


I’m curious as well. I’ve heard it’s 30 minutes at WDW (as long as the ride doesn’t breakdown).


----------



## DisneyDork1969

dina444444 said:


> No clue until they start to board



It started at group 12...


----------



## dieumeye

Looks like 15 groups called (12-26) in the first hour the ride was open. That seems good.


----------



## kyliechristine

nutshell said:


> I’m curious as well. I’ve heard it’s 30 minutes at WDW (as long as the ride doesn’t breakdown).



I just got off the ride. From getting in the line to getting off the ride was about 35-40 minutes. The line was steady moving and we didn’t stop much. There are benches throughout the line though for seating if needed.


----------



## Gaugersaurus

Wow... just wow start to finish it was amazing, 100% immersive. Easily surpasses flight of passage in WDW as the best attraction for me


----------



## ironband74

In the last half hour 5 groups, so there is a pre-load condition.  Watching to see the rate over the next hour, but if we assume 10 groups called per hour over the next 14 hours... they should get to boarding group 150 if there are no big breakdowns.


----------



## montreid

@dina444444 

Data Points I believe - Correct if wrong:
5:45: Gates Open for scan in. FP available to get. Mobile orders available too
6:38: HUB opened
7:45: Rope Drop - Lands opened
8:00: BG opened
8:00:52 Backup BGs start at 82
8:09: Backup BGs filled ~142
9:00  First BGs called 12 (guessing 1-11 were CM/Internal/Media?)
10:00  1st hour:  15groups called


----------



## Boku41

We have heard from those that got BGs.  I want to hear a roll call of those that were in the park at rope drop and did NOT get a boarding group. Hopefully most got at least a backup group.

This is simply to gauge the success rate in getting a BG.


----------



## Go💛Go

10-14 Boarding Groups per hour is a great rate. 

On Twitter you can follow the data:

__ https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1218220013494116352


----------



## dina444444

montreid said:


> @dina444444
> 
> Data Points I believe - Correct if wrong:
> 5:45: Gates Open for scan in. FP available to get. Mobile orders available too
> 6:38: HUB opened
> 7:45: Rope Drop - Lands opened
> 8:00: BG opened
> 8:00:52 Backup BGs start at 82
> 8:09: Backup BGs filled ~142
> 9:00  First BGs called 12 (guessing 1-11 were CM/Internal/Media?)
> 10:00  1st hour:  15groups called


Thanks


----------



## DisneyDork1969

Got in line at Midnight...
Waited in the slight rain for 3 hours...
Gates opened at 5:45am...
Held onto Main Street before hub..
Hub opened at 7am...got in line in front of Frontierland...
Lands opened at 7:45am...got a spot near HM...
At 8am started refreshing the app...got BG 63...
While waiting on Main Street/Hub, I got 2 sets of FPs...rode HM at 8:05 w FP...rode Pirates with 5 min wait...rode Space Mt with 8:30am GP...rode Star Tours with a 9am FP...currently eating at IHOP...its 10:15am with BG 12-26 boarding...we think we'll board around 1pm/2pm...currently holding a FP for BTMR....


----------



## asumom

BlueRibbon said:


> Just got home. I was ome who kept refreshing at 8am and got nothing. When I exited back to the main page, still got nothing. Had to cycle the app, then got access to the boarding groups and got Backup group 110. Bummer.


Let us know if/when you get on


----------



## asumom

Rich M said:


> Have we heard if anyone inside of DCA could get a BG?


No, you must be in Disneyland


----------



## asumom

gottalovepluto said:


> My concern as well. I love EMH at DLR. I hope they don’t allow joining of boarding groups during it.


They said no boarding passes during emh, only available at official park opening


----------



## DisneyDork1969

Oh Yeah....there are vacine/stem cell protesters by Harbor entrance...with big signs...all dressed like Star Wars people....UGH!!!!


----------



## BlueRibbon

montreid said:


> You still have a decent chance for tonight.



A new hope has arisen!


----------



## Skyegirl1999

The park itself is not very crowded-feeling.  We haven’t gone back to SWGE yet, but overall, I’d call these light crowds, and there’s still lots of FP availability.

It will be interesting to see how crowds develop over the course of the day.  Normally, the Friday afternoon/evening of a holiday weekend would get busy.  Will people come if they’re not going to get on ROTR?  Is the perception going to be “it’s crazy, stay away” because of the pictures circulating from Main Street this morning?  (plus NAMM?)  Maybe people will come for Lunar at DCA?

While the crowds this morning showed high demand for ROTR, it remains to be seen how well it punches up attendance overall.

To that end, I’m guessing they’re reaaaally aiming for all the backup groups to ride today - they need that hope to keep people coming if regular groups are gone in less than a minute.


----------



## DisneyDork1969

asumom said:


> Let us know if/when you get on



With 10-14 groups averaging per hour, groups thru 150 will be able to board today, if no problems...


----------



## ironband74

I probably shouldn't have said anything.  It's been stuck at 26 for over 20 minutes.  My bad...


----------



## katyringo

Disneyland daily is reporting via Facebook comments that you have to be in Disneyland Park. Her information is usually rock solid.


----------



## kboo

montreid said:


> Please no! Rained ALL week we were down in WDW and our day at HS - rain in the dark at 530AM with 8k other Disney fans, though comforting en masse, wasn't fun at all.


we were there the same week --- one RotR day it poured and was sort of miserable (but we did get to ride) and the other day it didn't and we managed to RD MFSR. 



Aurora0427 said:


> ...My point is simply with all the craziness of more people getting there at rope drop in order to get a BG for ROTR, will it then cause an increase of wait times throughout the park, for rides that historically were walk on the first hour or two. This is what’s happening at DHS.


We were there Xmas/NY week and you might be able to rope drop ONE ride, then it was 50+ minute waits for everything until the shows opened. 



dina444444 said:


> Guests with 3 day or longer tickets bought in advance have magic morning during EMH at Disneyland.


Got it - I did a little DL research! So now I watch this thread to see how they do morning EMH/MM at DL. 



Mathmagicland said:


> Also, it’s my understanding from WDW DHS that BGs open afternoon published park opening only and does not open early for EMH guests,


After one disastrous day, they eliminated ALL morning EMHs and DHS and it seems to have calmed the problem down considerably at WDW.



CastAStone said:


> They did a morning EMH at WDW in December (with a different process in place than the current one) and it was a total disaster; they just cancelled all the morning EMH after that and added evening ones instead. Can't really do that at Disneyland, so tomorrow will be interesting. Still picturing people refusing to get in their Space Mountain car at 7:58.





EmJ said:


> Based on WDW standards, 82 is a very low number of boarding groups. There have been a handful of days where they only got to around that many boarding groups, but once the ride was more fine tuned and the CM more experience, the numbers started getting to 150 and above. My guess is that DL only released a very small number today anticipating slow boarding and/or a lot of breakdowns. I would expect to see that number rise significantly in the coming weeks.


I agree, think they are being super conservative with the ##. We got BG 50 and 62 on our 2x at WDW... BG 50 got called about 2 hours after opening (so 9am), and BG 62 got called around 10:30am (7am opening) despite some downtime in the morning. 



Marchband said:


> Once your BG is called and you get over to the ride, how long is everyone waiting in line to get on it?





nutshell said:


> I’m curious as well. I’ve heard it’s 30 minutes at WDW (as long as the ride doesn’t breakdown).


We rode both times in the AM, and the first time we waited about 30 minutes, but without giving spoilers, the queue has some stuff to look at, and we didn't really notice the "wait" because we were often in motion. It's not like we were stopped in 1 place for any length of time. The second time, we must have just hit a lull but it was a constant quick walk on. we walked right through the whole standby queue area, and I actually felt a little sad we didn't have more time to walk more leisurely and get more in the mood.


----------



## MonocularVision

We should start a FAQ in post 2. I can already see this thread is following the WDW thread where you get the same 4 questions asked 3 times a day.


----------



## Skyegirl1999

I’m talking to someone in line at Fantasy Faire who says that their group got a BG from someone who was at Starbucks in Downtown Disney (they had six people trying, all the others were in the park, so they sent one person out there - of course, they had previously scanned into DL).

Unless they’re lying to me, this confirms you can scan into DL and leave (which I assumed), but still no confirmation of whether you can have entered DCA.


----------



## dieumeye

Zero groups called in the first 30 minutes of hour 2.


----------



## cm123

Obviously they called a lot of groups at the start to fill up the queue, hopefully they are not stuck on 26 for long.


----------



## Nonsuch

Are there any “first day” buttons? Or pins, shirts...


----------



## dina444444

MonocularVision said:


> We should start a FAQ in post 2. I can already see this thread is following the WDW thread where you get the same 4 questions asked 3 times a day.


I will get started on this FAQ over the weekend. Post 3 is going to be where the chart will live. Will probably do a chart through the end of February.


----------



## DLgal

The ride is currently down


----------



## Weedy

DLgal said:


> The ride is currently down


RotR in WDW is finally back up it’s  been down for 2+ hours 
I guess only one can run at a time


----------



## dina444444

It’s back up. Group 27 has been called.


----------



## Skyegirl1999

Nonsuch said:


> Are there any “first day” buttons? Or pins, shirts...


Nothing I’ve seen or heard of.

They did trot out some of the GE “landing 2019” shirts inside Star Trader, so I guess they’re too busy unloading the previous “opening” merch to make anything for today!


----------



## MikeRx

PSA...If you are going to post about WDW on this thread please tell us this _important _fact. (Follow Weedy's example above). Simply stating "it's down" leads to lots of confusion/stress for those trying to live vicariously through those who are there today. Especially for those about to be there tomorrow...


----------



## dieumeye

For those playing along, they called 3 boarding groups in hour 2. That’s still a respectable 9 group per hour average!

Hope they get back on a good pace!


----------



## Skyegirl1999

MikeRx said:


> PSA...If you are going to post about WDW on this thread please tell us this _important _fact. (Follow Weedy's example above). Simply stating "it's down" leads to lots of confusion/stress for those trying to live vicariously through those who are there today. Especially for those about to be there tomorrow...


I think the “it’s down” comments *were* talking about here, not WDW.


----------



## ironband74

And now they are up to 31...so they are moving right along...


----------



## Rich M

So far is there any advantage for staying on property versus not?


----------



## Krandor

Rich M said:


> So far is there any advantage for staying on property versus not?



In terms of getting a BG?  No.  Everybody inside the park at opening is on a level playing field


----------



## Mathmagicland

Question for those who have experienced it today at DL - how does it work when you enter ROTR?  Is there a bar code scanned , or your ticket scanned, to verify the BG?  Where are the scanners in relation to the entrance to the queue off the main walkway?  And do they scan a second time, like happens with some FP queues?  

Thanks.


----------



## DLgal

Skyegirl1999 said:


> I think the “it’s down” comments *were* talking about here, not WDW.



It was. I am at Disneyland right now.


----------



## SirBill

Nonsuch said:


> Are there any “first day” buttons? Or pins, shirts...



They have a Tise of the Resistance pin that was released here today, same as they had at WDW - come to think of it there were a few other pins I remember seeing there but not here.  They didn’t make any fuss about ROTR merch here, at WDW opening they had a seperate line to buy that for the day.


----------



## WonkaKid

As many of you know, crowds were already
in place at the park gates well before 4:00 this morning. I just spoke with Disney. They told me that the Toy Story lot opened at midnight last night “as an exception.” However, structures will open at their regular time of 6:30 tomorrow and Sunday, the CM assured me. Somehow I’m not 100% confident about that. I guess we’ll know for sure on the day.

A friend is there now. He got to the park gates at 6:00 and simply walked in; there was no line because most of the other guests were already in the park. Rope drop came at 7:45, fifteen minutes earlier than usual. He said that the boarding groups only became available through the app at 8:00, the official park opening time. All groups were gone in eleven minutes. He got group 89 and by 10:00 they were already up to group 30. More details as I get them.


----------



## twodogs

THANK YOU all for posting today!!!  We arrive tonight and tomorrow will be our big day!  I was trying just for the heck of it from my phone in my office in Texas , on high speed Wifi.  I could not get the button to turn red for about 1 minute, and then I was offered a back up BG which I could not take since I am not scanned into the park (several states away!!).  I was not happy that going back and forth in the app screens was not turning the button red.  I even closed the app entirely, still no red button.  Had to close it a second time, and then the button turned red.  Praying we have better luck tomorrow.

Also a very big thank you to everyone for keeping this thread free of ride spoilers!! I managed to read all 10,000 pages (seemed like it anyway) of the WDW thread on BG and ROTR without seeing any major spoilers.  I so appreciate everyone here keeping it that way so we can have some surprises tomorrow when we (hopefully) ride!!  MTFBW everyone!!!


----------



## kyliechristine

Mathmagicland said:


> Question for those who have experienced it today at DL - how does it work when you enter ROTR?  Is there a bar code scanned , or your ticket scanned, to verify the BG?  Where are the scanners in relation to the entrance to the queue off the main walkway?  And do they scan a second time, like happens with some FP queues?
> 
> Thanks.



CMs verify that you have a boarding pass at the queue entrance, just by looking and not scanning. Then you enter the line and about 500ft down the line there are about 6 CM scanning the BG barcodes. The BG barcode looks exactly like a MaxPass fastpass. Ours was only scanned once. They do not scan actual DLR tickets/passes.


----------



## Mathmagicland

kyliechristine said:


> CMs verify that you have a boarding pass at the queue entrance, just by looking and not scanning. Then you enter the line and about 500ft down the line there are about 6 CM scanning the BG barcodes. The BG barcode looks exactly like a MaxPass fastpass. Ours was only scanned once. They do not scan actual DLR tickets/passes.


Thanks!


----------



## Kenshin21

We plan on going tomorrow. What I am curious is how they are handling emh/mm tomorrow with everybody else trying to go in dlp. I plan on being at Pixar pals garage around 6.


----------



## ttig34

Where exactly do you go in the Disneyland app to join a boarding group?


----------



## dieumeye

Kenshin21 said:


> We plan on going tomorrow. What I am curious is how they are handling emh/mm tomorrow with everybody else trying to go in dlp. I plan on being at Pixar pals garage around 6.


I bet they’ll do what they always do: hold non EMH/MM guests on Main Street, and allow MM/EMH guests through a checkpoint near Plaza Inn.


----------



## dina444444

ttig34 said:


> Where exactly do you go in the Disneyland app to join a boarding group?


Make sure you’ve updated the app. You should see this on the home page and then you click on find out more:


----------



## Krandor

ttig34 said:


> Where exactly do you go in the Disneyland app to join a boarding group?



Right on the homepage should be a section for rise of the resigtance and a button for "find out more"


----------



## Version 6

I'm boarding group 113. I feel like I have no chance.


----------



## Weedy

twodogs said:


> THANK YOU all for posting today!!!  We arrive tonight and tomorrow will be our big day!  I was trying just for the heck of it from my phone in my office in Texas , on high speed Wifi.  I could not get the button to turn red for about 1 minute, and then I was offered a back up BG which I could not take since I am not scanned into the park (several states away!!).  I was not happy that going back and forth in the app screens was not turning the button red.  I even closed the app entirely, still no red button.  Had to close it a second time, and then the button turned red.  Praying we have better luck tomorrow.
> 
> Also a very big thank you to everyone for keeping this thread free of ride spoilers!! I managed to read all 10,000 pages (seemed like it anyway) of the WDW thread on BG and ROTR without seeing any major spoilers.  I so appreciate everyone here keeping it that way so we can have some surprises tomorrow when we (hopefully) ride!!  MTFBW everyone!!!



A few hints that may help:
Make sure the app is updated 
Don’t have anything else open/running on your phone 
Do a hard shutdown on your phone the evening before


----------



## hiroMYhero

Version 6 said:


> I'm boarding group 113. I feel like I have no chance.


If there aren’t any more breakdowns, at 12 groups/hour, you can be called back in about 6 hours. That’s plenty of time - well before the park closes.


----------



## KPeterso

We are planning for tomorrow too. I am thinking of arriving between 6:15-6:30 and prefer to park in Mickey and Friends. Good information and I hope all goes well for us tomorrow. If not, I have Sunday and Monday to try too.


----------



## Skyegirl1999

Version 6 said:


> I'm boarding group 113. I feel like I have no chance.


I think you’ll get on!


----------



## dieumeye

8 BGs called in this awesome attraction’s 3rd hour.

That’s between 8&9 per hour. That’s pretty low compared to WDW on a normal day so I hope it picks up!

But there are 12 hours left in the DL day, so even at that pace they’ll call around 100 more BGs. Definitely too early to count any group number out!


----------



## Version 6

Skyegirl1999 said:


> I think you’ll get on!



I hope you're right but it seems to have slowed to a crawl after the initial flurry unfortunately.


----------



## cm123

It slowed to a crawl because the ride was down for about 40 minutes.


----------



## ironband74

Version 6 said:


> I'm boarding group 113. I feel like I have no chance.



I'd say you've got better than even odds.  They're at 37  now, and even if they only average 7 BG per hour they'll get to you.


----------



## longtimedisneylurker

Thanks! I was just coming on here to ask what people knew about parking opening times this weekend.


----------



## bethwc101

Has anybody noticed what happens if someone tries to enter before their BG is called? Is it like FP where a blue light scans of how do they verify you are at the right time?


----------



## dieumeye

Version 6 said:


> I hope you're right but it seems to have slowed to a crawl after the initial flurry unfortunately.


Don’t worry, she’ll hold together!


----------



## MikeRx

Thanks everyone, I did realize that most were in DL today and posting about current conditions, but wanted to preclude the occasional what's happening in DHS posts..sorry for the confusion.


----------



## WonkaKid

longtimedisneylurker said:


> Thanks! I was just coming on here to ask what people knew about parking opening times this weekend.


The info about came from a CM at the AP help line. However, a friend is there now and he said he’d also ask people there. I’ll post more info if any comes.


----------



## Rich M

Is the DL version available during the AH events or is it just like HS and not open during MH?


----------



## Skyegirl1999

bethwc101 said:


> Has anybody noticed what happens if someone tries to enter before their BG is called? Is it like FP where a blue light scans of how do they verify you are at the right time?


They’re checking people’s screens when they walk up.


----------



## cm123

bethwc101 said:


> Has anybody noticed what happens if someone tries to enter before their BG is called? Is it like FP where a blue light scans of how do they verify you are at the right time?



Arrested, put in the cell next to the guy who beat the girl up in Toon Town.


----------



## LizzyS

Thanks to everyone that's posted their experience thus far and best of luck; I hope all of you get to ride today!


----------



## dieumeye

For the record, there are plenty of people in SW:GE talking to CMs who either didn’t get a BG this morning, or who seem to be just now finding out about the BG process and that there are no more available today. Basically, if there’s a CM around GE, then that’s the discussion that’s happening. So consider yourself at an advantage just for being on this board!


----------



## vharris2828

How do the crowds feel for anyone in the park today? I feel like some of the people following this on Instagram are being a tad ridiculous on what’s actually going on lol. Someone mentioned the park getting to capacity today but it doesn’t even look near that with the current wait times on anything.


----------



## Version 6

Looks a lot busier than it had been during the week.


----------



## vharris2828

dieumeye said:


> For the record, there are plenty of people in SW:GE talking to CMs who either didn’t get a BG this morning, or who seem to be just now finding out about the BG process and that there are no more available today. Basically, if there’s a CM around GE, then that’s the discussion that’s happening. So consider yourself at an advantage just for being on this board!



Shhhh don't tell anyone  I feel I have better info here then anywhere else.


----------



## CastAStone

vharris2828 said:


> Someone mentioned the park getting to capacity today but it doesn’t even look near that with the current wait times on anything.


The wait time for Peter Pan is 30 minutes.

Im not there, I have no information, but on that piece of data alone I can guarantee it’s tens of thousands of people away from capacity.


----------



## vharris2828

Version 6 said:


> Looks a lot busier than it had been during the week.


Yes for sure, the last two days were insanely low!! But honestly tons of fastpasses with fairly early times still and not terrible lines. That’s why I’m curious how it actually feels! We go Monday and I’m nervous about crowds Monday.


----------



## EmJ

dieumeye said:


> For the record, there are plenty of people in SW:GE talking to CMs who either didn’t get a BG this morning, or who seem to be just now finding out about the BG process and that there are no more available today. Basically, if there’s a CM around GE, then that’s the discussion that’s happening. So consider yourself at an advantage just for being on this board!


Those poor CMs. Someone needs to give them a basket of fine chocolate and bubble bath for after their shift.


----------



## montreid

Busier than ave weekday - looks like ave Jan weekend times. 30-40min for most rides despite RS down much of the morning.

Kiddie rides look barren as it should be for schoolday


----------



## NorthernCalMom

My Disney-Prep to-do list between now and our visit in August:

— Watch this thread and Dina4444’s chart like a hawk.

— Keep practicing with my iPhone in the morning to see if I can’t get to that elusive, active “Join Boarding Group” button (stare longingly at it if I do).

— Work out that “refresh screen” finger for stamina and speed (potential positive side effect: this might also result in improved Toy Story Midway Mania scores!).

— Get the rest of my family members who have iPhones to do “get to ‘Join Boarding Group’ button” dry runs.

— Remember to breathe and to maintain my sense of humor...


----------



## ironband74

It's 12:30PM and RSR still has FP available.  Space Mountain has a 40 minute wait.  MFSR is at 30 minutes.  

Soooooo...really not anywhere close to capacity.

Tomorrow might be a different story.


----------



## ironband74

On a slightly different subject, has anyone tried the Play Parks game that goes with Rise of the Resistance yet?  I wonder if with no standby you have to pass up too many pieces to be able to do it as part of a BG...


----------



## jxhide

DisneyDork1969 said:


> Got in line at Midnight...
> Waited in the slight rain for 3 hours...
> Gates opened at 5:45am...
> Held onto Main Street before hub..
> Hub opened at 7am...got in line in front of Frontierland...
> Lands opened at 7:45am...got a spot near HM...
> At 8am started refreshing the app...got BG 63...
> While waiting on Main Street/Hub, I got 2 sets of FPs...rode HM at 8:05 w FP...rode Pirates with 5 min wait...rode Space Mt with 8:30am GP...rode Star Tours with a 9am FP...currently eating at IHOP...its 10:15am with BG 12-26 boarding...we think we'll board around 1pm/2pm...currently holding a FP for BTMR....



How do you refresh the app?


----------



## Vysecity

20 minutes for Peter Pan. Yeah I can't believe it's near capacity...


----------



## hiroMYhero

ironband74 said:


> On a slightly different subject, has anyone tried the Play Parks game that goes with Rise of the Resistance yet?  I wonder if with no standby you have to pass up too many pieces to be able to do it as part of a BG...


All BGs go through the standby queue. If playing the game, you can always let people behind you pass you by.


----------



## aymiewilson

Version 6 said:


> I'm boarding group 113. I feel like I have no chance.



Sending positive vibes your way! I hope you get on


----------



## Mathmagicland

At 1:00 pm it was showing BGs thru 50...


----------



## EmJ

Mathmagicland said:


> At 1:00 pm it was showing BGs thru 50...


If they are able to sustain 10 boarding groups an hour through the afternoon, I would call that a phenomenal opening day for DL.


----------



## Krandor

EmJ said:


> If they are able to sustain 10 boarding groups an hour through the afternoon, I would call that a phenomenal opening day for DL.



DLR is having a far better day then DHS.


----------



## Skyegirl1999

vharris2828 said:


> How do the crowds feel for anyone in the park today? I feel like some of the people following this on Instagram are being a tad ridiculous on what’s actually going on lol. Someone mentioned the park getting to capacity today but it doesn’t even look near that with the current wait times on anything.


It does not feel very busy.  Not a ghost town!  Wednesday was a ghost town.  But today is not “crowded.”


----------



## SOCALMouseMommy

EmJ said:


> If they are able to sustain 10 boarding groups an hour through the afternoon, I would call that a phenomenal opening day for DL.


I think boarding groups started at 12. So that would be an average of 7.6 BGs per hour as of 1pm.


----------



## SOCALMouseMommy

Skyegirl1999 said:


> It does not feel very busy.  Not a ghost town!  Wednesday was a ghost town.  But today is not “crowded.”


Did you RIDE????


----------



## only hope

ironband74 said:


> On a slightly different subject, has anyone tried the Play Parks game that goes with Rise of the Resistance yet?  I wonder if with no standby you have to pass up too many pieces to be able to do it as part of a BG...



At least here at WDW, there were several new missions that were loaded into the datapad on the RoTR opening day, and actually two for the new attraction. One you have to play while in the queue. The other one you just have to be nearby and I recommend _not _doing it while in the queue (unless it breaks down and you get stuck) as it takes quite awhile to finish. I took about ten minutes to get through it.


----------



## ironband74

SOCALMouseMommy said:


> Did you RIDE????


Don't you mean "RISE"???

I'm really curious to hear a kid's reaction to the attraction.


----------



## montreid

Krandor said:


> DLR is having a far better day then DHS.


Sadly DLR is outpacing BGs to HS already -


----------



## Skyegirl1999

Just got off.  Wowwow. The six year old says, “That was AMAZING!!!”

I will post more thoughts and a few details of her experience on the ride spoiler thread in a little bit.


----------



## crystal1313

I just want to say, reading along today has been so fun!  Makes me not have as much FOMO as I was having last night.  LOL.  Thank you for all that have given a play by play today. For those in the backup boarding groups, I hope you are able to ride today!


----------



## SOCALMouseMommy

Skyegirl1999 said:


> Just got off.  Wowwow. The six year old says, “That was AMAZING!!!”
> 
> I will post more thoughts and a few details of her experience on the ride spoiler thread in a little bit.


Ohhhhh this makes me so desperately want to ride in Tuesday with my older one! But I have to drop the younger one off to the grandparents and I’m worried we’re not going to get there in time to get in and try for a boarding group.


----------



## Aurora0427

Love reading everyone’s stories and I’m so happy for those of you who got to ride and sending lots of positive vibes for everyone with a later BG!!!!!


----------



## Whistlebee

SOCALMouseMommy said:


> Ohhhhh this makes me so desperately want to ride in Tuesday with my older one! But I have to drop the younger one off to the grandparents and I’m worried we’re not going to get there in time to get in and try for a boarding group.


Sounds like you need to spend the night at Grandparent’s house


----------



## ironband74

Skyegirl1999 said:


> Just got off.  Wowwow. The six year old says, “That was AMAZING!!!”
> 
> I will post more thoughts and a few details of her experience on the ride spoiler thread in a little bit.


So glad it all worked out for you and your daughter.  My wife and older daughter are heading to Seattle for a girls' trip on President's day weekend...I'm toying with the idea of taking my younger son and getting my older son to meet us (he lives in SD) for a dudes' trip...


----------



## disneylover102

ironband74 said:


> Could you reach both pilot controls?  That would be sweet!


No, it was slightly different than normal. The other pilot’s controls were automatically done. I was the left pilot. I did get to reach over and pull the lever to go light speed.


----------



## Pamela M

BlueRibbon said:


> Just got home. I was ome who kept refreshing at 8am and got nothing. When I exited back to the main page, still got nothing. Had to cycle the app, then got access to the boarding groups and got Backup group 110. Bummer.


If it helps I did WDW ROTR 7 days after opening and got boarding group 104 - park open was 7am(we didn't scan in and get boarding pass until 7:47am) - we got called for our boarding group at 6:30pm. So there is still hope.


----------



## cm123

Ride is down again, the queue has been cleared.


----------



## hiroMYhero

cm123 said:


> Ride is down again, the queue has been cleared.


Is a FP being given to each person in line?


----------



## socaldisneylover

Ride has been stuck on group 61 for quite awhile.  I had hoped to get on by 6:00, but that’s looking doubtful.


----------



## dieumeye

Had to duck out to attend to real life for a moment, so I’m glad to see RotR is over 8 groups per hour average, even with stalling at 61. Hope it gets back up soon.

I also want to say I think Disney did a great job being prepared for and handling the crowds this morning. I was worried it would be tough to navigate parking, security, and gate entry... but it wasn’t.

Did anyone see what was the latest time someone was able to arrive and still make it into park prior to 8am? That’s important info for anyone trying to come this weekend.

Fingers crossed RotR gets up and keeps running through BGs until midnight!


----------



## Version 6

Stuck on 61 for quite a while. Not liking my chances


----------



## EmJ

Version 6 said:


> Stuck on 61 for quite a while. Not liking my chances


Hopefully it will be moving soon. How late are you able to make it to the park? If I am mathing correctly, the ride is coming up on 8 hours operational with another 8 to go, correct? If they get it running again and keep up the same pace, they could get to 113. Don't give up hope yet!


----------



## brentm77

It has been broken for more than an hour now.


----------



## Version 6

EmJ said:


> Hopefully it will be moving soon. How late are you able to make it to the park? If I am mathing correctly, the ride is coming up on 8 hours operational with another 8 to go, correct? If they get it running again and keep up the same pace, they could get to 113. Don't give up hope yet!



I am staying on site. Can get there any time on short notice. Tomorrow is my last day to try, then its back to Australia


----------



## CastAStone

brentm77 said:


> It has been broken for more than an hour now.


The WDW one is most commonly down for about 70 minutes when it goes down.


----------



## DLgal

EmJ said:


> Hopefully it will be moving soon. How late are you able to make it to the park? If I am mathing correctly, the ride is coming up on 8 hours operational with another 8 to go, correct? If they get it running again and keep up the same pace, they could get to 113. Don't give up hope yet!



The ride didn't actually start running until 9am. So, it's been operational for just over 6 hours, minus the earlier hour-ish downtime. So, actually running, about 5 hours. The park closes in 8 hours but its down again right now.


----------



## brentm77

It's up again!  63 and counting.


----------



## ashley0139

Just got a text that a friend of a friend didn't get on in WDW with a boarding group in the 70s. That seems very low.


----------



## dina444444

ashley0139 said:


> Just got a text that a friend of a friend didn't get on in WDW with a boarding group in the 70s. That seems very low.


It is. This was probably the worst day at dhs since the opening in terms of groups called.
Edit: DHS got to group 62 today, they had 115 guaranteed groups so lots of guest recovery was issued today which means tomorrow there won’t be a whole lot of guaranteed groups.


----------



## disneylover102

So I’m pretty sure 73 will come up sometime today but if it doesn’t, would they give me a FP to ride it tomorrow?


----------



## BadPinkTink

Just caught up on all the posts. Thank you to everyone for the live updates, and so happy that everyone posting managed to get a boarding group. Also thanks for keeping this thread spoiler free.  Hopefully by June things will calm down a bit. So glad I got a USA SIM card last year and will have data in June if they are still doing boarding groups.


----------



## SirBill

Just got in queue, bg 58 - had to come back from when it as Dow.  Queue is a bit long, just entered inside part.


----------



## hiroMYhero

disneylover102 said:


> So I’m pretty sure 73 will come up sometime today but if it doesn’t, would they give me a FP to ride it tomorrow?


Now at 65 so you’d get on in an hour or so.

The standard guest recovery for guests with regular BGs that were not able to ride due to breakdowns has been FP for the next park day plus a 1-day comp ticket that’s valid for quite a few months.


----------



## dina444444

dina444444 said:


> It is. This was probably the worst day at dhs since the opening in terms of groups called.
> Edit: DHS got to group 62 today, they had 115 guaranteed groups so lots of guest recovery was issued today which means tomorrow there won’t be a whole lot of guaranteed groups.


Spoke too soon. DHS is back up and taking more people but they won’t hit all their guaranteed groups.


----------



## Version 6

I'm going to try again tomorrow. 

For those who were successful today, what's the best way to go. Toggle between the home screen and the "find out more" screen just by pressing those two buttons over and over?


----------



## Vysecity

Version 6 said:


> I'm going to try again tomorrow.
> 
> For those who were successful today, what's the best way to go. Toggle between the home screen and the "find out more" screen just by pressing those two buttons over and over?



Here's hoping you get on today and don't have to worry about it tomorrow!

Well unless you want to try to ride again tomorrow! Which I would too! lol


----------



## socaldisneylover

I decided to give up.  Looks like it’s going at a snail’s pace through the 60’s.  I got about 4 hrs sleep last night, and have been at park since 6:45.  I figure even if it doesn’t break down again, it would be another 3-4 hours until they even get to my group, #90.  Will try again another day.


----------



## dieumeye

With uptime and downtime, RotR is averaging just over 7 BGs per hour since opening this AM.

It opened 8 hours ago (8:55am) and there’s still 7 hours of park time left. Plenty of time to call more BGs before end of day.

Come on RotR! Hang in there!


----------



## vharris2828

Ok just to confirm if this worked for anyone... I heard you can scan into the park, let’s say 7 am. And then leave. And get a boarding group from anywhere when the clock strikes opening time....hotel room, California adventure etc. did this work for anyone? Or is it best to stay inside the park. Forgive me if this was answered already,  I’ve been following this thread the best I could today but have been in and out and there have been tons of posts.


----------



## MonocularVision

vharris2828 said:


> Ok just to confirm if this worked for anyone... I heard you can scan into the park, let’s say 7 am. And then leave. And get a boarding group from anywhere when the clock strikes opening time....hotel room, California adventure etc. did this work for anyone? Or is it best to stay inside the park. Forgive me if this was answered already,  I’ve been following this thread the best I could today but have been in and out and there have been tons of posts.



I don’t remember reading anyone trying this today but:

It works at Walt Disney World
There is no way for Disney to reliably know if you are in the park or not
I would give the chance of this working at approximately 100%.


----------



## BlueRibbon

vharris2828 said:


> Ok just to confirm if this worked for anyone... I heard you can scan into the park, let’s say 7 am. And then leave. And get a boarding group from anywhere when the clock strikes opening time....hotel room, California adventure etc. did this work for anyone? Or is it best to stay inside the park. Forgive me if this was answered already,  I’ve been following this thread the best I could today but have been in and out and there have been tons of posts.



I'd have to go through all the posts, but someone earlier today mentioned that they went out to the Starbucks in DtD and was successful in getting a BG.


----------



## dina444444

vharris2828 said:


> Ok just to confirm if this worked for anyone... I heard you can scan into the park, let’s say 7 am. And then leave. And get a boarding group from anywhere when the clock strikes opening time....hotel room, California adventure etc. did this work for anyone? Or is it best to stay inside the park. Forgive me if this was answered already,  I’ve been following this thread the best I could today but have been in and out and there have been tons of posts.


It should work the way the Maxpass system and the BG system at DHS does. You have to scan in to the park for the day but you don't need to stay in the park. I can fully confirm tomorrow. I have 2 friends that are going to try and help me get a boarding group the have my AP in their accounts that won't be in the park.


----------



## theluckyrabbit

kboo said:


> Will go back and read, but EMH only covers guests at DL Hotel and Grand Californian, no?


EMH/EE is a perk given to all on site guests at the PPH, DLH, and GCH,. 



hiroMYhero said:


> ... Following along as we’re back to being DLR APs and will be in DL soon!


Welcome back to the AP family!



Mathmagicland said:


> EMH is for Disneyland resort hotel guests only at DCA,  however for Disneyland it is also open to some guests at “good neighbor” hotels as well as people with 3-day park hopper tickets...


The MM perk is not connected to the Good Neighbor hotels. Almost all 3+ day tickets purchased in advance, not at a ticket booth, have one MM attached to the ticket. Tickets purchased at the ticket booths and military discount tickets do not have MM.


----------



## ironband74

I mean the app does have your location via gps if location is enabled...but yeah, someone said that they had spoken with someone who got one from Starbucks DtD.

I was actually thinking that if I go when BGs are still a thing I might have a few friends at home scan my ticket and "help" me get a bording pass since my phone tends to do horrible things when I need it most...


----------



## nutshell

I’m predicting they get to about 120 today. At 74 now.


----------



## MonocularVision

ironband74 said:


> I mean the app does have your location via gps if location is enabled...but yeah, someone said that they had spoken with someone who got one from Starbucks DtD.



I have been making a bit of a stink about this on the WDW thread but there would be so many issues with trying to use GPS for this, it is extremely unlikely they would. And for what benefit? The reason they want folks to be scanned into Disneyland is to prevent the entire Internet from grabbing BGs with zero intent to use them.


----------



## CaliforniaGirl09

I'll be watching the reports of getting BG's from outside the park closely. Given DL's IT issues, we were thinking that we might all tap in, and then have one of us go back to the hotel or DTD to attempt to get the BG.


----------



## theluckyrabbit

vharris2828 said:


> We are there next week too and I’m dying from the anxiety this is all causing me


Tell me about it! I have been following along and my adrenaline has been up the whole time. Who needs caffeine?!
To all who have been posting live updates and other information as it rolls in: Thank you very much! This has been SO helpful to who knows how many DISers here on this board and who knows how many lurkers. Our Disney community rocks!


----------



## MonocularVision

CaliforniaGirl09 said:


> I'll be watching the reports of getting BG's from outside the park closely. Given DL's IT issues, we were thinking that we might all tap in, and then have one of us go back to the hotel or DTD to attempt to get the BG.



Considering that the main factor is probably going to be how reliable your network connection is, I think this is a really wise strategy. I may spread my family out a bit both inside and outside the park after we get through the turnstiles on our trip in a few weeks.


----------



## ironband74

nutshell said:


> I’m predicting they get to about 120 today. At 74 now.


Shhhhh...don't jinx it....


----------



## jxhide

dieumeye said:


> Had to duck out to attend to real life for a moment, so I’m glad to see RotR is over 8 groups per hour average, even with stalling at 61. Hope it gets back up soon.
> 
> I also want to say I think Disney did a great job being prepared for and handling the crowds this morning. I was worried it would be tough to navigate parking, security, and gate entry... but it wasn’t.
> 
> Did anyone see what was the latest time someone was able to arrive and still make it into park prior to 8am? That’s important info for anyone trying to come this weekend.
> 
> Fingers crossed RotR gets up and keeps running through BGs until midnight!



Anyone know what's the latest someone arrived at the park but still made it in on time inside the park to get BG?


----------



## theluckyrabbit

EmJ said:


> Those poor CMs. Someone needs to give them a basket of fine chocolate and bubble bath for after their shift.


So true!

PSA: Don't forget to give the CMs some love! Let them know you appreciate their hard work making the magic! A smile and a "thank you!" can go a really long way!


----------



## dieumeye

That was a good hour. Up to 80. Almost done with guaranteed BGs!


----------



## ironband74

theluckyrabbit said:


> So true!
> 
> PSA: Don't forget to give the CMs some love! Let them know you appreciate their hard work making the magic! A smile and a "thank you!" can go a really long way!


And, grabbing their names and giving them a kudo at guest services doesn't hurt either.


----------



## ironband74

dieumeye said:


> That was a good hour. Up to 80. Almost done with guaranteed BGs!


Yeah!  And with six hours to go!  DL is rockin' the Rise (touch wood).


----------



## dieumeye

All regular BGs have been called (12-81) at 6:00pm.

Wonder how long they’ll do backups? Would be great if they did the WDW thing and just called a bunch by 10pm so people have a chance to get on even if it makes a long line at the end of the day like at WDW.


----------



## montreid

WDW stopped calling new groups two hours prior to closing.  that's still 4 hours of backups so guessing 120-125 where it'll cut off.

My hope is that if they are able to get through regulars, the crew supervisors will be able shuttle some CMs in to enjoy near closing.


----------



## theluckyrabbit

Has anyone who rode today at DL used DAS? Or spoken with someone who used DAS? I know that Disney has said that all riders must get a BG, then request a DAS if needed. I'm assuming that, as with MFSR in the beginning, a DAS for ROTR can only be requested from the Information Kiosk in SWGE.  Please post if you have any experience! TIA!


----------



## dina444444

theluckyrabbit said:


> Has anyone who rode today at DL used DAS? Or spoken with someone who used DAS? I know that Disney has said that all riders must get a BG, then request a DAS if needed. I'm assuming that, as with MFSR in the beginning, a DAS for ROTR can only be requested from the Information Kiosk in SWGE.  Please post if you have any experience! TIA!


If it's like WDW you go up to the ride when your boarding group is called and they then send you down the FP line instead of into the standby queue.


----------



## CaliforniaGirl09

MonocularVision said:


> Considering that the main factor is probably going to be how reliable your network connection is, I think this is a really wise strategy. I may spread my family out a bit both inside and outside the park after we get through the turnstiles on our trip in a few weeks.


That's what we are thinking, too. I'll probably send my husband and son (who is special needs) back to the room and keep two of our three phones with me.


----------



## bwvBound

Remaining hopeful with BG 99. Long day!


----------



## theluckyrabbit

ironband74 said:


> And, grabbing their names and giving them a kudo at guest services doesn't hurt either.


And even if you don't manage to get their name, a general description, the date, time, and location can work, too. And if you don't have time to go to City Hall or Chamber of Commerce, you can use the "Contact Us" link at the bottom of the DLR webpage.


----------



## brightlined

jxhide said:


> Anyone know what's the latest someone arrived at the park but still made it in on time inside the park to get BG?


Today would be a bad day to judge that, since so many people arrived crazy early. Now that word is out that getting there early doesn't help - if a similar number of people arrives around 7am, it could take a lot longer to get in.


----------



## montreid

CaliforniaGirl09 said:


> That's what we are thinking, too. I'll probably send my husband and son (who is special needs) back to the room and keep two of our three phones with me.


We used DAS at WDW.      Everyone needs a BG.  You can combine if different BG#s.  Once BG called, go to ride entrance and CM with ipad there; scan in and DAS will show up.  You'll get FP line, much like SR.    FP gets right up to the preshow #1 just like SR.  There's some standing and waiting between, but as best as there is and the experience really keeps it moving over the 30minutes.

We actually got held up right before the actual ride for about 20minutes -- CMs kept it lively and entertaining and our boy did fine with our typical backup devices for him for such contingencies.

Edit:  remember, DAS designation -  Initial has to be done at City Hall/Commerce -- reup can be done at any of the Guest Service Kiosks every 90days or group members with the DAS holder.   Ride CMs cannot create or change DAS--only verify.


----------



## theluckyrabbit

dina444444 said:


> If it's like WDW you go up to the ride when your boarding group is called and they then send you down the FP line instead of into the standby queue.


That's what I figured, but it would be nice to hear from people who actually used DAS to learn details about how it works here. For example, for MFSR, the DAS return line has some surprisingly steep ramps which can pose a problem for some guests, especially when they don't expect that. We've had friends who had difficulty managing those ramps, but knew about them from other's descriptions, so at least they were prepared.


----------



## BlueRibbon

With 3.5 hours left before Close-2Hrs I'm also still hopeful they'll call BG 110. Seems like it's stalled on 82 though..<EDIT: After two minutes they're up to 84!!>

Admittedly, we went home right after 8am, ate breakfast, slept and hung around all day, so we're all set!


----------



## EmJ

BlueRibbon said:


> With 3.5 hours left before Close-2Hrs I'm also still hopeful they'll call BG 110. Seems like it's stalled on 82 though..
> 
> Admittedly, we went home right after 8am, ate breakfast, slept and hung around all day, so we're all set!


I'm just following along at home, but mine jumped from 82 to 84. It seems to be moving, just not as quickly as this morning.


----------



## jetskigrl

Have there been any more updates to the parking opening times tomorrow?  I'm trying to decide if we should try the structure or Toy Story.   Thanks!


----------



## dina444444

theluckyrabbit said:


> That's what I figured, but it would be nice to hear from people who actually used DAS to learn details about how it works here. For example, for MFSR, the DAS return line has some surprisingly steep ramps which can pose a problem for some guests, especially when they don't expect that. We've had friends who had difficulty managing those ramps, but knew about them from other's descriptions, so at least they were prepared.


If it’s like DHS’s queue there is little to no elevation change in both fp and standby.


----------



## BlueRibbon

On a separate note, I just brought my hardcore Disney Fan kids with me today. Tomorrow, the whole family is coming, and we're planning on being at M&F right after 6:30am. We should be in by 8am....hopefully..


----------



## theluckyrabbit

dina444444 said:


> If it’s like DHS’s queue there is little to no elevation change in both fp and standby.


Good to know -- thank you!


----------



## DLgal

jetskigrl said:


> Have there been any more updates to the parking opening times tomorrow?  I'm trying to decide if we should try the structure or Toy Story.   Thanks!



They open 90 minutes before park opening time. So, 6:30am.


----------



## BlueRibbon

jetskigrl said:


> Have there been any more updates to the parking opening times tomorrow?  I'm trying to decide if we should try the structure or Toy Story.   Thanks!



I didn't hear/see any news about parking times for tomorrow. If your plan is to come early, I'd go with Toy Story lot. Seemed like Mickey & Friends opened on time today(~6:30) so it'll probably open the same time tomorrow.


----------



## jetskigrl

BlueRibbon said:


> I didn't hear/see any news about parking times for tomorrow. If your plan is to come early, I'd go with Toy Story lot. Seemed like Mickey & Friends opened on time today(~6:30) so it'll probably open the same time tomorrow.



What time does Toy Story lot usually open?    I would prefer to get parked before 6:30 so we can be closer to the gates when they start letting people in.   But I guess we can just get to the structure and wait in line for 6:30 opening if we have to.   Thanks!


----------



## DLgal

jetskigrl said:


> What time does Toy Story lot usually open?    I would prefer to get parked before 6:30 so we can be closer to the gates when they start letting people in.   But I guess we can just get to the structure and wait in line for 6:30 opening if we have to.   Thanks!



All lots typically open at the same time. Last night was done out of crowd control necessity, but will not be happening going forward. There is really no reason to arrive any earlier. Some of those people who arrived at midnight last night didn't even get boarding passes this morning. Being in the park at opening time is no guarantee.


----------



## montreid

Bet that they will staff TS to be open a bit earlier.  I'm sure folk will arrive earlier that 630 tomorrow and last thing Disney wants is Anaheim police getting upset with traffic backup around the area.


----------



## Skyegirl1999

We’re waiting for our bus back to Toy Story - quite a long line of people leaving; we’ve been here eight minutes and no bus has come.  I’m planning to ask one of the Toy Story lot CMs what time they’re opening tomorrow. 

Both parks are pretty dead.  There are a number of people sleeping on benches and the Animation building and places like that.  Very curious to see the long-term impact of ROTR on crowd patterns!


----------



## TikiTikiFan

theluckyrabbit said:


> This has been SO helpful to who knows how many DISers here on this board and who knows how many lurkers.



*eats popcorn* lurk lurk lurk


----------



## EmJ

Skyegirl1999 said:


> We’re waiting for our bus back to Toy Story - quite a long line of people leaving; we’ve been here eight minutes and no bus has come.  I’m planning to ask one of the Toy Story lot CMs what time they’re opening tomorrow.
> 
> Both parks are pretty dead.  There are a number of people sleeping on benches and the Animation building and places like that.  Very curious to see the long-term impact of ROTR on crowd patterns!


I hope you had a great day!


----------



## MonocularVision

brightlined said:


> Today would be a bad day to judge that, since so many people arrived crazy early. Now that word is out that getting there early doesn't help - if a similar number of people arrives around 7am, it could take a lot longer to get in.



Even more importantly, they opened the gates over 2 hours before park opening. That makes today non-comparable unless they do it again.


----------



## DLgal

Skyegirl1999 said:


> We’re waiting for our bus back to Toy Story - quite a long line of people leaving; we’ve been here eight minutes and no bus has come.  I’m planning to ask one of the Toy Story lot CMs what time they’re opening tomorrow.
> 
> Both parks are pretty dead.  There are a number of people sleeping on benches and the Animation building and places like that.  Very curious to see the long-term impact of ROTR on crowd patterns!



I agree. The parks were dead today, considering. I think Disney is shooting themselves in the foot with the Boarding Group nonsense. Word will get out and people won't even bother coming if they can't be there at opening.

If they want crowds, they need to use a standard standby line. People need to know that if they WANT to wait in a line, they have that option. The local AP population doesn't support needing to be in the park at opening time to even have a chance. It's unsustainable. Too many people arrive later in the day. The demographic here isn't like WDW and should not try to operate the same way.

This is a repeat of the opening day GE hype. The first day brought the early birds and then that was it. I was on a FB group that was spewing the same nonsense about how today was going to be a "zoo" and so many people stayed away, but I had a feeling it was going to be kinda dead, because of this boarding group garbage.

My son and I had a very enjoyable day in a mostly empty park. Didn't want to try and ride RotR and didn't even arrive until 8:40.


----------



## CastAStone

In May/June, it did take a few days for people to stop arriving stupid early. Not many, but a few.

People are still arriving stupid early at DHS


----------



## EmJ

Well, I ended up working from home today, and while not specifically due to the ROTR opening, it did make it convenient to follow along   Overall, this seems to have been a pretty successful day for Disney and SWGE. Only one major downtime (so far), and they're pushing 100 boarding groups with hours to go.


----------



## SOCALMouseMommy

Skyegirl1999 said:


> We’re waiting for our bus back to Toy Story - quite a long line of people leaving; we’ve been here eight minutes and no bus has come.  I’m planning to ask one of the Toy Story lot CMs what time they’re opening tomorrow.
> 
> Both parks are pretty dead.  There are a number of people sleeping on benches and the Animation building and places like that.  Very curious to see the long-term impact of ROTR on crowd patterns!



Long day! You guys are troopers!


----------



## EmJ

DLgal said:


> I agree. The parks were dead today, considering. I think Disney is shooting themselves in the foot with the Boarding Group nonsense. Word will get out and people won't even bother coming if they can't be there at opening.
> 
> If they want crowds, they need to use a standard standby line. People need to know that if they WANT to wait in a line, they have that option. The local AP population doesn't support needing to be in the park at opening time to even have a chance. It's unsustainable. Too many people arrive later in the day. The demographic here isn't like WDW and should not try to operate the same way.
> 
> This is a repeat of the opening day GE hype. The first day brought the early birds and then that was it. I was on a FB group that was spewing the same nonsense about how today was going to be a "zoo" and so many people stayed away, but I had a feeling it was going to be kinda dead, because of this boarding group garbage.
> 
> My son and I had a very enjoyable day in a mostly empty park. Didn't want to try and ride RotR and didn't even arrive until 8:40.


Do you think? Someone here got their boarding group, went home, hung out, had a nap and came back. Even if they had a standby line, suppose it was like Hagrid's (and I can't imagine it wouldn't be). Would the locals be more likely to turn out if you had to be there hours before opening to stand in an 8-10 hour line? Either way, it seems like it will be awhile before visitors can arrive after lunch, say, and have a chance to ride in less than a couple of hours.


----------



## KPeterso

theluckyrabbit said:


> Has anyone who rode today at DL used DAS? Or spoken with someone who used DAS? I know that Disney has said that all riders must get a BG, then request a DAS if needed. I'm assuming that, as with MFSR in the beginning, a DAS for ROTR can only be requested from the Information Kiosk in SWGE.  Please post if you have any experience! TIA!



I can report hopefully tomorrow. We have a das and will be trying to ride tomorrow. At wdw, I know that they send people with a das via the fastpass line.


----------



## montreid

DLgal said:


> I agree. The parks were dead today, considering. I think Disney is shooting themselves in the foot with the Boarding Group nonsense. Word will get out and people won't even bother coming if they can't be there at opening.
> 
> If they want crowds, they need to use a standard standby line. People need to know that if they WANT to wait in a line, they have that option. The local AP population doesn't support needing to be in the park at opening time to even have a chance. It's unsustainable. Too many people arrive later in the day. The demographic here isn't like WDW and should not try to operate the same way.
> 
> This is a repeat of the opening day GE hype. The first day brought the early birds and then that was it. I was on a FB group that was spewing the same nonsense about how today was going to be a "zoo" and so many people stayed away, but I had a feeling it was going to be kinda dead, because of this boarding group garbage.
> 
> My son and I had a very enjoyable day in a mostly empty park. Didn't want to try and ride RotR and didn't even arrive until 8:40.


Then BG has no impact on you.   BG is essentially FP with no standby line.  It's actually the complete opposite of SR.   It makes no sense to have a Standby line for this when it can be accomplished virtually.  

Not everyone are local.  Once things settle down, they may flip to a standby line only a la MFSR, but not if 82 BGs going in :00:52.

Edit:  it was dead because it's weekday mid-jan.  It's been dead all week with nearly walk-on status on both sides of the park.    Wait times throughout today looked a bit busier than all week earlier with 30-40 wait times throughout the day


----------



## ahhhcrap

Just got home after a long day at the parks.  Parked car at the Toy Story lot at 6:30AM.  Through security, shuttled over and scanned into the park at 6:45.  Sat on the benches at the Main St train station facing the castle and scored boarding group 24 for 4 of us.  Entered the queue at 10AM and, even with a delay, we were off the ride at 11:15.  Thought the ride was amazing and I cannot wait to go back on Monday to try it all over again.  I never go to the parks before noon but I am making an exception for this ride.


----------



## MonocularVision

DLgal said:


> If they want crowds, they need to use a standard standby line.



I don’t think they want crowds: I think they want customer satisfaction. People hate waiting in lines for hours at a time way more than they hate getting up early in the morning.


----------



## DLgal

MonocularVision said:


> I don’t think they want crowds: I think they want customer satisfaction. People hate waiting in lines for hours at a time way more than they hate getting up early in the morning.



There were lots of upset people talking to managers on Main street this morning...

And a VERY long line at Guest Services at 8:40. I doubt most of those people were happy.


----------



## EmJ

MonocularVision said:


> I don’t think they want crowds: I think they want customer satisfaction. People hate waiting in lines for hours at a time way more than they hate getting up early in the morning.


Actually, once I finally got around to watching Imagineering, there was a quote near the end of the series that I found really interesting.



Spoiler: Spoiler alert if you haven't watched all of Imagineering



Whoever was being interviewed was talking about how efficient switch-back style lines are at holding large numbers of people. However, he said that as a society, we've become very intolerant of waiting in lines, because we hardly have to wait for anything anymore. So, he said Disney is experimenting with new ways to queue people or to engage people while they are queued so that they don't feel as though they are being made to wait. Boarding groups are basically the epitome of that.


----------



## brightlined

DLgal said:


> If they want crowds, they need to use a standard standby line.


It doesn't work that way. You'd end up with "crowds" that would mostly not have a chance to ride it, and a four-hour-plus line of people who aren't spending money in the park.

(I'm curious how much of a crowd that side of Galaxy's Edge could actually handle.)


----------



## Winnowill

MonocularVision said:


> I don’t think they want crowds: I think they want customer satisfaction. People hate waiting in lines for hours at a time way more than they hate getting up early in the morning.


That's us, in a nutshell. None of us are morning people, but we get up early on Disney days (in fact, for ANY type of attraction - we rope-dropped the Louvre, for heaven's sake. Which, as an aside, was stupid. Don't do it.) I'd much rather wait in a short entry line and get in quickly than wait in a long attraction ride for an hour.


----------



## DLgal

EmJ said:


> Do you think? Someone here got their boarding group, went home, hung out, had a nap and came back. Even if they had a standby line, suppose it was like Hagrid's (and I can't imagine it wouldn't be). Would the locals be more likely to turn out if you had to be there hours before opening to stand in an 8-10 hour line? Either way, it seems like it will be awhile before visitors can arrive after lunch, say, and have a chance to ride in less than a couple of hours.



They could easily cut the line off when it reaches a set amount of time, like 2 or 3 hours and then only let more people in as it empties. There are other ways to control a line. It doesn't need to ever get to 8 hours, because that is just ridiculous. 

A better way to do the BG is  at the top of every hour, release a new set of boarding groups in the app. This makes more sense than releasing all of them for the entire day at once. This way, people don't have to commit to staying all day. I am willing to bet that some of those people who got higher boarding groups will have gone home rather than waiting around all day, not knowing when they would be able to ride.


----------



## EmJ

DLgal said:


> They could easily cut the line off when it reaches a set amount of time, like 2 or 3 hours and then only let more people in as it empties. There are other ways to control a line. It doesn't need to ever get to 8 hours, because that is just ridiculous.
> 
> A better way to do the BG is  at the top of every hour, release a new set of boarding groups in the app. This makes more sense than releasing all of them for the entire day at once. This way, people don't have to commit to staying all day. I am willing to bet that some of those people who got higher boarding groups will have gone home rather than waiting around all day, not knowing when they would be able to ride.


This is certainly an option and has been kicked around the WDW board a lot. The general consensus comes back to the early bird gets the worm, and if there are enough visitors willing to get there at dark o'thirty to line up, Disney is unlikely to change procedures to court later-arriving guests. However, as you pointed out, DL is not WDW. I expect we will know within a few weeks whether The Boardroom is happy with park attendance; if they're not, they'll change *something* to goose the numbers.


----------



## Theok029

Does anyone know what the parking lot opening times are for Saturday and Sunday? Thank you all for your great knowledge and experiences!


----------



## cm123

Skyegirl1999 said:


> I’m planning to ask one of the Toy Story lot CMs what time they’re opening tomorrow.



If you have an answer thatd be great!


----------



## CastAStone

EmJ said:


> However, as you pointed out, DL is not WDW. I expect we will know within a few weeks whether The Boardroom is happy with park attendance; if they're not, they'll change *something* to goose the numbers.


I think there’s a good chance DL ROTR goes to FP/MaxPass before WDW goes to FP+ for that reason. 

In addition, MaxPass and BGs are literally the exact same computer program; one spits out a sequential number formatted as a number and the other a sequential number formatted as a time window. So it’s a simple switchover.


----------



## CaliforniaGirl09

montreid said:


> We used DAS at WDW.      Everyone needs a BG.  You can combine if different BG#s.  Once BG called, go to ride entrance and CM with ipad there; scan in and DAS will show up.  You'll get FP line, much like SR.    FP gets right up to the preshow #1 just like SR.  There's some standing and waiting between, but as best as there is and the experience really keeps it moving over the 30minutes.
> 
> We actually got held up right before the actual ride for about 20minutes -- CMs kept it lively and entertaining and our boy did fine with our typical backup devices for him for such contingencies.
> 
> Edit:  remember, DAS designation -  Initial has to be done at City Hall/Commerce -- reup can be done at any of the Guest Service Kiosks every 90days or group members with the DAS holder.   Ride CMs cannot create or change DAS--only verify.


Thanks, we rode at WDW last week but DS wasn't with us. I figured they would use the FP line since that's what they've been doing for Falcon. We are old pros with the DAS and all its previous forms, LOL.. DS is 22 and has been going to DL regularly since he was 3  Saturday the 25th when we will make our attempt at RotR is actually his 23rd birthday! He's a huge SW fan, so I'm hoping we get lucky.


----------



## disneylover102

I keep forgetting to give my experiences on here because I’m having so much fun! I went on ROTR about an hour ago and it was AMAZING!! It took about an hour including waiting, the preshow, and the ride(s). I wish I could spoil it but I won’t . I’ll just say it was way different than I expected but I LOVED it!!!

I will have EMH tomorrow and I’ll probably do Peter and Alice then but I will definitely get a BG for ROTR! 

As far as the rest of the park goes, it’s not terrible. Wednesday and Thursday were much less crowded but we’re still getting on lots of rides today! I was exhausted after being here at 2 so I took a nap and now that I’m back I feel much better and I’m having a great time!


----------



## dina444444

Theok029 said:


> Does anyone know what the parking lot opening times are for Saturday and Sunday? Thank you all for your great knowledge and experiences!


As of now the structures should open at 6:30. Don’t know about toy story.


----------



## brightlined

DLgal said:


> A better way to do the BG is  at the top of every hour, release a new set of boarding groups in the app. This makes more sense than releasing all of them for the entire day at once. This way, people don't have to commit to staying all day. I am willing to bet that some of those people who got higher boarding groups will have gone home rather than waiting around all day, not knowing when they would be able to ride.


I feel like that would get messy whenever the ride went down for extended periods.

I feel like the real "better way" would be to pull 25 BGs at a time, then put everyone else in a lottery for the next 25 (which gets pulled when the last group section starts boarding), and so on. Each lottery opens when the previous ends, and you would enter each lottery separately. You arrive whenever you arrive, and put yourself in the active lottery.

(I'm sure there's a reason they're not doing something like that, probably over questions of how "fair" the lottery would be - at least now, the "lottery" is based on luck with the app.)


----------



## CaliforniaGirl09

EmJ said:


> This is certainly an option and has been kicked around the WDW board a lot. The general consensus comes back to the early bird gets the worm, and if there are enough visitors willing to get there at dark o'thirty to line up, Disney is unlikely to change procedures to court later-arriving guests. However, as you pointed out, DL is not WDW. I expect we will know within a few weeks whether The Boardroom is happy with park attendance; if they're not, they'll change *something* to goose the numbers.


It will be very interesting to see how this all plays out at both parks. The other option we talked about a few times in the WDW thread was doing something like the lottery they do at the Japan parks for the shows. We did it and lost, LOL, but basically you can enter the park whenever you want (before the shows) and take your chance at getting a seat. I think this weekend will be a big indicator for attendance at DL with the holiday.


----------



## ashley0139

CastAStone said:


> In May/June, it did take a few days for people to stop arriving stupid early. Not many, but a few.
> 
> *People are still arriving stupid early at DHS*



And why is this, when it doesn't matter as long as you are scanned into the park by opening? This is what doesn't make sense to me.


----------



## cm123

It's been at group 99 for a while....


----------



## CastAStone

They just called group 100! Pretty good for opening day and still going!


----------



## vharris2828

I feel like for awhile they are going to have to let people through the main gates earlier then normal. Or you’re just going to have a huge jam of people waiting when the parks open that are mad they didn’t get a shot at a boarding group. I wonder how they address this in the coming weeks. If they keep pushing people through earlier or making them wait outside the gates.


----------



## dina444444

ashley0139 said:


> And why is this, when it doesn't matter as long as you are scanned into the park by opening? This is what doesn't make sense to me.


Because of fastpass tiering. People usually rope drop what they can’t grab.


----------



## brentm77

Ok. Artived at 4 am. Got it backup group 92 at about 8:04.  Don't waste time going to kiosk. They went too fast. Were able to ride about 7:30. Amazing! So worth the wait and stress of trying to get on. So happy right now.


----------



## EmJ

Version 6 said:


> Stuck on 61 for quite a while. Not liking my chances


Are you still in the park? It's looking good for 113!


----------



## Skyegirl1999

cm123 said:


> If you have an answer thatd be great!


I talked to two who both said 6:30 like normal, but neither of them really inspired confidence in their quality of information, so that that as you will.


----------



## Mar Mar Binks

KPeterso said:


> I can report hopefully tomorrow. We have a das and will be trying to ride tomorrow. At wdw, I know that they send people with a das via the fastpass line.


Will be using Sunday (hopefully if we get a boarding group) so look forward to hearing your experience! good Good luck!


----------



## Vysecity

Well seeing as they are in the 100's I like my chances for Sunday and Monday. Hopefully Monday it's no more than 90's since I work Tuesday and live 3hrs away...


----------



## Version 6

EmJ said:


> Are you still in the park? It's looking good for 113!




Staying at the GCH so a walk away, waiting with baited breath.


----------



## socaldisneylover

I don’t know if it’s been mentioned, but in Anaheim you only have One Hour after your group is called, not Two, like it is in Orlando.


----------



## dina444444

Version 6 said:


> Staying at the GCH so a walk away, waiting with baited breath.


Up to 108. Getting close.


----------



## Vysecity

Version 6 said:


> Staying at the GCH so a walk away, waiting with baited breath.


Just start walking over! 111!


----------



## Skyegirl1999

socaldisneylover said:


> I don’t know if it’s been mentioned, but in Anaheim you only have One Hour after your group is called, not Two, like it is in Orlando.


We got three hours.  Notification was 12:41, told us to report by 3:41.


----------



## brightlined

Am I wrong in thinking that this is moving really quickly? Makes me wonder if people in the later groups bailed.


----------



## Vysecity

brightlined said:


> Am I wrong in thinking that this is moving really quickly? Makes me wonder if people in the later groups bailed.


 That's what I was thinking, maybe people with 100+ BG got tired of waiting and left


----------



## SOCALMouseMommy

brightlined said:


> Am I wrong in thinking that this is moving really quickly? Makes me wonder if people in the later groups bailed.


Maybe. When I go with my son we won’t be able to stay late so IF we get a boarding group we will only be able to use it if our number is called before we have to leave.


----------



## Skyegirl1999

112!  I’m so excited for the back-up groups.


----------



## Vysecity

113!!!


----------



## EmJ

Version 6 said:


> Staying at the GCH so a walk away, waiting with baited breath.


113! _Run, man, run!!!_


----------



## CastAStone

socaldisneylover said:


> I don’t know if it’s been mentioned, but in Anaheim you only have One Hour after your group is called, not Two, like it is in Orlando.


They called 100 just 35 minutes ago and it’s already the earliest group still allowed back.


----------



## Skyegirl1999

CastAStone said:


> They called 100 just 35 minutes ago and it’s already the earliest group still allowed back.


That’s really weird.

Check the return times on your notifications, people!


----------



## Go💛Go

Theok029 said:


> Does anyone know what the parking lot opening times are for Saturday and Sunday? Thank you all for your great knowledge and experiences!


If you will be paying for parking, you may want to consider parking at Courtyard by Marriott (1420 S Harbor). They have valet parking @ $30 for the complete park day and the valets are always available...you don’t have to worry about it not being open.

We drive up from San Diego so it’s really easy access and after we drop off the car, we head to Panera for a quick breakfast on the way to the parks.


----------



## ashley0139

Go💛Go said:


> If you will be paying for parking, you may want to consider parking at Courtyard by Marriott (1420 S Harbor). They have valet parking @ $30 for the complete park day and the valets are always available...you don’t have to worry about it not being open.
> 
> We drive up from San Diego so it’s really easy access and after we drop off the car, we head to Panera for a quick breakfast on the way to the parks.



What a great idea I never would have thought of. Not that I need it, but still good to know.


----------



## SouthFayetteFan

dina444444 said:


> The Chart:


This just makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside!


----------



## disneylover102

socaldisneylover said:


> I don’t know if it’s been mentioned, but in Anaheim you only have One Hour after your group is called, not Two, like it is in Orlando.


That’s incorrect. We were called at 5:24 and had until 7:24.


----------



## dieumeye

Interesting. Maybe people with high boarding groups did leave.

I guess that’s good for the people that stuck with it!

And it’s only the first day. It’ll be a couple weeks before a pattern emerges and we see how people adjust.

I’ll say I prefer boarding groups to waiting in an hours long standby line!


----------



## CastAStone

socaldisneylover said:


> That's not what happened to me.  I left the park at 4:15, but they got to my group #90 at 7:05.  My notification said to report by 8:05.  It's also not what is stated in this


FYI links from that site are auto blocked on The Dis since it was banned last summer.


----------



## Skyegirl1999

I didn’t say that’s what happened to you... I just said we got three hours.


----------



## BlueRibbon

Got here at 3:30 this morming, got boarding group 110, and I'm  in line right now!!! So excited!!!

I was only allowed 1hr to get back. 110 was called at 8:30 and had until 9:30 to get there.


----------



## jxhide

ahhhcrap said:


> Just got home after a long day at the parks.  Parked car at the Toy Story lot at 6:30AM.  Through security, shuttled over and scanned into the park at 6:45.  Sat on the benches at the Main St train station facing the castle and scored boarding group 24 for 4 of us.  Entered the queue at 10AM and, even with a delay, we were off the ride at 11:15.  Thought the ride was amazing and I cannot wait to go back on Monday to try it all over again.  I never go to the parks before noon but I am making an exception for this ride.


 
Were any stores or food places open early in the morning before the official park hour?


----------



## Skyegirl1999

jxhide said:


> Were any stores or food places open early in the morning before the official park hour?


Starbucks and Jolly Holiday.  Lines were HORRENDOUS.  People near us at opening showed up to join their group at 7:45 and said they’d waited over 90 minutes for Starbucks - could be a bit of an exaggeration, but it’s feasible given how the line looked!

ETA: Oh, and Emporium.


----------



## montreid

Vysecity said:


> That's what I was thinking, maybe people with 100+ BG got tired of waiting and left


Yee of little faith;  or as SW lore goes -- 'i don't believe it!'  'that's why you fail'


----------



## kyliechristine

disneylover102 said:


> That’s incorrect. We were called at 5:24 and had until 7:24.



Same here. We were called at 9:11 and had until 11:11 to report.


----------



## montreid

Skyegirl1999 said:


> Starbucks and Jolly Holiday.  Lines were HORRENDOUS.  People near us at opening showed up to join their group at 7:45 and said they’d waited over 90 minutes for Starbucks - could be a bit of an exaggeration, but it’s feasible given how the line looked!
> 
> ETA: Oh, and Emporium.


Mobile Ordering is your friend -- Jolly Holiday -- refreshment corner


----------



## socaldisneylover

BlueRibbon said:


> Got here at 3:30 this morming, got boarding group 110, and I'm  in line right now!!! So excited!!!
> 
> I was only allowed 1hr to get back. 110 was called at 8:30 and had until 9:30 to get there.


I wonder if they changed it at some point in the afternoon.


----------



## dina444444

socaldisneylover said:


> I wonder if they changed it at some point in the afternoon.


I wonder if it depends on the time of day and regular vs back up group and how things are going for the ride.


----------



## socaldisneylover

montreid said:


> Mobile Ordering is your friend -- Jolly Holiday -- refreshment corner


Mobile Ordering did not allow you to specify a pickup time prior to 8:00.


----------



## Version 6

EmJ said:


> Are you still in the park? It's looking good for 113!



In line! Thanks for the good vibes everyone


----------



## socaldisneylover

dina444444 said:


> I wonder if it depends on the time of day and regular vs back up group and how things are going for the ride.


They need to be consistent.  3 hours for some, 1 hour for others a few hours later?  Messy.


----------



## tsumgirl

socaldisneylover said:


> I wonder if they changed it at some point in the afternoon.


People on Instagram were reporting that the notification initially told them they had 1 hr to board, but when they checked their status 5 min later, it adjusted to 2 hrs.


----------



## Vysecity

Version 6 said:


> In line! Thanks for the good vibes everyone


awesome! So glad it worked out for you!


----------



## DGsAtBLT

DLgal said:


> I agree. The parks were dead today, considering. I think Disney is shooting themselves in the foot with the Boarding Group nonsense. Word will get out and people won't even bother coming if they can't be there at opening.
> 
> If they want crowds, they need to use a standard standby line. People need to know that if they WANT to wait in a line, they have that option. The local AP population doesn't support needing to be in the park at opening time to even have a chance. It's unsustainable. Too many people arrive later in the day. The demographic here isn't like WDW and should not try to operate the same way.
> 
> This is a repeat of the opening day GE hype. The first day brought the early birds and then that was it. I was on a FB group that was spewing the same nonsense about how today was going to be a "zoo" and so many people stayed away, but I had a feeling it was going to be kinda dead, because of this boarding group garbage.
> 
> My son and I had a very enjoyable day in a mostly empty park. Didn't want to try and ride RotR and didn't even arrive until 8:40.



I get your point and you might end up being right IRT the demographics vs. WDW. Just wanted to say though, that before RotR, the WDW crowds also for the most part did not show bright and early despite all the advantages morning touring brings. RotR brings out hoards of people that 7 AM rope drops at WDW didn't otherwise see.

Being on vacation vs. living your daily life does give a sense of freedom to get up and get somewhere at 5-6 AM if that's what you want to do so again I definitely see your point about less early morning guests at DLR, but at least at WDW, RotR has re-written the rules.


----------



## EmJ

socaldisneylover said:


> They need to be consistent.  3 hours for some, 1 hour for others a few hours later?  Messy.


It might have to do with how full the line is and how full they want it to be. If you only get an hour, people will rush over pretty quick. If you have three hours, the same number of people may arrive more spread out. 

It would probably break my brain, but I’d love to see the algorithms behind all of this.


----------



## ahhhcrap

jxhide said:


> Were any stores or food places open early in the morning before the official park hour?


The Jolly Holiday and Starbucks and a few places in downtown disney.


----------



## EmJ

Do we know what the highest backup BG was today?


----------



## theluckyrabbit

Check your return time when your BG is called! People are reporting that the return time can be anywhere from 1 to 3 hours, so always double check!


----------



## Skyegirl1999

montreid said:


> Mobile Ordering is your friend -- Jolly Holiday -- refreshment corner


I did mobile order, but Jolly's Holiday's mobile order didn't have a return window until 8:00.  So I put in our order at 6:30, and then we got our BG at 8 and went over there to hit "I'm here" and get our food.


----------



## montreid

socaldisneylover said:


> I wonder if they changed it at some point in the afternoon.


This is something new and different.  They've always said 2 hours to return


----------



## Vysecity

it's been on 114 for a while. Maybe waiting to clear out BGs?


----------



## EmJ

I was noticing that too. If it’s not down, could they have possibly run through all the boarding groups? If there were a lot left, I don’t know what would be the point of keeping people away to clear the line.


----------



## Version 6

theluckyrabbit said:


> Check your return time when your BG is called! People are reporting that the return time can be anywhere from 1 to 3 hours, so always double check!



I had an hour.


----------



## socaldisneylover

One theory is that they're still fine tuning the system.  Another thing I thought is perhaps those in the "guaranteed" boarding groups get longer, and those in backup groups only get 1 hour.  Maybe they want to keep those who might be waiting 12+ hours, in the park, as opposed to going home.

I think we'll obviously learn more in the coming days, but I still think given that it involves peoples' timing, it needs to be consistent.  People have to know, especially if the ride is going down for periods of time, and the calling of groups can sometimes be inconsistent.


----------



## Version 6

EmJ said:


> I was noticing that too. If it’s not down, could they have possibly run through all the boarding groups? If there were a lot left, I don’t know what would be the point of keeping people away to clear the line.



Definitely lots of groups left. People are camping in baatu waiting for their group to be called.


----------



## EmJ

Version 6 said:


> Definitely lots of groups left. People are camping in baatu waiting for their group to be called.


Hm. Curious. Is the line moving?


----------



## Vysecity

watch it become free for all...


----------



## theluckyrabbit

Version 6 said:


> I had an hour.


And Skyegirl1999 had 3 hours, so everyone whose BG gets called needs to double check their return times! Clearly, the times are not the same for everyone.


----------



## AmyJamer

Thanks everyone for all the info! I’ll be checking in as we will be there in a month to see if much has changed. My kids are the biggest Star Wars fans and will need to figure out a way to ride while there.


----------



## montreid

Really stalled out at 114 and tight groups - looks like done for the night and shutting down really early (usually 2 hours is last group call).   --- still not bad for day 1 at 114 groups if this is the end tally.


----------



## socaldisneylover

I did not go near the masses at the Buzz & Splash machines.  Did more than 20 people total actually get into a boarding group that way?


----------



## EmJ

montreid said:


> Really stalled out at 114 and tight groups - looks like done for the night and shutting down really early (usually 2 hours is last group call).   --- still not bad for day 1 at 114 groups if this is the end tally.


Yep it looks done. I think that ROTR at WDW needs a lot of overnight maintenance. I wonder if they needed time tonight to work on it before Day 2 begins?


----------



## EmJ

Alright well it was a fun day! I’m off to bed and vicariously excited for tomorrow


----------



## Version 6

theluckyrabbit said:


> And Skyegirl1999 had 3 hours, so everyone whose BG gets called needs to double check their return times! Clearly, the times are not the same for everyone.


Yep I was agreeing with you


----------



## Aurora0427

The wait times look low at the other attractions... we were there last Friday night and the lines were much longer. Interesting


----------



## theluckyrabbit

Version 6 said:


> Yep I was agreeing with you


It will be interesting to see if Disney develops any consistency with the return times as time goes on or if the return times will continue to vary. 
For those who will be riding this weekend and in the next few weeks, please report back on this!


----------



## brentm77

socaldisneylover said:


> I did not go near the masses at the Buzz & Splash machines.  Did more than 20 people total actually get into a boarding group that way?



My daughter was about 20 back. By the time she got to the machine, I had already pulled 92 on my phone.  Unless you are in the top 20 or so, it will too late. Phones seem to be a better bet.


----------



## brentm77

Aurora0427 said:


> The wait times look low at the other attractions... we were there last Friday night and the lines were much longer. Interesting



For a Friday night, the crowds aren't bad. Park was very manageable all day.


----------



## Nonsuch

socaldisneylover said:


> I did not go near the masses at the Buzz & Splash machines.  Did more than 20 people total actually get into a boarding group that way?


I was wondering if there would be some boarding groups dedicated to the FastPass machines, otherwise guests without smartphones effectively cannot ride.


----------



## Skyegirl1999

There were reportedly 142 groups.  I really thought they’d get to at least 120. 

I know “backup” means backup, but man, I feel sad for people who were close and hung around all day and never got to ride.


----------



## LeiaOfAlderaan

theluckyrabbit said:


> People are reporting that the return time can be anywhere from 1 to 3 hours, so always double check!



This is a bit upsetting to me. We always make a lot of dining reservations for our trips, so I figured a 2 hour window would be plenty of time to eat if we got a notification close to a dining reservation. 1 hour is not a lot of time, and if you bail on a dining reservation you’ll be penalized. I hope they settle on a 2 hour (or more) window before my trip next month!

And thanks so much to everyone posting today, it was not only informative but also very exciting to read the play by play this morning!


----------



## dina444444

I present the very first chart for ROTR at Disneyland.


----------



## dina444444

Chart updates are going to be sporadic till next Saturday since I'll be in WDW this week.


----------



## Version 6

Skyegirl1999 said:


> There were reportedly 142 groups.  I really thought they’d get to at least 120.
> 
> I know “backup” means backup, but man, I feel sad for people who were close and hung around all day and never got to ride.



I got very lucky today. I was 113. 

A lot of really disappointed people in Baatu..


----------



## dina444444

Version 6 said:


> I got very lucky today. I was 113.
> 
> A lot of really disappointed people in Baatu..


Unfortunately they prepared people in a way it was a backup group. But happy you got through and got to ride.

How long did it take you from when you entered the queue till when you exited the ride?


----------



## Version 6

dina444444 said:


> Unfortunately they prepared people in a way it was a backup group. But happy you got through and got to ride.
> 
> How long did it take you from when you entered the queue till when you exited the ride?



Hard to say. I wasnt paying attention to the time. If I had to guess, around 30-45 mins?


----------



## midnight star

Version 6 said:


> Hard to say. I wasnt paying attention to the time. If I had to guess, around 30-45 mins?


Wow 30 minutes for the ride??


----------



## CastAStone

The OC Register said that BGs 115+ got a push notification around 5 PM saying basically don’t hold your breath. They wound up cutting it off at 114.


----------



## CaliforniaGirl09

dina444444 said:


> I present the very first chart for ROTR at Disneyland.
> 
> View attachment 465930


Whoo hoo! so excited to see "the chart." Thanks for taking it on over here


----------



## Version 6

midnight star said:


> Wow 30 minutes for the ride??



No that includes the line. But without wanting to spoil anything, the line between the "line" and the "ride" is kinda blurry. 

The whole thing is an experience.


----------



## WonkaKid

So: a friend walked into the park at 6:00 this morning. He was able to book his boarding group at 8:00, the official park-opening time. He had to refresh a number of times but finally got his group number -- 89. That was at around 8:05. All BGs were gone by 8:11. By 10:00, they were on BG 30. His group didn't board until about 7:20. He said it was awesome, though. I'll probably give it a shot on Sunday but I won't hold my breath. I like to leave the park by about 3:00.


----------



## Version 6

WonkaKid said:


> So: a friend walked into the park at 6:00 this morning. He was able to book his boarding group at 8:00, the official park-opening time. He had to refresh a number of times but finally got his group number -- 89. That was at around 8:05. All BGs were gone by 8:11. By 10:00, they were on BG 30. His group didn't board until about 7:20. He said it was awesome, though. I'll probably give it a shot on Sunday but I won't hold my breath. I like to leave the park by about 3:00.



It's worth hanging around for. 

Again, dont want to spoil but there are parts of the experience that are significantly enhanced by CM enthusiasm... I think you want to get in before that mellows to some extent.


----------



## Mathmagicland

CastAStone said:


> The OC Register said that BGs 115+ got a push notification around 5 PM saying basically don’t hold your breath. They wound up cutting it off at 114.


While unfortunate for the late BGs, this is nice to know they could be alerted of this early so don’t hang around all night hopeful for something not going to happen.


----------



## Version 6

Mathmagicland said:


> While unfortunate for the late BGs, this is nice to know they could be alerted of this early so don’t hang around all night hopeful for something not going to happen.



Plenty of them hanging around Baatu still at around 930pm, hoping for the best. 

In fact, they had organized themselves into a "line" next to the actual attraction line which made it really confusing where the actual attraction line started. 

Was a bit of a mess, but I'm sure they will have it sorted by tomorrow.


----------



## SouthFayetteFan

dina444444 said:


> I present the very first chart for ROTR at Disneyland.
> 
> View attachment 465930


I just shed a tear.  It’s so beautiful


----------



## disneylover102

So I assume BGs are opening at 8 tomorrow again and not 7 when EMH starts?


----------



## Mathmagicland

disneylover102 said:


> So I assume BGs are opening at 8 tomorrow again and not 7 when EMH starts?


That’s what is expected, as It is the general opening time for everyone.


----------



## bruinred

I am wanting to go to Disneyland/CA Adventure on Monday. I am not interested in riding ROTR. Any idea when the entrance line died down on Friday! I would usually get there for rope drop. But would prefer to avoid the craziness of people trying to get boarding groups.  Thanks in advance...


----------



## Lewdannie

so.... no hard core rope droppers lining up tonight?

what are us folk tuning in fromOz supposed to do for entertainment?


----------



## BadPinkTink

Lewdannie said:


> so.... no hard core rope droppers lining up tonight?
> 
> what are us folk tuning in fromOz supposed to do for entertainment?



 Europe here too, starting to plan my June trip, so need to keep track of how things go.


----------



## MonocularVision

SouthFayetteFan said:


> This just makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside!



We need your animated gifs and/or Weird Al remixes.


----------



## theluckyrabbit

bruinred said:


> I am wanting to go to Disneyland/CA Adventure on Monday. I am not interested in riding ROTR. Any idea when the entrance line died down on Friday! I would usually get there for rope drop. But would prefer to avoid the craziness of people trying to get boarding groups.  Thanks in advance...


People reported walking right up to the DL gates shortly before 8 am (park opening). The craziness was already inside the park on Main Street by then. But I would wait to see how things go today and tomorrow.


----------



## bruinred

theluckyrabbit said:


> People reported walking right up to the DL gates shortly before 8 am (park opening). The craziness was already inside the park on Main Street by then. But I would wait to see how things go today and tomorrow.


Thank you! I will watch for the reports....


----------



## mshanson3121

So is ROTR in DL having as much downtime as in Florida?


----------



## CastAStone

mshanson3121 said:


> So is ROTR in DL having as much downtime as in Florida?


I would say that ROTR in DL yesterday had a day slightly below the WDW version’s average day. They took riders for about 12 hours and got through 114 BGs.


----------



## corgi_monster

Quick Saturday 1/18 update:

5:09am - parking structures are closed.  Signs are directing people to another parking lot, presumably Toy Story?

Traffic into the resort from Ball/Harbor intersection is non-existent.


----------



## dina444444

corgi_monster said:


> Quick Saturday 1/18 update:
> 
> 5:09am - parking structures are closed.  Signs are directing people to another parking lot, presumably Toy Story?
> 
> Traffic into the resort from Ball/Harbor intersection is non-existent.


Likely toy story. I’m still laying in bed. Going to be getting up soon to head down.


----------



## Paigesmom2013

Any predictions about how it will go in the spring? Will they stick with the boarding group plan or go to FP?


----------



## dina444444

Paigesmom2013 said:


> Any predictions about how it will go in the spring? Will they stick with the boarding group plan or go to FP?


Way too early to tell. We are only on day 2.


----------



## BGinCali

dina444444 said:


> Likely toy story. I’m still laying in bed. Going to be getting up soon to head down.



same here...anxious about 8am, so hoping the force is with us today!


----------



## twodogs

Getting the kids up at the GCH and heading down soon. No idea how security is going to be but I’ll report back!


----------



## dina444444

BGinCali said:


> same here...anxious about 8am, so hoping the force is with us today!


I thankfully am ok if I don’t get to ride today. I only have a short window before I have to head to the airport and I’ve already ridden in wdw.


----------



## dina444444

twodogs said:


> Getting the kids up at the GCH and heading down soon. No idea how security is going to be but I’ll report back!


From twitter current lines at the turn stiles are about to the monorail beam and it’s not cramped in.


----------



## BGinCali

dina444444 said:


> From twitter current lines at the turn stiles are about to the monorail beam and it’s not cramped in.


Thank you!

Safe travels and enjoy Orlando!


----------



## dina444444

BGinCali said:


> Thank you!
> 
> Safe travels and enjoy Orlando!


Thanks. I’m looking forward to festival of the arts and going to moonlight magic at AK on Tuesday. Also, doing a first for me on Monday. We are going to rent a pontoon boat on bay lake as long as it’s not raining.


----------



## KPeterso

Up and dressed. Just waiting on my mom to finish getting ready and we will be on your way! May the force be with us all!


----------



## Malcon10t

It is my understanding that there was a glitch and initial report said 1 hour while 2nd viewing of the site said 2 hours until after 7 or 730 when it shortened to 1 hour as the plan was to clear the queue by 10p.


----------



## corgi_monster

1/18 5:45am - absolutely no line at the DL hotel security entrance and Starbucks next to Earl of Sandwich was a “walk-on”.


----------



## disneylover102

Heading over in a few minutes! We have EMH at 7 and we will get a BG at 8.


----------



## dina444444

Heading down now, should get there as the parking structure is opening which was my plan since I dislike parking in the toy story lot.


----------



## IsleofDisney

Arrived at Toy Story parking lot 6am still filling in Woody lot


----------



## cm123

Got to Toy Story around 545. Woody lot north side is about 70 percent full. 

No line for the bus. 

No line for security. 

Half the gates for Disneyland are for magic hours only with minimal people in them. 

The other half are backed up to the middle of the Esplanade.


----------



## harmon54

So are people still getting to the park at 6am today because of extra morning hours or do you get there that early because you think it will take that long to get into the park by 8am?  There is no advantage if you are using your phone to book of being there early as long as you are in the park by 8am correct?


----------



## cm123

harmon54 said:


> So are people still getting to the park at 6am today because of extra morning hours or do you get there that early because you think it will take that long to get into the park by 8am?  There is no advantage if you are using your phone to book of being there early as long as you are in the park by 8am correct?



People here thinking it will take that long. 

If you are in by 8 you are fine. 

I would say arriving at 730 you would probably be fine.


----------



## IsleofDisney

Toy story lot security is running


----------



## Mathmagicland

cm123 said:


> Half the gates for Disneyland are for magic hours only with minimal people in them.
> 
> The other half are backed up to the middle of the Esplanade.


This is a bit of a change from the usual MM - usually only the far right two gates closest to Harbor are initially for non-MM guests. As the MM progresses they slowly release gates one or two at a time moving to the left from MM to regular park guests.


----------



## SirBill

We have MM today, got here around 5:30 am MM entrances had about two people each.  Up to about 15 people deep.  Non MM gates almost back to California Adventure.


----------



## twodogs

We are in the EMH lines. About 15 people back. Regular lines almost back to DCA.


----------



## twodogs

Security line non existent at GCH at 605


----------



## cm123

The fact that it's almost 630am and the Esplanade isn't totally filled up (despite only the middle turnstiles being used for regular guest entry) makes me feel like there are less people here today than yesterday.


----------



## dina444444

Traffic is backed up at the exit off the 5 at Disneyland drive. The flyover bridge is not currently opened. This should start moving soon though since structures should be open now.


----------



## IsleofDisney

Interested to see how this will work with MM/EMH lines. We're deep back in the line almost at the DCA gates. When they open the MM/EMH lines to general public will there be a mad rush to those lines? Feeling like we'll be cut off, hmmm


----------



## CastAStone

IsleofDisney said:


> Interested to see how this will work with MM/EMH lines. We're deep back in the line almost at the DCA gates. When they open the MM/EMH lines to general public will there be a mad rush to those lines? Feeling like we'll be cut off, hmmm


I have a hunch you’ll be in the park before they open those gates


----------



## Jaykw

Parking was directed to Toy Story as of 5:50. 10 min bus ride, no security line. Lines currently stretching to about CA.


----------



## dina444444

And I’m now parked in Pixar. Traffic moved quickly when the light at ball changed and there was no wait at the Pixar structure toll booth.


----------



## cm123

EMH being let in.


----------



## corgi_monster

MM/EMH gates are open!  6:40am


----------



## dina444444

Structure security has a bit of a line since only a couple of lanes are open right now.


----------



## cm123

Regular turnstiles are now open.


----------



## cm123

The moment the line backed up to DCA the turnstiles opened.


----------



## dina444444

Through security and waiting for the tram I am on to depart.


----------



## Avery's mom

Yippee! We are heading in, in the regular line.


----------



## dina444444

Complete side note. The new elevators on the Mickey and fiends structure look like they are almost ready to open. The brickwork in front has now been filled in.


----------



## dina444444

And they’ve finally updated the audio on the tram to say Mickey and friends and Pixar pals structures.


----------



## montreid

Exciting!  How are they separating and holding non mm folk? At main Street or hub?


----------



## dina444444

Off the tram now. Lines are still almost back to DCA.


----------



## CastAStone

montreid said:


> Exciting!  How are they separating and holding non mm folk? At main Street or hub?


And for that matter how are they checking people into MM/EMH? Are they checking key cards and scanning tickets at the entrance to Tomorrowland?


----------



## midnight star

dina444444 said:


> Off the tram now. Lines are still almost back to DCA.


i saw pictures of the traffic already being moved over to Toy story.


----------



## Vysecity

dina444444 said:


> Off the tram now. Lines are still almost back to DCA.


Thanks for the update. I figure to be arriving around this time tomorrow and wanted to get an idea of what I'm looking at


----------



## dina444444

In the park. Met up with another dis’er that was further up in line.


----------



## BlueRibbon

Arrived at 615 to M&F and was redirected to Toy Story Lot. Pretty busy over there. Arrived at the esplanade at 700 and the lines were back to DCA. Turnstiles are open though!


----------



## montreid

dina444444 said:


> In the park. Met up with another dis’er that was further up in line.


Nice so even backed up.to dca only 15 min to get into park?  No pictures taken ?


----------



## deli8788

Here to enter DCA on the other side. lines for 8am DL opening seem to be crawling slowly. Don’t know where they are holding them inside gates while MM/EMH enter.


----------



## dina444444

montreid said:


> Nice so even backed up.to dca only 15 min to get into park?  No pictures taken ?


Not sure since I joined the line just behind the monorail beam. And in think they were taking pics but most people around me has annual passes.


----------



## frankyray

CastAStone said:


> And for that matter how are they checking people into MM/EMH? Are they checking key cards and scanning tickets at the entrance to Tomorrowland?


they let everyone into Main Street. At the end of Main Street you stay to the center if you do not have magic morning. If you have magic morning you have to show your room key to go to the left or right depending on whether you’re going to fantasyland or tomorrowland


----------



## montreid

dina444444 said:


> Not sure since I joined the line just behind the monorail beam. And in think they were taking pics but most people around me has annual passes.


Got it.  You linked up with someone ahead.  

My curiosity is if they can clear the line fast enough to have walk-in levels at 800 for the drop....or what's the latest arrival time to get into the park reliably....that's the big data point


----------



## Version 6

Good luck today everyone.


----------



## CastAStone

frankyray said:


> they let everyone into Main Street. At the end of Main Street you stay to the center if you do not have magic morning. If you have magic morning you have to show your room key to go to the left or right depending on whether you’re going to fantasyland or tomorrowland


What are they doing for off site guests with Magic Morning as part of their 3-5 Day Parkhoppers?


----------



## BGinCali

dina444444 said:


> Not sure since I joined the line just behind the monorail beam. And in think they were taking pics but most people around me has annual passes.


I got to M&F about same time...lined up at DCA entrance at 7 (walked through downtown) & through DL gates in 24 minutes


----------



## frankyray

they also opened up the rides before 7 AM. We got on Matterhorn at 6:50. First time this is ever happened to us during extra magic hour


----------



## frankyray

CastAStone said:


> What are they doing for off site guests with Magic Morning as part of their 3-5 Day Parkhoppers?


some people were showing the tickets on their phones. not sure if that was what off-site guests were using. didn’t see if the CMs had scanners as we moved quickly once we showed the room key


----------



## CastAStone

frankyray said:


> some people were showing the tickets on their phones. not sure if that was what off-site guests were using. didn’t see if the CMs had scanners as we moved quickly once we showed the room key


I’ll bet that’s it.


----------



## cm123

Line to get into Disneyland is basically zero now.


----------



## katyringo

This is the problem. People generally understand that getting into the park early doesn’t matter for the boarding groups, but they worry they won’t get. Through security in time. That’s why people will continue to show up early.. for WDW and disneyland.  I dunno what the answer is. When galexys edge opened do you remember how they opened ogas reservations at like 7am each day and you didn’t have to be in the park?


----------



## Vysecity

cm123 said:


> Line to get into Disneyland is basically zero now.



So arriving at 7:30 should be ok?? Idk if I want to chance it


----------



## ironband74

Good luck, everybody.  Curious to know how many people have already lined up at the Buzz Lightyear distribution point.


----------



## montreid

Plan ahead.  Arriving 30 min prior is a reasonable planning rule of thumb and guidance goal.  Disney appears to be exceeding that nicely.

If people show up 10min prior to opening drop, that's not really on Disney imho to get through the gates in time for drop


----------



## Mar Mar Binks

cm123 said:


> Line to get into Disneyland is basically zero now.


Sweet. Hopefully similar tomorrow since I have some late risers.


----------



## Vysecity

Good luck to you all! I'm here at work ready to practice getting a boarding group


----------



## CastAStone

katyringo said:


> This is the problem. People generally understand that getting into the park early doesn’t matter for the boarding groups, but they worry they won’t get. Through security in time. That’s why people will continue to show up early.. for WDW and disneyland.  I dunno what the answer is. When galexys edge opened do you remember how they opened ogas reservations at like 7am each day and you didn’t have to be in the park?


I think It’s transportation driven to some extent. You basically have to be at the bus stop at your WDW resort by an hour+ before park open or you could get hosed by a long wait between buses, but the most likely outcome is that you’ll be at the park way earlier than necessary.

Same at DLP except the wild card is LA traffic for locals.


----------



## vharris2828

I guess I’ll see how today and tomorrow go but if we head over from toy story lot around 7 It sounds like we should get though ok to be through the main gates I’m hoping. I’m worried Monday could be busy.


----------



## dina444444

Group 7!!!!!


----------



## CastAStone

Backups within 1 minute again


----------



## Version 6

How'd you all go


----------



## CastAStone

dina444444 said:


> Group 7!!!!!


NOICE!


----------



## SirBill

Group 11!!!  I launched app right before 8, went straight into group selection.


----------



## Version 6

dina444444 said:


> Group 7!!!!!



Niiiiice. Enjoy!!


----------



## ironband74

And backups are gone


----------



## Evita_W

MonocularVision said:


> I don’t remember reading anyone trying this today but:
> 
> It works at Walt Disney World
> There is no way for Disney to reliably know if you are in the park or not
> I would give the chance of this working at approximately 100%.


Actually, they could use location data to determine if you are in the park. They used to do that to prevent people from being able to see wait times until they entered the park and it was annoying, but very reliable on determining if you were in the park or not and which park you were in.


----------



## Vysecity

my app froze up twice before letting me through to choose people in my party then tried again and it was back up group. I think I will be ok...I hope


----------



## Emily Urena

Back up groups being distributed by 8:01:04am

Edit: I do want to note that from 8:00:00am to 8:00:38 am my boarding group button was red. Then from 8:00:39 am to 8:01:03am the button grayed out but it still didn’t state that they were distributing back up boarding groups yet ( not sure if this was just a lag and boarding groups were actually gone at 8:00:38am). At exactly 8:01:04 the page refreshed and it stated they were distributing back up boarding groups and the button was red again.

Did anyone experience something similar to this?


----------



## CaliforniaGirl09

CastAStone said:


> Backups within 1 minute again


Yep. I’m at home so was just playing along like yesterday. Today I also got in right away but unlike yesterday I kept getting an error message that I needed to link tickets. After a few tries backup message appeared but still got error.


----------



## CastAStone

Vysecity said:


> my app froze up twice before letting me through to choose people in my party then tried again and it was back up group. I think I will be ok...I hope


What #?


----------



## Avery's mom

Group 92. We saw groups up to 115 called yesterday, so I am hopeful


----------



## dina444444

Backups start at 75. Not sure if they are gone yet.


----------



## EmJ

katyringo said:


> This is the problem. People generally understand that getting into the park early doesn’t matter for the boarding groups, but they worry they won’t get. Through security in time. That’s why people will continue to show up early.. for WDW and disneyland.  I dunno what the answer is. When galexys edge opened do you remember how they opened ogas reservations at like 7am each day and you didn’t have to be in the park?


I don’t think this would work for ROTR. Honestly, requiring everyone to be in the park means that only people who are committed and have some skin in the game get a chance. If boarding groups are gone in under one minute just among the subset of visitors who are willing to get up early, can you imagine the mess if anyone, anywhere was allowed to try at the same time? The other thing is there was a financial penalty for not showing up to your Oga’s reservation. Unless Disney wants to start imposing ride fines, there would be no way to prevent people from taking boarding passes just because maybe they’ll make it to DL later that day.


----------



## twodogs

Group 14!!!!!!!!


----------



## jetskigrl

Group 10!!!!


----------



## Mar Mar Binks

dina444444 said:


> Group 7!!!!!


What carrier do you have?


----------



## dina444444

Backups are gone


----------



## IsleofDisney

Yes got group 7!!!


----------



## BGinCali

Group 34 - so relieved!


----------



## ironband74

Playing along at home, my button didn't unlock on my android phone until 8:01 and it was already in backup mode.


----------



## dina444444

Mar Mar Binks said:


> What carrier do you have?


AT&T on an iPhone 11 Pro


----------



## IsleofDisney

We hung out by the flag pole, seems that is the place to be to get your BG


----------



## disneylover102

I was in at 8 but it had trouble connecting so I got 120. Pretty disappointed


----------



## Emily Urena

Back up boarding groups gone at 8:06am


----------



## gerilyne

ironband74 said:


> Playing along at home, my button didn't unlock on my android phone until 8:01 and it was already in backup mode.


I was playing along at home today but unlike yesterday the join boarding group button never let me select it. Yesterday I was able to get through most of the process before it wouldn't let me because I wasn't in the park.


----------



## dieumeye

CaliforniaGirl09 said:


> Yep. I’m at home so was just playing along like yesterday. Today I also got in right away but unlike yesterday I kept getting an error message that I needed to link tickets. After a few tries backup message appeared but still got error.


Same here. I couldn’t make it to the park this AM so tried at home just for fun. I could click the button right away, but got an error at the select party screen. No one on my list is at DL currently. I wonder if they’ve tweaked something?


----------



## PaintsWithAllTheColors

The app wouldn’t even let us grab a group until 8:01... we’re group 115. We can leave and come back, right?


----------



## Skyegirl1999

disneylover102 said:


> I was in at 8 but it had trouble connecting so I got 120. Pretty disappointed


Fingers crossed for you - that’s tricky because there’s hope but also kind of a long shot... I really hope the ride runs smoothly today and you get on!


----------



## vharris2828

SirBill said:


> Group 11!!!  I launched app right before 8, went straight into group selection.


You did right before 8 or right at? I practiced launched right at 8 and got in no problem.


----------



## BlueRibbon

Launced the app at 759 and clicked join group, but was immediately told everything was gone. Couldn't have been 45 seconds.


----------



## dina444444

PaintsWithAllTheColors said:


> The app wouldn’t even let us grab a group until 8:01... we’re group 115. We can leave and come back, right?


Yes


----------



## Skyegirl1999

PaintsWithAllTheColors said:


> The app wouldn’t even let us grab a group until 8:01... we’re group 115. We can leave and come back, right?


Yes, you can.


----------



## Vysecity

CastAStone said:


> What #?


I was playing along from work. Just to get a feel for tomorrow


----------



## PaintsWithAllTheColors

IsleofDisney said:


> Yes got group 7!!!



We were right by someone who got 7!! Were you by the hub??


----------



## CastAStone

ironband74 said:


> Playing along at home, my button didn't unlock on my android phone until 8:01 and it was already in backup mode.


Same on my iPhone 11.


----------



## MonocularVision

Evita_W said:


> Actually, they could use location data to determine if you are in the park. They used to do that to prevent people from being able to see wait times until they entered the park and it was annoying, but very reliable on determining if you were in the park or not and which park you were in.



Hence my use of the term “reliable”. Depending on GPS to gate folks from getting a BG would be a customer service nightmare. There are many reasons (I detailed in the WDW thread) as to why GPS would either be unavailable or unreliable and why I am confident that Disney won’t switch to using it. There is very little benefit but a huge cost involved.


----------



## montreid

One device we reloaded 5minutes prior and failed to reload the tickets -- that never got it back up and couldn't join at all.
-other device boarding group :10 after 800 to get to next screen.

Lots of folk with low numbers here!  Awesome!   clearly not starting at 12 today.  Lower regular groups though -- interesting.


----------



## dina444444

PaintsWithAllTheColors said:


> We were right by someone who got 7!! Were you by the hub??


We were by the flag pole


----------



## ironband74

Sounds like they issued lower numbers today.  Curious to see if the attraction goes up sooner or still waits until 9 to start loading.

Oddly enough, playing along at home, my button didn't unlock until 8:01 and I got the backup group message. Then, refreshing again, my button greyed out even though the backup group message was still up (which led me to post that backups were gone probably before they really were). From the sounds of it some people were able to get backups after 8:02, so I wonder if the fact that I don't have tickets attached and am clearly not in the park makes a difference.


----------



## Mar Mar Binks

PaintsWithAllTheColors said:


> The app wouldn’t even let us grab a group until 8:01... we’re group 115. We can leave and come back, right?


 They gave between 1-3 hours to return yesterday.  Also looks like they got into 110’s yesterday around 9 pm so there is hope.  Trying tomorrow so let me know if you make it on!  Good luck.


----------



## Evita_W

EmJ said:


> Do you think? Someone here got their boarding group, went home, hung out, had a nap and came back. Even if they had a standby line, suppose it was like Hagrid's (and I can't imagine it wouldn't be). Would the locals be more likely to turn out if you had to be there hours before opening to stand in an 8-10 hour line? Either way, it seems like it will be awhile before visitors can arrive after lunch, say, and have a chance to ride in less than a couple of hours.


And the locals will put up with this for a few weeks, maybe up to a month, then they will start insisting Disney makes some changes out here. Disneyland has a completely different demographic than Disney World. Disneyland guests are willing to come stupid early for a one off, but they won't do it repeatedly. I don't know what Disney can do, but I do know this system won't be sustainable in the long term.


----------



## CastAStone

They got through 103 BGs yesterday. If they start at 7 today (?) that would get to 109.


----------



## Vysecity

anyones app having trouble loading tickets? I'm supposed to have 9 and when playing along to get BG I only showed 8.


----------



## Evita_W

MonocularVision said:


> Hence my use of the term “reliable”. Depending on GPS to gate folks from getting a BG would be a customer service nightmare. There are many reasons (I detailed in the WDW thread) as to why GPS would either be unavailable or unreliable and why I am confident that Disney won’t switch to using it. There is very little benefit but a huge cost involved.


As I said, it was very reliable, it was just annoying because you couldn't see wait times unless you were in the park. So they could do it, but as with you, I don't see why they would.


----------



## GoldeneyezCA

My notes so far, thanks to all who posted yesterday!
6:10 Arrived Toy Story, lines for parking 5-10 deep. Security screening now at Toy story parking lot.
6:40 Arrived esplanade. Line all the way back to DCA gate. They started letting non-EMH people in at about 645 or 6:50 AM
7:15 Through gate 
7:45 Rope drop, Walked back to Galaxy’s edge to ride falcon but the line was all the way back to the Droid depot! 
7:55 grabbed a table at Ronto Roasters and opened app to landing page
8:00 click the find out more button and got BG 20!!!!!


----------



## CastAStone

Evita_W said:


> And the locals will put up with this for a few weeks, maybe up to a month, then they will start insisting Disney makes some changes out here. Disneyland has a completely different demographic than Disney World.


LOL yeah it’s hard for me to imagine too many AP holders wanting to stay from open to 9:30 PM.


----------



## PaintsWithAllTheColors

Mar Mar Binks said:


> They gave between 1-3 hours to return yesterday.  Also looks like they got into 110’s yesterday around 9 pm so there is hope.  Trying tomorrow so let me know if you make it on!  Good luck.



I’ll report back! I have a 6am flight tomorrow but if it looks like I’ll be able to get in I’ll make it work haha


----------



## MonocularVision

Evita_W said:


> As I said, it was very reliable, it was just annoying because you couldn't see wait times unless you were in the park. So they could do it, but as with you, I don't see why they would.



It was reliable for you and perhaps others you spoke to but do you think maybe there was a reason they stopped doing it?


----------



## cm123

Wife and I both launched the app at 8. 

I have android, she has an iPhone both on tmobile. 

My button never enabled but hers did but when trying to book came up with a network error in app error. 

She backed out and reopened and we got 76. 

We'll get on.


----------



## Boku41

When do you add family members to your group? After you hit the 'Find Out More' button or after 'Join Boarding group' button or before all of that?


----------



## CaliforniaGirl09

dieumeye said:


> Same here. I couldn’t make it to the park this AM so tried at home just for fun. I could click the button right away, but got an error at the select party screen. No one on my list is at DL currently. I wonder if they’ve tweaked something?


i wonder. We have annual passes and yesterday I was able to select group from home


Vysecity said:


> anyones app having trouble loading tickets? I'm supposed to have 9 and when playing along to get BG I only showed 8.


this is what happened to me playing from home—didn’t happen yesterday. none of my annual pass family showed up and I kept getting an error message


----------



## dina444444

Group 5 is the first group of the day and was just called.


----------



## DLgal

bruinred said:


> I am wanting to go to Disneyland/CA Adventure on Monday. I am not interested in riding ROTR. Any idea when the entrance line died down on Friday! I would usually get there for rope drop. But would prefer to avoid the craziness of people trying to get boarding groups.  Thanks in advance...



This was us yesterday. We arrived at the parking structure at 8:25. No cars in line, pulled right in and parked. We were at the DL entrance turnstiles at 8:40. It looked like this:


----------



## montreid

Boarding 5 already - that's nice.  no media today


----------



## ironband74

They are boarding now groups 5-6.  Much earlier than yesterday, so that's a good sign.


----------



## montreid

Interesting to see Star Tours at 65minutes. with FP 840A


----------



## PaintsWithAllTheColors

montreid said:


> Interesting to see Star Tours at 65minutes. with FP 840A



We’re in that line now, got in around 8:05 - they announced mechanical errors when we first joined the line. I expect we’re ~15 minutes out from riding. Anecdotally, everyone around us had trouble getting boarding groups despite being on right at 8


----------



## hiroMYhero

Boku41 said:


> When do you add family members to your group? After you hit the 'Find Out More' button or after 'Join Boarding group' button or before all of that?


The moment you see Join Boarding Group has turned “red,” tap it and then Select the people who are in the park with you.


----------



## Vysecity

CaliforniaGirl09 said:


> i wonder. We have annual passes and yesterday I was able to select group from home
> 
> this is what happened to me playing from home—didn’t happen yesterday. none of my annual pass family showed up and I kept getting an error message


Uninstalled and Installed again but still doesnt show my tickets. Now I'm worried


----------



## KPeterso

Got back up group 84 before 8:01 am. And now my maxpass is not recognizing the tickets to book more fastpasses and wants me to purchase. Anyone else having issues?


----------



## CastAStone

Vysecity said:


> Uninstalled and Installed again but still doesnt show my tickets. Now I'm worried


What’s it say on the Disneyland website?


----------



## dina444444

KPeterso said:


> Got back up group 84 before 8:01 am. And now my maxpass is not recognizing the tickets to book more fastpasses and wants me to purchase. Anyone else having issues?


We are having issues as well


----------



## PaintsWithAllTheColors

Boarding through group 10 now


----------



## Vysecity

CastAStone said:


> What’s it say on the Disneyland website?


its blank...


----------



## Avery's mom

Issues with MaxPass also. We tried to go to an information kiosk near Dumbo bit it wasn't open today. Will try to get some assistance after the one FP we did get - Matterhorn.


----------



## CaliforniaGirl09

Vysecity said:


> Uninstalled and Installed again but still doesnt show my tickets. Now I'm worried


My annual passes are showing, but on the tickets page it has an error: "We are having trouble refreshing this information. This may not be the latest content." 
Sounds like an IT problem!!!!


----------



## vharris2828

CaliforniaGirl09 said:


> My annual passes are showing, but on the tickets page it has an error: "We are having trouble refreshing this information. This may not be the latest content."
> Sounds like an IT problem!!!!


Yikes I need to link our tickets up today for next week. Sounds like I might wait. Hope they get it resolved soon. That stinks for everyone having issues with maxpass.


----------



## PaintsWithAllTheColors

CaliforniaGirl09 said:


> My annual passes are showing, but on the tickets page it has an error: "We are having trouble refreshing this information. This may not be the latest content."
> Sounds like an IT problem!!!!



Same with ours. Our next am pass window opens at 9... guess we’ll see.

Boarding group up to 12 now boarding


----------



## KPeterso

Cast member at space says whole maxpass system is down. The boarding pass process apparently crashed the whole system!


----------



## dina444444

In line now. Queue is definitely set up differently then Florida’s.


----------



## montreid

KPeterso said:


> Cast member at space says whole maxpass system is down. The boarding pass process apparently crashed the whole system!


Looks like it - interesting that it survived yesterday, but not today


----------



## ironband74

Yeah, twitter is blowing up about the MaxPass failure today.  Apparently line at City Hall is crazy long.


----------



## DLRExpert

Line for City Hall at 820


----------



## frankyray

at first there was no notice that the max pass was down. now there is a popup notification on the phone when you try to access but a lot of confused people for the last 15 minutes


----------



## DLRExpert

My main advice is...
Test the app a day or so before your visit to get use to where everything is at.

Do not use WiFi, use phone data.

Today many people on their phones struggling with the app at 8am


----------



## Skyegirl1999

Yikes to the Maxpass/ticketing issues.  Is paper FP still working if people try that?

I just told my husband that if it stays as empty as it did yesterday, we should go over to DCA for dinner tonight... curious how the day will go!


----------



## Vysecity

tickets showing again for me. hope Maxpass working again for you guys


----------



## Weedy

Please please please be nice to the Guest Relations people. They have no control over what is happening. Yelling at them will help nothing.


----------



## EmJ

Evita_W said:


> And the locals will put up with this for a few weeks, maybe up to a month, then they will start insisting Disney makes some changes out here. Disneyland has a completely different demographic than Disney World. Disneyland guests are willing to come stupid early for a one off, but they won't do it repeatedly. I don't know what Disney can do, but I do know this system won't be sustainable in the long term.


I mean, you all know the local demographic way better than I do, but it just seems weird to me. Presumably the locals, especially AP holders, like everything or almost everything Disney has to offer and aren’t annual pass holders ONLY for ROTR. The presumption seems to be that if locals can’t get on ROTR if they arrive late in the day, then they won’t come at all. I can’t believe that’s true.

Also, this seems like a self-correcting problem. If it is true that so many people are disaffected by the early boarding group system that they stop turning up early, then boarding groups will last a lot longer into the day. Like RSR fast pass maybe.


----------



## ironband74

In other news here we are at 9am and BG 17 is being called.  So we're ahead of yesterday and (touch wood) proceeding at a decent clip.


----------



## Avery's mom

Skyegirl1999 said:


> Yikes to the Maxpass/ticketing issues.  Is paper FP still working if people try that?
> 
> I just told my husband that if it stays as empty as it did yesterday, we should go over to DCA for dinner tonight... curious how the day will go!


 Yes, traditional FP is still working.


----------



## Skyegirl1999

Thinking long-term, I think they could drop BG twice a day, like at open and at noon or something.  Maybe drop 30-40 groups in the morning and then more depending how the ride is functioning.  That seems like it could alleviate a lot of the issues?

I wish they could pre-assign like they did for SWGE opening, but the ride isn’t reliable enough for that, plus no one came to the parks so that was a disaster from their POV.  Idk what a solution could be.  

The demand for this ride so far outstrips its capacity that no matter what they do, it will result in disappointed people.  Which is a shame since Disney should be magic, not disappointment.  And I hate hearing “stressful” applied so much to DL - one of the things I love about DL in comparison to World is that so many people find it less stressful!


----------



## CaliforniaGirl09

KPeterso said:


> Cast member at space says whole maxpass system is down. The boarding pass process apparently crashed the whole system!


So not surprising. Disney IT sucks. I'm more surprised that WDW managed to escape big problems when they switched from first come first serve to everyone at the same time. I think they did have a couple small issues (that thread is way too long to go back through, LOL). Hope they fix the issues quickly.


----------



## KPeterso

Maxpass is back up. Was getting a return time and the cast member said it had just come up a couple seconds before. Was able to book a fastpass!


----------



## dina444444

Ride is running at half loading zones right now


----------



## luvallprincesses

Does the boarding group process prevent guests from accessing Galaxy’s Edge entirely until their group is called or just for riding RotR?


----------



## Skyegirl1999

EmJ said:


> I mean, you all know the local demographic way better than I do, but it just seems weird to me. Presumably the locals, especially AP holders, like everything or almost everything Disney has to offer and aren’t annual pass holders ONLY for ROTR. The presumption seems to be that if locals can’t get on ROTR if they arrive late in the day, then they won’t come at all. I can’t believe that’s true.
> 
> Also, this seems like a self-correcting problem. If it is true that so many people are disaffected by the early boarding group system that they stop turning up early, then boarding groups will last a lot longer into the day. Like RSR fast pass maybe.


I see your logic and dislike the “the APs won’t stand for this!” argument, but the problem is that people WON’T come because of their perception that the ROTR stuff is making the parks “crazy.”  These early-morning line/Main Street pictures are ALL OVER social media with zillions of comments like “Nope!” and “Couldn’t pay me to go near that place this weekend!” and ”this is why we cancelled our APs!”

So you have a lot of logistical nightmares, a lot of unhappy/disappointed guests, AND a largely empty park.  That’s not sustainable.


----------



## dina444444

luvallprincesses said:


> Does the boarding group process prevent guests from accessing Galaxy’s Edge entirely until their group is called or just for riding RotR?


No. It’s just for ROTR. The land is fully open.


----------



## MonocularVision

Skyegirl1999 said:


> Thinking long-term, I think they could drop BG twice a day, like at open and at noon or something.  Maybe drop 30-40 groups in the morning and then more depending how the ride is functioning.  That seems like it could alleviate a lot of the issues?



So folks will feel the need to both arrive *and* stay for both drops to get two chances? And enough people are already super confused by this very simple system. Making it more complicated only increases frustration IMHO. 

There have been a myriad of alternatives suggested in the WDW thread and there are pros/cons with all of them. And everyone wants something different to suit their touring style. Ultimately I think this is the most “fair” for dealing with demand outstripping supply


----------



## jlmarr

We've always enjoyed the first 2 or 3 hours of the day with minimal crowds, with the big influx not hitting until 10 or 11am.    I don't know how many people are in a boarding group, but now we have 70-80 boarding groups in the park at 8am sharp so the relaxed early mornings are over, sorry to say.  Thanks, Batuu.


----------



## brightlined

Most of this feels like the morning that the Taylor Swift tickets go on sale, they sell out in five minutes, and people are all over social media ranting at how unfair it is and how much Ticketmaster sucks.

(To be fair, Ticketmaster does kinda suck.)


----------



## GoldeneyezCA

BG 20 called at 9:17 with 2-hr return window


----------



## Aurora0427

SirBill said:


> Group 11!!!  I launched app right before 8, went straight into group selection.



So do you mean you opened the app and it went straight into boarding group selection? Or did you have to select something? I’m trying to figure out the best way to launch the app! We will be there next weekend and will try and ride ROTR Sunday.


----------



## montreid

jlmarr said:


> We've always enjoyed the first 2 or 3 hours of the day with minimal crowds, with the big influx not hitting until 10 or 11am.    I don't know how many people are in a boarding group, but now we have 70-80 boarding groups in the park at 8am sharp so the relaxed early mornings are over, sorry to say.  Thanks, Batuu.


Go straight forward -- should be fine.   Even Jungle and IJA are still low waits - most will jump to SWGE and supplement with MFSR so crowds will still be mitigated for regular early AM folk


----------



## dina444444

8:40 Entered queue 
8:42 Ticket scanned in queue
8:50 Entered 1st Pre Show
9:27 Off ride
 We got held up since we forgot to request front row at the right spot and then they was having an issue on the side we were on.


----------



## Aurora0427

It just seems really light this morning.... I hope everyone isn’t coming next weekend. When we are coming.


----------



## nutshell

jlmarr said:


> We've always enjoyed the first 2 or 3 hours of the day with minimal crowds, with the big influx not hitting until 10 or 11am.    I don't know how many people are in a boarding group, but now we have 70-80 boarding groups in the park at 8am sharp so the relaxed early mornings are over, sorry to say.  Thanks, Batuu.


Reports yesterday were that the park wasn’t that bad. Waits were not excessively long and plenty of FPs available.


----------



## ironband74

dina444444 said:


> 8:40 Entered queue
> 8:42 Ticket scanned in queue
> 8:50 Entered 1st Pre Show
> 9:27 Off ride
> We got held up since we forgot to request front row at the right spot and then they was having an issue on the side we were on.


So... you broke it?


----------



## brightlined

I'm wondering if they changed the app to block out the details for people not in the park. Playing along at home, I'm still getting the "How to Experience" message rather than the one saying all boarding groups are full. (For a half-second, I wondered if BGs might still be available.)


----------



## vharris2828

brightlined said:


> I'm wondering if they changed the app to block out the details for people not in the park. Playing along at home, I'm still getting the "How to Experience" message rather than the one saying all boarding groups are full. (For a half-second, I wondered if BGs might still be available.)


Weird, I’m still showing boarding groups full and which groups they are boarding. We are not there yet.


----------



## jfk4

Aurora0427 said:


> So do you mean you opened the app and it went straight into boarding group selection? Or did you have to select something? I’m trying to figure out the best way to launch the app! We will be there next weekend and will try and ride ROTR Sunday.



I got boarding group 9.  I had EMH access this morning.  I suspect that the key to scoring a low boarding pass is decent connectivity, so before the park opened I joined the guest WiFi network and wandered around the back of the park trying to find the location that had the best WiFi and cellular signal and the fewest people.   I’m a Verizon customer and had the best results near the Matterhorn FastPass machines.   I then camped out on the home screen until 8:00. I had myApple Watch and used the second hand to keep track of how long I had before 8.


----------



## dina444444

Good luck to everyone else trying to ride this weekend. I’m heading off to Disney world for the week now.


----------



## SirBill

Aurora0427 said:


> So do you mean you opened the app and it went straight into boarding group selection? Or did you have to select something? I’m trying to figure out the best way to launch the app! We will be there next weekend and will try and ride ROTR Sunday.



On the phone that worked best, here’s what I did - checked for boarding group at 7:55, and also looked at linked passes.  Then I killed the app, and restarted it but left it at the top screen without checking again.  Then I suspended (not killed) the app by going to the home screen... at 7:59:58 I re-opened the app, then went into the ride of the Resistance screen, where “join a boarding group” was enabled.  I went in, both my wife and I were already selected, then I hit confirm.  At that point I had 11, which was great for us as we fly out in the afternoon.

I used an Apple Watch with a digital second hand to see when exactly to reopen the app.

My wife’s phone she was just going in and out of the Rise screen but never saw join a boarding group activate.

We have t-mobile and were sitting in fantasyland with a good cellular signal.


----------



## Emily Urena

dina444444 said:


> 8:40 Entered queue
> 8:42 Ticket scanned in queue
> 8:50 Entered 1st Pre Show
> 9:27 Off ride
> We got held up since we forgot to request front row at the right spot and then they was having an issue on the side we were on.


I didn’t know you could request a row. When should you request the front row if you would like to ride in the front?


----------



## emchen

cm123 said:


> Wife and I both launched the app at 8.
> 
> I have android, she has an iPhone both on tmobile.
> 
> My button never enabled but hers did but when trying to book came up with a network error in app error.
> 
> She backed out and reopened and we got 76.
> 
> We'll get on.





cm123 said:


> Wife and I both launched the app at 8.
> 
> I have android, she has an iPhone both on tmobile.
> 
> My button never enabled but hers did but when trying to book came up with a network error in app error.
> 
> She backed out and reopened and we got 76.
> 
> We'll get on.





DLRExpert said:


> My main advice is...
> Test the app a day or so before your visit to get use to where everything is at.
> 
> Do not use WiFi, use phone data.
> 
> Today many people on their phones struggling with the app at 8am



Best advise and hope the other veteran reporters with firsthand experience will start including the data service they used when they successfully scored a boarding group.  Also, I read that being in The Hub was associated with success...implying better cell reception there. Is this a well known fact and does it apply for all the major carriers?

My family is on T-mobile and our experience is that signal can be quite variable throughout the park.


----------



## LeiaOfAlderaan

I’m so confused about the best way to try for a boarding group. The latest version of the app takes soooo long to launch for me (iPhone 6s, that might be the reason) that if I launched it at 8 boarding groups would be gone before I could do anything in the app. So I guess I should already have it open at 8 and be on the home screen? Any advice would be appreciated!


----------



## SirBill

LeiaOfAlderaan said:


> I’m so confused about the best way to try for a boarding group. The latest version of the app takes soooo long to launch for me (iPhone 6s, that might be the reason) that if I launched it at 8 boarding groups would be gone before I could do anything in the app. So I guess I should already have it open at 8 and be on the home screen? Any advice would be appreciated!



Have the app freshly opened but do nothing else, go back to game screen and re-open the app a second before 8am, by the time it opens you should be ably to go into the Galaxy’s Edge section to get a boarding pass.

I was using an iPhone 7, I think a 6s should work.


----------



## TarotFox

I think, if it takes that long, that might be your only option unless you want to upgrade your phone! Otherwise, when are you going? The boarding groups won't always be gone in the same amount of time.


----------



## dina444444

Emily Urena said:


> I didn’t know you could request a row. When should you request the front row if you would like to ride in the front?


There’s a hallway once you get past the hanger. The cm at the end of that that’s directing you to a side and to stand in a si for file line.


----------



## IsleofDisney

ROTR was amazing!!! New favorite ride. Hopefully the local APs who visit late afternoon or evening will be able get BGs in the typical way they visit the park. I'm curious to see how the BG are distributed during the weekdays.

Thanks @dina444444 , it was great to meet you and pick your Disney knowledge brain. Looking forward to meeting up again at the Happiest Place on Earth!


----------



## brightlined

vharris2828 said:


> Weird, I’m still showing boarding groups full and which groups they are boarding. We are not there yet.


Weird. Maybe mine's just stuck from the issues this morning.



LeiaOfAlderaan said:


> I’m so confused about the best way to try for a boarding group. The latest version of the app takes soooo long to launch for me (iPhone 6s, that might be the reason) that if I launched it at 8 boarding groups would be gone before I could do anything in the app. So I guess I should already have it open at 8 and be on the home screen? Any advice would be appreciated!


If you're going soon, just make do with what you have. Just know that it might not work out - tech will likely be a major factor in the immediate days. If you're not going soon, the process might change - they're clearly still working out the kinks - the issues that have happened in the last two days might not be happening anymore. (Or something else could be happening.) So the "best method" might be a little different.


----------



## LeiaOfAlderaan

TarotFox said:


> I think, if it takes that long, that might be your only option unless you want to upgrade your phone! Otherwise, when are you going? The boarding groups won't always be gone in the same amount of time.



LOL this situation actually made me consider upgrading, but I do like my 6s and my headphone jack. Our trip is in 4 weeks but it’s over Presidents Day weekend, which I think will be crazy busy (last I checked onsite hotels were almost completely sold out).


----------



## Mike_M

SirBill said:


> Group 11!!!  I launched app right before 8, went straight into group selection.


We got group 11 as well this morning! It’s been a great day!


----------



## GoldeneyezCA

Ride is down.  Got in line at around 10:12, walked into the beginning of interior queue, and received the dreaded announcement that “Due to First Order activity, all missions have been aborted”.  Sigh....


----------



## montreid

dina444444 said:


> Good luck to everyone else trying to ride this weekend. I’m heading off to Disney world for the week now.


Ak was our fav being so unique from our DLR digs.  FOP is the bomb. Add Lion King Nemo and Everest with kili....very nice park


----------



## dina444444

montreid said:


> Ak was our fav being so unique from our DLR digs.  FOP is the bomb. Add Lion King Nemo and Everest with kili....very nice park


I love FoP. Have a fp ride it later in the week and I’m going to moonlight magic on Tuesday so will probably ride then as well. Just road it 3 weeks ago when I was there for NYE.


----------



## dina444444

No lines for security now at the structures. There are a frames up with the boarding groups full message here as well as at the front of the parks(both inside the gates and in the esplanade).


----------



## dina444444

If anyone is arriving to the parks now not sure what the Mickey and friends entrance situation is right now but there’s no wait to get into the Pixar structure.


----------



## Susie63

We will have 3 phones. Should we all be logged into my Disney account or should we each have a Disney account with all of the tickets scanned into each account. We have never used our phones at DL and we will all have data plans and won't be using the park wifi.


----------



## emchen

Mike_M said:


> We got group 11 as well this morning! It’s been a great day!


Cell carrier?  Where were you when you snatched the boarding group?

thanks in advance!


----------



## socaldisneylover

IsleofDisney said:


> ROTR was amazing!!! New favorite ride. Hopefully the local APs who visit late afternoon or evening will be able get BGs in the typical way they visit the park. I'm curious to see how the BG are distributed during the weekdays.


So long as they use the Boarding Group system, there is Zero chance that there will still be openings in late afternoon or evening.  Including on weekdays.  The only exception might be during a big rainstorm.  Otherwise there will always be enough people in the park, and the majority of them will be signing up for a boarding group.  Anyone can do it, and it doesn't take away a Fast Pass, and lots of people are going to want to experience this ride.  Even multiple times.

When it hopefully changes over to a regular system, those who arrive late will at least have the option of waiting in a standby line.  There's no telling how they're going to manage that though, as if people are allowed to get in line up until closing, it's going to cause it to remain open a long time.  And much like Radiator Springs, the fast passes will be gone by morning, perhaps even within 1-2 hours of park opening.


----------



## Kender

A friend of mine got 134 . But I guess at least it gives her a chance. That's more than a lot of people got.

No SoCal and no SoCal Select passes today. Doesn't look like it made a big difference today, though, in speed of BGs being claimed. But definitely a data point I'll be interested in as we go forward what, if any, changes pass block outs make. Not nearly enough data to go by yet, though, only being on day 2 lol


----------



## socaldisneylover

I'm wondering what the maximum # of groups they've been able to get through in between breakdowns.  I think there were either 2 or 3 major breakdowns yesterday, where they cleared the queue, and one so far today.


----------



## CaliforniaGirl09

SirBill said:


> On the phone that worked best, here’s what I did - checked for boarding group at 7:55, and also looked at linked passes.  Then I killed the app, and restarted it but left it at the top screen without checking again.  Then I suspended (not killed) the app by going to the home screen... at 7:59:58 I re-opened the app, then went into the ride of the Resistance screen, where “join a boarding group” was enabled.  I went in, both my wife and I were already selected, then I hit confirm.  At that point I had 11, which was great for us as we fly out in the afternoon.
> 
> I used an Apple Watch with a digital second hand to see when exactly to reopen the app.
> 
> My wife’s phone she was just going in and out of the Rise screen but never saw join a boarding group activate.
> 
> We have t-mobile and were sitting in fantasyland with a good cellular signal.



Thanks so much for the report. Could you clarify as to whether multiple phones were logged into the same account. That's what we did in WDW, but I haven't seen specifics mentioned here. 



Susie63 said:


> We will have 3 phones. Should we all be logged into my Disney account or should we each have a Disney account with all of the tickets scanned into each account. We have never used our phones at DL and we will all have data plans and won't be using the park wifi.


Same questions for me. When we rode at WDW we had 5 phones and 4 were logged into the same account. Just want to make sure it's working the same way at DL and we don't need to have everyone create unique logins. 

Thanks for all the reports. I'm *really* nervous about next Saturday now. The times for BGs to go are way faster than when we were at WDW.


----------



## CaliforniaGirl09

Kender said:


> No SoCal and no SoCal Select passes today. Doesn't look like it made a big difference today, though, in speed of BGs being claimed. But definitely a data point I'll be interested in as we go forward what, if any, changes pass block outs make. Not nearly enough data to go by yet, though, only being on day 2 lol


I was wondering the same thing about whether the So Cal passes were going to make a difference on the weekend. Next Saturday I think only one of the So Cal passes is blocked.


----------



## MommaofW&N

How long do you think they will be using boarding groups ?  We go at the end of April-beginning of May!  Thank you so much!  WDW is no longer using BGs?


----------



## Mike_M

emchen said:


> Cell carrier?  Where were you when you snatched the boarding group?
> 
> thanks in advance!


All of us in our group tried, but the one that got the reservation was using a newer galaxy phone on sprint. We were over by Jolly Holiday when we got it.
We couldn’t believe it!


----------



## dina444444

MommaofW&N said:


> How long do you think they will be using boarding groups ?  We go at the end of April-beginning of May!  Thank you so much!  WDW is no longer using BGs?


No clue and wdw is still using boarding groups.


----------



## Kender

CaliforniaGirl09 said:


> I was wondering the same thing about whether the So Cal passes were going to make a difference on the weekend. Next Saturday I think only one of the So Cal passes is blocked.



SoCal Select is blocked both 25th and 26th. SoCal is only blocked 25th. So 26th I could see drawing a larger rope drop crowd trying for a BG  

Flex is reservation only both days (as of 11:20 am PST, both days are still available for reservations).

Deluxe, Sig, and Sig+ are not blocked. 



MommaofW&N said:


> How long do you think they will be using boarding groups ?  We go at the end of April-beginning of May!  Thank you so much!  WDW is no longer using BGs?



WDW is still using BGs.  I don't think anyone could make a logical guess even when they or DLR might stop using BGs. There's not enough data, but they're definitely not ready for a true standby queue currently. No where near it.


----------



## Go💛Go

socaldisneylover said:


> I'm wondering what the maximum # of groups they've been able to get through in between breakdowns.  I think there were either 2 or 3 major breakdowns yesterday, where they cleared the queue, and one so far today.


Thrill Data charts the BGs off of info posted on the DL app. Although no one knows the # of guests in a BG, 10-12 BGs per hour is a good rate if there aren’t breakdowns...tap in the graph to view it:

__ https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1218289448695275520


----------



## Kenshin21

I had group 25 today. Got the message to board at 958 and had 2 hours. When we got to Mickey and friends right at 630 and walked to the park. We were in dlp around 720 so around 50 min from garage to gate.


----------



## IsleofDisney

jfk4 said:


> I got boarding group 9.  I had EMH access this morning.  I suspect that the key to scoring a low boarding pass is decent connectivity, so before the park opened I joined the guest WiFi network and wandered around the back of the park trying to find the location that had the best WiFi and cellular signal and the fewest people.   I’m a Verizon customer and had the best results near the Matterhorn FastPass machines.   I then camped out on the home screen until 8:00. I had myApple Watch and used the second hand to keep track of how long I had before 8.



We chose to stay near the entrance between Flag pole and stairs to Main Street station. 3 phones on their own accounts, a new iPhone 11pro (Verizon),  a Galaxy S10 (TMobile) & mine a One+ 7pro (TMobile). At 7:59 I opened the DL app, kept it at home page, at 8 am selected Find Out More,  Join Boarding Group was active, selected it, chose everyone in my group, then 1-2 seconds later I was awarded with BG 7. 

While the 11pro was on a 5g network, my One+ on a 4g was the one that snagged the boarding group. The signal was good and I didn't want to be surrounded by buildings. My One+ has a very good processor that may have helped. Or the short prayer I made before 8am 

Edit: I should mention because now I think it's an important point, that I reserved a FP through MP while my party was waiting. Its like testing if the system recognizes everyone in your party. Also, the iPhone was on AT&T network not Verizon.


----------



## baozi

Not to you specific question, but I think WDW and DLR share the same system, same mechanism as far as authorization and authentication go. You can make an experiment with both apps logged out, and log into one of them, then you can see it logs into the other as well.



CaliforniaGirl09 said:


> Thanks so much for the report. Could you clarify as to whether multiple phones were logged into the same account. That's what we did in WDW, but I haven't seen specifics mentioned here.
> 
> 
> Same questions for me. When we rode at WDW we had 5 phones and 4 were logged into the same account. Just want to make sure it's working the same way at DL and we don't need to have everyone create unique logins.
> 
> Thanks for all the reports. I'm *really* nervous about next Saturday now. The times for BGs to go are way faster than when we were at WDW.


----------



## brentm77

Avery's mom said:


> Group 92. We saw groups up to 115 called yesterday, so I am hopeful



We were 92 yesterday, and were on around 7:30.  That was after a delay in the morning and a long one in the afternoon.  It seemed like the pace picked up after dinner. I suspect some people in backup groups leave before they are called.


----------



## Etonduf

socaldisneylover said:


> So long as they use the Boarding Group system, there is Zero chance that there will still be openings in late afternoon or evening.  Including on weekdays.  The only exception might be during a big rainstorm.  Otherwise there will always be enough people in the park, and the majority of them will be signing up for a boarding group.  Anyone can do it, and it doesn't take away a Fast Pass, and lots of people are going to want to experience this ride.  Even multiple times.
> 
> When it hopefully changes over to a regular system, those who arrive late will at least have the option of waiting in a standby line.  There's no telling how they're going to manage that though, as if people are allowed to get in line up until closing, it's going to cause it to remain open a long time.  And much like Radiator Springs, the fast passes will be gone by morning, perhaps even within 1-2 hours of park opening.



I agree with all of this. (Though I do think IsleofDisney's point was that DLR hopefully changes the system to make it possible for locals who arrive later to somehow get to ride)


----------



## Slendyglowstone

So On my Phone (Samsung Galaxy S7), There is Ultra Power Saving Mode. This Mode is perfect for Minimizing the Phone's battery to last all day, while still being available to being used as a phone/camera/sms/internet device. Problem is that Rise of the Resistance requires you to use the Disneyland App, which is unavailable in Ultra-Power saving Mode. I Could get the boarding group done in the app, then switch over to UPSM, but I wouldn't be able to check the Boarding Groups, or be notified of the registered time. Is there some way to check the boarding groups without accessing the app? perhaps a site or email/sms?


----------



## EmJ

Slendyglowstone said:


> So On my Phone (Samsung Galaxy S7), There is Ultra Power Saving Mode. This Mode is perfect for Minimizing the Phone's battery to last all day, while still being available to being used as a phone/camera/sms/internet device. Problem is that Rise of the Resistance requires you to use the Disneyland App, which is unavailable in Ultra-Power saving Mode. I Could get the boarding group done in the app, then switch over to UPSM, but I wouldn't be able to check the Boarding Groups, or be notified of the registered time. Is there some way to check the boarding groups without accessing the app? perhaps a site or email/sms?


It’s supposed to be displayed in screens around the park, but I don’t know where or how many. I also just bought a small Anker portable charger for under $20. I tested it and was able to get 2.5 complete charges on my iPhone 7.


----------



## kyoshi

LeiaOfAlderaan said:


> This is a bit upsetting to me. We always make a lot of dining reservations for our trips, so I figured a 2 hour window would be plenty of time to eat if we got a notification close to a dining reservation. 1 hour is not a lot of time, and if you bail on a dining reservation you’ll be penalized. I hope they settle on a 2 hour (or more) window before my trip next month!
> 
> And thanks so much to everyone posting today, it was not only informative but also very exciting to read the play by play this morning!


We had a reservation for both Oga's and Cafe Orleans in the afternoon. We got boarding group 67, which at the time looked like it would be at the same time. We went to both locations early and talked to the hosts. Both places told us not to worry and make the boarding group out priority and to come back after our ride. Worked out perfectly. We were seated in no time at both places. Thank you to those cast members!


----------



## dieumeye

Etonduf said:


> I agree with all of this. (Though I do think IsleofDisney's point was that DLR hopefully changes the system to make it possible for locals who arrive later to somehow get to ride)


That’s the thing though, if you are a local AP then you have more flexibility to arrive when you need to, and it’s not such a big deal to do any particular thing on a specific day.

For example, I don’t have to ride RSR every time I visit the park and I also don’t want to stand in a 1+ hour line for it, so if I want to ride it I know I need to be here in the morning to get a FP. They aren’t going to hold back some FPs until later in the afternoon for days I don’t feel like showing up earlier.

Same with RotR for the foreseeable future. I wanted to ride yesterday so I got here early. Today, I felt lazy so I stayed in bed, which means I knew I wouldn’t ride it today when I showed up later in the morning. It’s not like I can’t enjoy the park like I always have.

And if I only came to the park to ride RotR and I don’t get a BG at open, I can easily just go home and my whole day isn’t ruined the way people on vacation might feel.

At some point the fervor will die down, but even if it means that boarding group availability lasts just 30 minutes, it’ll just be the reality that people have to adjust to. As long as there is more demand than supply, there’s no system that is going to satisfy everybody, but it seems like people who are local and not on a once-in-a-lifetime trip have the most flexibility to adapt to whatever the situation requires.

Just my perspective.


----------



## montreid

When an entire's day allotment is gone in 60 secs -- there's going to be many unhappy folk.   

Same for those convention after 4pm tickets - too bad for most FP along with ROTR --


----------



## BellaandMickey

Susie63 said:


> We will have 3 phones. Should we all be logged into my Disney account or should we each have a Disney account with all of the tickets scanned into each account. We have never used our phones at DL and we will all have data plans and won't be using the park wifi.



I’m wondering the same thing. We’re going to have 4 people trying. I’m hoping we don’t have to make 4 different logins.


----------



## VandVsmama

Adam the Woo just posted a cool ROTR opening day video on his YouTube channel.


----------



## dieumeye

EmJ said:


> It’s supposed to be displayed in screens around the park, but I don’t know where or how many. I also just bought a small Anker portable charger for under $20. I tested it and was able to get 2.5 complete charges on my iPhone 7.


There’s a sign at the Big Thunder entrance showing the current BGs.

They are probably more elsewhere, but I don’t recall specifically. Yesterday there was a CM stand at the critter country entrance. I don’t recall a sign there but one could certainly ask them for the current BGs.


----------



## IsleofDisney

PaintsWithAllTheColors said:


> We were right by someone who got 7!! Were you by the hub??



No we were by the flag pole


----------



## ThreeMountains

Can anyone tell me if you can get a BG and then also use Max Pass for other rides while you wait or only one or the other?  Thanks


----------



## dina444444

dieumeye said:


> There’s a sign at the Big Thunder entrance showing the current BGs.
> 
> They are probably more elsewhere, but I don’t recall specifically. Yesterday there was a CM stand at the critter country entrance. I don’t recall a sign there but one but certainly ask them for the current BGs.


They are also shown on the times board in the hub.


----------



## dina444444

ThreeMountains said:


> Can anyone tell me if you can get a BG and then also use Max Pass for other rides while you wait or only one or the other?  Thanks


They are separate from each other and can be used at the same time.


----------



## twodogs

Hi all, We are back at GCH for a break, so I thought I would quickly post our experience today for our first try at ROTR.

0600: left GCH, no line whatsoever at security to get into DTD

0605: arrived at gates, no lines at MM only gates to far right, but we have APs and using EMH and several CMs could not tell me if we could use the 2 lines marked MM (as opposed to the other lines which were marked MM/EMH), so we got in a line marked MM/EMH to be safe.  About 13 people in front of us.  Regular entry lines already past the monorail and about 1/2 between monorail and DCA.

0640: (I think, was too hyped to look at phone) opened gates.  Regular lines well past DCA.  Our gate had immediate problems as CM was brand new and very frazzled and angry.  She could not get first family’s tickets to scan, then finally retook their photos several times; next family is told by her that they already used their MM (they were staying onsite, so also had EMH); argument ensues, lead comes over, pulls them aside, takes tickets and leaves; next family has tickets and shows their DVC keys to GCH (which look different than our regular GCH keys) and she tells them that DVC doesn’t get you EMH, argument ensues, lead comes back with first family’s tickets, tells her DVC keys are good and overrides, lets first family in since they do have EMH; OUR turn finally!!  Scans my AP and says it is expired and I can’t enter.  She is fuming now as all the guests are anxious and nothing working. Calls lead over, takes our APs, we step aside.  Next family shows no tickets valid.  Lead brings our AP back, she has to override them and we finally enter.  It was stressful and unnecessary for everyone; no idea why they put a clearly brand new CM on the gates at MM/EMH for ROTR weekend.  We knew we had plenty of time, so stayed calm but it was nerve racking.

0700: pin trading.  Walking up Main Street, and CM’s telling all EMH guests to have room keys out to get into Tomorrowland (blocked by the red corn dog wagon Area with ropes.  Rest of non-EMH guests allowed up around the Hub on Main Street.  We show keys and they let us into Tomorrowland (and you had to go this way if you wanted to get to FL also).  Rode SM with no wait x 2, shopped, etc.

0735:  Decided at 7:35 to start looking for good signals.  We had 6 phones all logged into the app as me:
iPhone 7 WiFi only
iphone 10 Wifi only
iphone 10R Verizon
iphone 10R Verizon
iphone 10 Verizon
iphone 11 AT&T

There were 4 of us, so DD14 and I each had one WiFi phone and one Verizon cell phone.  DD12 had her Verizon cell and DH his ATT cell. DD14 and I stood near Buzz gift shop per @wonkakid’s advice for good WiFi (had good Wifi and cell here).  DD12 and DH went to train station loading area and neither had a signal so they walked over to the entrance the Subs).  We put one WiFi phone and one Verizon 10R with app already open.  All other phones, we hard-closed app prior to 8.  Crowds were thick but not insane at Buzz FP kiosks (there was a line of 20-30 there right at 7am and it grew) with people who had no phones or were hedging bets on an IT issue.

I used my Apple Watch to count the seconds.  Right at 8, we all opened app, but those that were already opened went to Find out More and got red button immediately.  I got the red button immediately on both my WiFi phone and my Verizon cell but the app had to open.  DH never got the red button at all on ATT cell.  I immediately got “you are already in a boarding group” on both my Wifi and Verizon phones.  DD12 and DD14 are not sure which of them actually got the group, so it was either Verizon cell or WiFi, but both phones that got in the fastest ALREADY had the app open when 8am hit.  I know that is counter to what people at WDW were recommending (they recommended hard-close app and open right at 8, which also worked, but was not as fast as app open for our family).  Got BG 14!!!!!!

Rode Buzz, Pirates, and group called right at 845.  In line at 9am, on at 933, off around 10.  Line moved continuously, and no breakdowns.  Loved the ride and will try tomorrow but the process will be a little different since no EMH.

Right after we got our BG, APs disappeared from phone and would not let me book MP (though I had booked MP right at going through gates at 0700, so it was working earlier).  Kept telling me to purchase MP for our AP, even though we already have MP!!  We didn’t want to waste time at GS, and about 9 or so, the app was showing a message that all MP was down.  But then I was able to book one anyway??  It was weird.  I think the whole system crashed this AM.

So grateful to all on these boards and the WDW boards, as all of your advice was valuable this AM.  We also needed the Force because many people around us did not get BGs.  It was very sad.  Some had technical issues, some had parties that were showing as not in the park.  My Advice there is that if you can, try to book a MP right after entering the park (before BGs drop).  If you can do that for all in the party, then you know it recognizes you as all in the park.  If not, it will error on the MP booking and you will hopefully have time to go to GS before BGs drop.

MTFBW everyone (including us!) as we try again tomorrow!!!!


----------



## dina444444

twodogs said:


> Hi all, We are back at GCH for a break, so I thought I would quickly post our experience today for our first try at ROTR.
> 
> 0600: left GCH, no line whatsoever at security to get into DTD
> 0605: arrived at gates, no lines at MM only gates to far right, but we have APs and using EMH and several CMs could not tell me if we could use the 2 lines marked MM (as opposed to the other lines which were marked MM/EMH), so we got in a line marked MM/EMH to be safe.  About 13 people in front of us.  Regular entry lines already past the monorail and about 1/2 between monorail and DCA.
> 0640: (I think, was too hyped to look at phone) opened gates.  Regular lines well past DCA.  Our gate had immediate problems as CM was brand new and very frazzled and angry.  She could not get first family’s tickets to scan, then finally retook their photos several times; next family is told by her that they already used their MM (they were staying onsite, so also had EMH); argument ensues, lead comes over, pulls them aside, takes tickets and leaves; next family has tickets and shows their DVC keys to GCH (which look different than our regular GCH keys) and she tells them that DVC doesn’t get you EMH, argument ensues, lead comes back with first family’s tickets, tells her DVC keys are good and overrides, lets first family in since they do have EMH; OUR turn finally!!  Scans my AP and says it is expired and I can’t enter.  She is fuming now as all the guests are anxious and nothing working. Calls lead over, takes our APs, we step aside.  Next family shows no tickets valid.  Lead brings our AP back, she has to override them and we finally enter.  It was stressful and unnecessary for everyone; no idea why they put a clearly brand new CM on the gates at MM/EMH for ROTR weekend.  We knew we had plenty of time, so stayed calm but it was nerve racking.
> 0700: pin trading.  Walking up Main Street, and CM’s telling all EMH guests to have room keys out to get into Tomorrowland (blocked by the red corn dog wagon Area with ropes.  Rest of non-EMH guests allowed up around the Hub on Main Street.  We show keys and they let us into Tomorrowland (and you had to go this way if you wanted to get to FL also).  Rode SM with no wait x 2, shopped, etc.
> 0735:  Decided at 7:35 to start looking for good signals.  We had 6 phones:
> iPhone 7 WiFi only
> iphone 10 Wifi only
> iphone 10R Verizon
> iphone 10R Verizon
> iphone 10 Verizon
> iphone 11 AT&T
> 
> There were 4 of us, so DD14 and I each had one WiFi phone and one Verizon cell phone.  DD12 had her Verizon cell and DH his ATT cell. DD14 and I stood near Buzz gift shop per @wonkakid’s advice for good WiFi (had good Wifi and cell here).  DD12 and DH went to train station loading area and neither had a signal so they walked over to the entrance the Subs).  We put one WiFi phone and one Verizon 10R with app already open.  All other phones, we hard-closed app prior to 8.  Crowds were thick but not insane at Buzz FP kiosks (there was a line of 20-30 there right at 7am and it grew) with people who had no phones or were hedging bets on an IT issue.
> 
> I used my Apple Watch to count the seconds.  Right at 8, we all opened app, but those that were already opened went to Find out More and got red button immediately.  I got the red button immediately on both my WiFi phone and my Verizon cell but the app had to open.  DH never got the red button at all on ATT cell.  I immediately got “you are already in a boarding group” on both my Wifi and Verizon phones.  DD12 and DD14 are not sure which of them actually got the group, so it was either Verizon cell or WiFi, but both phones that got in the fastest ALREADY had the app open when 8am hit.  I know that is counter to what people at WDW were recommending (they recommended hard-close app and open right at 8, which also worked, but was not as fast as app open for our family).  Got BG 14!!!!!!
> 
> Rode Buzz, Pirates, and group called right at 845.  In line at 9am, on at 933, off around 10.  Line moved continuously, and no breakdowns.  Loved the ride and will try tomorrow but the process will be a little different since no EMH.
> 
> Right after we got our BG, APs disappeared from phone and would not let me book MP (though I had booked MP right at going through gates at 0700, so it was working earlier).  Kept telling me to purchase MP for our AP, even though we already have MP!!  We didn’t want to waste time at GS, and about 9 or so, the app was showing a message that all MP was down.  But then I was able to book one anyway??  It was weird.  I think the whole system crashed this AM.
> 
> So grateful to all on these boards and the WDW boards, as all of your advice was valuable this AM.  We also needed the Force because many people around us did not get BGs.  It was very sad.  Some had technical issues, some had parties that were showing as not in the park.  My Advice there is that if you can, try to book a MP right after entering the park (before BGs drop).  If you can do that for all in the party, then you know it recognizes you as all in the park.  If not, it will error on the MP booking and you will hopefully have time to go to GS before BGs drop.
> 
> MTFBW everyone (including us!) as we try again tomorrow!!!!


I’ll echo. I and my group all reopened our apps at 7:59 and then right at 8:00 clicked into the page.  All 3 of us made it through but when I got to the add people page another member of our party had already secured group 7.


----------



## DLgal

EmJ said:


> I mean, you all know the local demographic way better than I do, but it just seems weird to me. Presumably the locals, especially AP holders, like everything or almost everything Disney has to offer and aren’t annual pass holders ONLY for ROTR. The presumption seems to be that if locals can’t get on ROTR if they arrive late in the day, then they won’t come at all. I can’t believe that’s true.



AP holders will still come. Local, day guests might not. That ticket special is being heavily advertised, along with "Rise of the Resistance--NOW OPEN." (Like, in the same commercial) But,  if it's a gamble whether or not you will even get the chance to ride the new ride, THOSE people may decide it's not worth it. Think of all the people who may take advantage of the tickets knowing they have as much of a chance to ride the new ride than any other ride in the park. Once they find out that's not the case, they are bound to be pretty annoyed. 

Here's the thing. EVERY other ride Disneyland has ever opened has done just fine with a standby line and fastpass. I don't really understand the justification for using this system on JUST this ride. They built the queue large enough to hold several hours worth of a standby line. Disneyland guests tend to be fine with standby waits up to about 3-4 hours, as evidenced by RSR. They are okay with that. What makes anyone think this ride would suddenly command such drastically longer standby waits long term? Look what happened with MFSR...waits were crazy initially but have settled to 30-60 minutes on average. The line will regulate itself.

This Boarding Group system is nothing more than Disney trying to squeeze more money out of guests by keeping them out of a long line. However, rides need people in lines, in order to keep the crowding to a minimum in walkways. If no one is in line, and you have thousands of people loitering in SW land, sitting against buildings (NOT spending money, as happened yesterday), all that is accomplished is making the park feel cluttered and mismanaged.


----------



## DLgal

jlmarr said:


> We've always enjoyed the first 2 or 3 hours of the day with minimal crowds, with the big influx not hitting until 10 or 11am.    I don't know how many people are in a boarding group, but now we have 70-80 boarding groups in the park at 8am sharp so the relaxed early mornings are over, sorry to say.  Thanks, Batuu.



Nah. Yesterday between 9am and noon was basically like a quiet Sunday morning.


----------



## dina444444

DLgal said:


> AP holders will still come. Local, day guests might not. That ticket special is being heavily advertised, along with "Rise of the Resistance--NOW OPEN." (Like, in the same commercial) But,  if it's a gamble whether or not you will even get the chance to ride the new ride, THOSE people may decide it's not worth it. Think of all the people who may take advantage of the tickets knowing they have as much of a chance to ride the new ride than any other ride in the park. Once they find out that's not the case, they are bound to be pretty annoyed.
> 
> Here's the thing. EVERY other ride Disneyland has ever opened has done just fine with a standby line and fastpass. I don't really understand the justification for using this system on JUST this ride. They built the queue large enough to hold several hours worth of a standby line. Disneyland guests tend to be fine with standby waits up to about 3-4 hours, as evidenced by RSR. They are okay with that. What makes anyone think this ride would suddenly command such drastically longer standby waits long term? Look what happened with MFSR...waits were crazy initially but have settled to 30-60 minutes on average. The line will regulate itself.
> 
> This Boarding Group system is nothing more than Disney trying to squeeze more money out of guests by keeping them out of a long line. However, rides need people in lines, in order to keep the crowding to a minimum in walkways. If no one is in line, and you have thousands of people loitering in SW land, sitting against buildings (NOT spending money, as happened yesterday), all that is accomplished is making the park feel cluttered and mismanaged.


The ride is currently taking in at most half of its optimal capacity an hour and they don’t want a hagrid’s situation on their hands.


----------



## HydroGuy

twodogs said:


> My Advice there is that if you can, *try to book a MP right after entering the park* (before BGs drop).  If you can do that for all in the party, then you know it recognizes you as all in the park.  If not, it will error on the MP booking and you will hopefully have time to go to GS before BGs drop.


This is a really great tip! Thanks!


----------



## Mathmagicland

I’m curious - does anyone know if someone has been successful getting a BG at either the Buzz or Splash FP locations vs the app?  Not sure how that would work - ie if you’d have to put your ticket in a machine, it does not seem possible at this point to get more than one with as fast as the BGs have gone.


----------



## montreid

DLgal said:


> Here's the thing. EVERY other ride Disneyland has ever opened has done just fine with a standby line and fastpass. I don't really understand the justification for using this system on JUST this ride. They built the queue large enough to hold several hours worth of a standby line. Disneyland guests tend to be fine with standby waits up to about 3-4 hours, as evidenced by RSR. They are okay with that. What makes anyone think this ride would suddenly command such drastically longer standby waits long term? Look what happened with MFSR...waits were crazy initially but have settled to 30-60 minutes on average. The line will regulate itself.


MFSR is nice, but it's not ROTR....not even close.  3-4 hours okay.  POF is often this still.   5+ hours?  7 hours?  That's a PR issue that Disney clearly is trying to avoid.


----------



## Aurora0427

IsleofDisney said:


> We chose to stay near the entrance between Flag pole and stairs to Main Street station. 3 phones on their own accounts, a new iPhone 11pro (Verizon),  a Galaxy S10 (TMobile) & mine a One+ 7pro (TMobile). At 7:59 I opened the DL app, kept it at home page, at 8 am selected Find Out More,  Join Boarding Group was active, selected it, chose everyone in my group, then 1-2 seconds later I was awarded with BG 7.
> 
> While the 11pro was on a 5g network, my One+ on a 4g was the one that snagged the boarding group. The signal was good and I didn't want to be surrounded by buildings. My One+ has a very good processor that may have helped. Or the short prayer I made before 8am



This is super helpful and we will follow this strategy next weekend!!!!


----------



## DLgal

dina444444 said:


> The ride is currently taking in at most half of its optimal capacity an hour and they don’t want a hagrid’s situation on their hands.



So? Let 3x the hourly capacity into the ride queue amd then let in the hourly capacity every hour. So, using made up numbers, if the capacity is 1500 per hour and they are running at 50%, that would be 750 per hour. Open the line and count in your 750x3. Let in 2250 people. After an hour, if the ride is still operating reliably, let in 750 more. Repeat every hour. It's not that hard. This would be the same as releasing "boarding groups" once an hour. At park opening, release 2250 people worth of boarding groups. Release 750 people worth of boarding groups every hour. This will discourage people from loitering around the ride entrance, but will put everyone on an equal playing field at the top of the hour. When the ride goes down, temporarily stop issuing boarding groups. This makes a lot more sense than appeasing those folks with free tickets, fastpasses to come back later, etc.


----------



## rteetz

DLgal said:


> So? Let 3x the hourly capacity into the ride queue amd then let in the hourly capacity every hour. So, using made up numbers, if the capacity is 1500 per hour and they are running at 50%, that would be 750 per hour. Open the line and count in your 750x3. Let in 2250 people. After an hour, if the ride is still operating reliably, let in 750 more. Repeat every hour. It's not that hard. This would be the same as releasing "boarding groups" once an hour. At park opening, release 2250 people worth of boarding groups. Release 750 people worth of boarding groups every hour. This will discourage people from loitering around the ride entrance, but will put everyone on an equal playing field at the top of the hour. When the ride goes down, temporarily stop issuing boarding groups. This makes a lot more sense than appeasing those folks with free tickets, fastpasses to come back later, etc.


That makes 0 sense.


----------



## DLgal

rteetz said:


> That makes 0 sense.



Can you elaborate? Why not?


----------



## Lesley Wake

DLgal said:


> So? Let 3x the hourly capacity into the ride queue amd then let in the hourly capacity every hour. So, using made up numbers, if the capacity is 1500 per hour and they are running at 50%, that would be 750 per hour. Open the line and count in your 750x3. Let in 2250 people. After an hour, if the ride is still operating reliably, let in 750 more. Repeat every hour. It's not that hard. This would be the same as releasing "boarding groups" once an hour. At park opening, release 2250 people worth of boarding groups. Release 750 people worth of boarding groups every hour. This will discourage people from loitering around the ride entrance, but will put everyone on an equal playing field at the top of the hour. When the ride goes down, temporarily stop issuing boarding groups. This makes a lot more sense than appeasing those folks with free tickets, fastpasses to come back later, etc.


That just seems like absolute hell. You WILL have people just camped out around the ride entrance all day. 

Yes, the virtual queue is not ideal. But really when you have a ride with this high of a demand, nothing is going to be a perfect situation. Everyone’s perfect situation is that they get to ride. For every person that gets to ride, there are so many more who weren’t able to. Honestly the VQ is the best method for the current situation.


----------



## DLgal

Lesley Wake said:


> That just seems like absolute hell. You WILL have people just camped out around the ride entrance all day.
> 
> Yes, the virtual queue is not ideal. But really when you have a ride with this high of a demand, nothing is going to be a perfect situation. Everyone’s perfect situation is that they get to ride. For every person that gets to ride, there are so many more who weren’t able to. Honestly the VQ is the best method for the current situation.



People are already camping out, waiting for their BG number to be called. You should have seen the people in GE yesterday just standing around, doing nothing.


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## Mathmagicland

Lesley Wake said:


> That just seems like absolute hell. You WILL have people just camped out around the ride entrance all day.
> 
> Yes, the virtual queue is not ideal. But really when you have a ride with this high of a demand, nothing is going to be a perfect situation. Everyone’s perfect situation is that they get to ride. For every person that gets to ride, there are so many more who weren’t able to. Honestly the VQ is the best method for the current situation.


Totally agree - I’d rather be stressed, and disappointed if necessary, once during the day rather than once per hour for 12 or 13 or 14 times during the day.


----------



## DGsAtBLT

DLgal said:


> So? Let 3x the hourly capacity into the ride queue amd then let in the hourly capacity every hour. So, using made up numbers, if the capacity is 1500 per hour and they are running at 50%, that would be 750 per hour. Open the line and count in your 750x3. Let in 2250 people. After an hour, if the ride is still operating reliably, let in 750 more. Repeat every hour. It's not that hard. This would be the same as releasing "boarding groups" once an hour. At park opening, release 2250 people worth of boarding groups. Release 750 people worth of boarding groups every hour. This will discourage people from loitering around the ride entrance, but will put everyone on an equal playing field at the top of the hour. When the ride goes down, temporarily stop issuing boarding groups. This makes a lot more sense than appeasing those folks with free tickets, fastpasses to come back later, etc.



This is a mess when the same people keep missing out on the BG drops all day long. Who is more annoyed, a person who attempts to grab a BG at opening and misses out, knowing they will not be riding all day, or the person who attempts to grab a BG at each drop, still missing out, but has now spent hours trying and failing to ride?

If you are correct and DLR guests behave significantly differently than WDW guests when it comes to this attraction, the problem should somewhat correct itself. BG will stick around longer. Certainly longer than 1 minute. RotR has proven itself to be a rule breaker for everything we know about WDW touring, wouldn't be surprised to see this repeat at DLR too.


----------



## DLgal

Mathmagicland said:


> Totally agree - I’d rather be stressed, and disappointed if necessary, once during the day rather than once per hour for 12 or 13 or 14 times during the day.



Okay. I'd rather try and miss, knowing I will continue to have more chances than be out of the running a minute into a 16 hour park operating day.


----------



## dina444444

DLgal said:


> Okay. I'd rather try and miss, knowing I will continue to have more chances than be out of the running a minute into a 16 hour park operating day.


I wouldn’t. I would rather know at the beginning of the day what the day is going to look like compared to an hourly lottery.


----------



## DLgal

Why not just use Medium power saving mode and bring a battery pack?  I used that on my S7 successfully with the DL app and push notifications came through. UPS mode is really when you are, like, stranded somewhere amd don't have any way to charge your phone and need it to last as long as possible.


----------



## Lesley Wake

DLgal said:


> People are already camping out, waiting for their BG number to be called. You should have seen the people in GE yesterday just standing around, doing nothing.


And that is proving your point! If people are already camped out around there waiting for a specific thing to happen, can you imagine if people are hoping to get on the ride! You would have shoulder to shoulder the entire area from the ride to Hungry Bear. Not what Disney wants you to do! 


DLgal said:


> Okay. I'd rather try and miss, knowing I will continue to have more chances than be out of the running a minute into a 16 hour park operating day.


But now you have the rest of your day to do whatever else you want. If you had to keep track and every hour check, you wouldn’t be able to do anything else!


----------



## DLgal

Lesley Wake said:


> And that is proving your point! If people are already camped out around there waiting for a specific thing to happen, can you imagine if people are hoping to get on the ride! You would have shoulder to shoulder the entire area from the ride to Hungry Bear. Not what Disney wants you to do!
> 
> But now you have the rest of your day to do whatever else you want. If you had to keep track and every hour check, you wouldn’t be able to do anything else!



How would you not be able to do anything else? That makes no sense. At the top of the hour, you spend the 30 seconds to try and snag the next set of BG. I'm not advocating Disney release them willy nilly, but on an hourly schedule. If you get one, cool. If not, you set an alarm on your phone for a minute before the top of the hour and try again. I already do a version of this when using Maxpass to keep track of when I can make the next one,


----------



## VandVsmama

I think that the boarding group solution that Disney has come up with is a pretty good one all things considered.


----------



## Boku41

DLgal said:


> So? Let 3x the hourly capacity into the ride queue amd then let in the hourly capacity every hour. So, using made up numbers, if the capacity is 1500 per hour and they are running at 50%, that would be 750 per hour. Open the line and count in your 750x3. Let in 2250 people. After an hour, if the ride is still operating reliably, let in 750 more. Repeat every hour. It's not that hard. This would be the same as releasing "boarding groups" once an hour. At park opening, release 2250 people worth of boarding groups. Release 750 people worth of boarding groups every hour. This will discourage people from loitering around the ride entrance, but will put everyone on an equal playing field at the top of the hour. When the ride goes down, temporarily stop issuing boarding groups. This makes a lot more sense than appeasing those folks with free tickets, fastpasses to come back later, etc.


So are you suggesting that to give people that can't show up at rope drop a chance, you would make the unsuccessful people at rope drop hang around and fail every hour on the hour all day? The result is the same amount of people going on the ride, but 50,000 more failed attempts at securing a boarding group and thousands of wasted hours trying. Plus penalizing those that do come at rope drop from enjoying anything else at Disneyland that day because they will need to worry about cell coverage and preparing for the top of the hour every hour.


----------



## Boku41

DLgal said:


> How would you not be able to do anything else? That makes no sense. At the top of the hour, you spend the 30 seconds to try and snag the next set of BG. I'm not advocating Disney release them willy nilly, but on an hourly schedule. If you get one, cool. If not, you set an alarm on your phone for a minute before the top of the hour and try again. I already do a version of this when using Maxpass to keep track of when I can make the next one,


Take Indiana Jones for instance. Would you risk getting in that line and being inside at the top of the hour?


----------



## rteetz

DLgal said:


> Can you elaborate? Why not?


Rides can’t operate efficiently like that. No rose isn’t currently operating well as it is but that would only make it worse.


----------



## baozi

FOP I guess...



montreid said:


> MFSR is nice, but it's not ROTR....not even close.  3-4 hours okay.  POF is often this still.   5+ hours?  7 hours?  That's a PR issue that Disney clearly is trying to avoid.


----------



## rteetz

montreid said:


> MFSR is nice, but it's not ROTR....not even close.  3-4 hours okay.  POF is often this still.   5+ hours?  7 hours?  That's a PR issue that Disney clearly is trying to avoid.


It’s not just that. The ride isn’t operating at full capacity on either coast. Boarding groups gives disney more control and allows guests to have a more pleasant experience when there is downtime.


----------



## Vysecity

Seems best strategy is to have app opened on main page then hit the "learn more" exactly at 8, yes??


----------



## ShellB

I’m confused, I have questions-

I’m going next week Tuesday-Thursday. I figure Wednesday is my day to try and get on the ride. *How early should I arrive to the main entrance?* The Park opens at 9am, CD has MM. 

I'm confused by the comments. *Are boarding groups only open at the top of each hour? *So every hour I should retry to get on?


----------



## JoySK

ShellB said:


> I’m confused, I have questions-
> 
> I’m going next week Tuesday-Thursday. I figure Wednesday is my day to try and get on the ride. *How early should I arrive to the main entrance?* The Park opens at 9am, CD has MM.
> 
> I'm confused by the comments. *Are boarding groups only open at the top of each hour? *So every hour I should retry to get on?


Can’t answer how early, as there’s only been 2 days and maybe some others can advise - but no, the boarding groups are available at official park open time and that is it. The debate for the last few pages is hypothetical.


----------



## brightlined

ShellB said:


> I’m confused, I have questions-
> 
> I’m going next week Tuesday-Thursday. I figure Wednesday is my day to try and get on the ride. *How early should I arrive to the main entrance?* The Park opens at 9am, CD has MM.
> 
> I'm confused by the comments. *Are boarding groups only open at the top of each hour? *So every hour I should retry to get on?


Ignore all of DLgirl's posts - she's spitballing ideas on how to improve the wait.

There's one release of all of the day's boarding groups exactly at park open. You'll probably want to be at DL's entrance no later than 8:30am.


----------



## socaldisneylover

Is strength of signal, and the # of bars, the most important factor to consider?  How much is that impacted by the amount of people you are near who are also trying to use the app?

I know there's a lot of discussion about entering the app at the time groups open, but then there are others who say they had the app open already, and still were successful in getting the button to appear right away.  If the key is really to have a great signal, then I would concentrate on only that the next time, and open the app just before 8 AM.


----------



## GoldeneyezCA

Vysecity said:


> Seems best strategy is to have app opened on main page then hit the "learn more" exactly at 8, yes??


Yes, this is what worked for us.  We had 3 phones (two iPhone XS Max’s and one iPhone 10, all on Verizon data).  We had full cellular service (4 bars) at Ronto Roasters and maybe 3 people in the immediate vicinity - it was empty back there.  The regular iPhone 10 is my work phone and tends to be more reliable at the parks, so I had the app open on that one, and we opened the apps on the other 2 at 8:00.  My husband’s app wouldn’t open at all, and my 10 immediately went to BG 20 when I pushed the button, so I didn’t even see what happened on my other phone.  

Based our experience, and all the app issues today, I would have the app open to the landing page showing the “find out more” button.  And like another poster said before, if you have MP, try booking one before 8 am to make sure everyone in your party is showing up.


----------



## CastAStone

socaldisneylover said:


> Is strength of signal, and the # of bars, the most important factor to consider?  How much is that impacted by the amount of people you are near who are also trying to use the app?
> 
> I know there's a lot of discussion about entering the app at the time groups open, but then there are others who say they had the app open already, and still were successful in getting the button to appear right away.  If the key is really to have a great signal, then I would concentrate on only that the next time, and open the app just before 8 AM.


Honestly it seems like the most critical thing is getting your app to show you the red button and then how fast you can scoot through the rest.

Yes, the server will take the requests in the order it gets them, so finding a quicker path is beneficial (there’s a reason every big bank pays millions of dollars a year to have a server immediately next To the NYSE server), but reading the thread, so much of the struggle of the people with later or BUBGs is getting the dang red button to show.


----------



## CastAStone

We officially made it to Backups! Should have 4-5 more hours of BGs too!


----------



## ckb_nc

VandVsmama said:


> I think that the boarding group solution that Disney has come up with is a pretty good one all things considered.



it is pretty fair right now - yes it’s an absolute lottery system; got 71 yesterday and 36 today.2 different phones right at 8. The rules are simple - been in the park at 8 and try. It discourages camping at all night and when we went in both times that part of the park was pretty calm.
Last evening rode behind us was the Imagineer who designed the ride vehicles. She was with her husband and her sister - so cool to see.
It was a axing both times and jaw dropping. Harry Potter was to me the high bar for immersion in Florida but thus ride is in a whole different category


----------



## ckb_nc

dina444444 said:


> The ride is currently taking in at most half of its optimal capacity an hour and they don’t want a hagrid’s situation on their hands.


Exactly Hagrid was a near nightmare


----------



## EmJ

To be honest, all the arguments about what is the “fairest” method of distributing ROTR’s limited supply boil down to “if it suits my touring style and I got a boarding group, it’s fair” and “if it doesn’t suit my touring style or I didn’t get a boarding group, it’s not fair”.

There is no way on god’s green earth that Disneyland could come up with a boarding system that makes 100% of park goers happy. If they did FP with a standby line, the fast passes would also be gone in less than one minute after opening, and then everyone else would complain that they spent $84 for a day ticket to stand in line, and the ride broke down, and they didn’t get on anyway. Or if they did, they spent $84 to stand in line and ride one ride. BUT people who have the chance to go back a lot, don’t mind wasting a day in line, and want to sleep in might be happy.

I personally don’t think Disney will change the boarding group system for a long time, and not unless it either becomes unnecessary because interest has waned OR because a critical mass of guests are truly unhappy. Right now, it seems like this system works for almost everyone, with only a minority finding it unsuitable.


----------



## montreid

ckb_nc said:


> it is pretty fair right now - yes it’s an absolute lottery system; got 71 yesterday and 36 today.2 different phones right at 8. The rules are simple - been in the park at 8 and try. It discourages camping at all night and when we went in both times that part of the park was pretty calm.
> Last evening rode *behind us was the Imagineer who designed the ride vehicles*. She was with her husband and her sister - so cool to see.
> It was a axing both times and jaw dropping. Harry Potter was to me the high bar for immersion in Florida but thus ride is in a whole different category


That is SO awesome.  It's times like that I love.   Had chatted with Tony Baxter for a few minutes in SDCC a few years back and still goosed by that memory.


----------



## VandVsmama

It's only been 2 days so far.  I think that rather than getting upset over the current situation, we should just be patient and see how it plays out.  I've been also casually watching the WDW thread on this same topic and it's been interesting to see how the boarding group assignment times play out.  

Some park guests will opt out of trying to get on ROTR for a few months or even a year or two.  Some park guests are die hard fans and will get up super early to devote the time to being there for a chance at 8 am to get a boarding group.  Others won't.

In a way, it's kind of similar to what happened for years with RSR in Carsland.  You guys remember all of the threads & reports of people being in the long line FP kiosk line to get FPs for RSR right at DCA park opening?  Or everybody jockeying in position to use the wide right technique so you had an optimal chance of being one of the first ones on the ride?  And how there were complaints even back then that it "wasn't fair" to people who got there after the FPs were all gone for the day (they went like wildfire)?  Well look at how many years after Carsland opened it is now and still every day, RSR runs out of FP.

ROTR is going to be the same way for the next 10 years.  Will they use boarding groups forever?  Who knows?  I don't think so, but I could be wrong.  

I suspect that after the first month, a good chunk of the local AP holders will have gone on ROTR once or twice and then will be satisfied with waiting a little while longer to go on it again.  This will then result in the majority of rope droppers being, once again, tourists from out of town...people there on vacation/holiday...and some of those tourists from out of town will be willing to get up early and be there before 8 am.  And some of those tourists will not be willing to do that.

So just give it a little time and things will sort themselves out.

It's been about 6 months now since the Millennium Falcon ride opened and ride wait times for that often hover around 45 min to a little over an hour from my casual observations.  Honestly, compared to 3-4 hour wait times for Flight of Passage (which is affected by the frustrating nightmare known as FP+), 45 min isn't that bad.  I do think that once boarding groups have been sunset and they go to only a standby queue, ROTR wait time will always be longer than the Millennium Falcon ride.  So I'm betting about 60-90 minutes.

Once it's just a regular standby line, then all of our old tricks of being at the front of the line at the main gate before rope drop will totally come in handy.  So will getting in the queue for the ride just before the park closes for the night...whoever's in the queue will still get to ride it even if the park is officially closed.  We've done this regularly now for other rides on previous trips.

But in the meantime, I am SO THANKFUL for the DIS community here online because this is a treasure trove of info.  Seriously...this place rocks.  You guys are awesome.


----------



## brightlined

EmJ said:


> To be honest, all the arguments about what is the “fairest” method of distributing ROTR’s limited supply boil down to “if it suits my touring style and I got a boarding group, it’s fair” and “if it doesn’t suit my touring style or I didn’t get a boarding group, it’s not fair”.


Exactly this, but also: Day 2 of operations is too early to be talking about what "should" be happening. It's not like Disney is listening to a message board.

I'm not a mod, but I would strongly suggest that if people want to make suggestions on changing anything, they do so in another thread where it can be reasonably discussed without interfering with what's happening right now.


----------



## Skyegirl1999

EmJ said:


> To be honest, all the arguments about what is the “fairest” method of distributing ROTR’s limited supply boil down to “if it suits my touring style and I got a boarding group, it’s fair” and “if it doesn’t suit my touring style or I didn’t get a boarding group, it’s not fair”.
> 
> There is no way on god’s green earth that Disneyland could come up with a boarding system that makes 100% of park goers happy. If they did FP with a standby line, the fast passes would also be gone in less than one minute after opening, and then everyone else would complain that they spent $84 for a day ticket to stand in line, and the ride broke down, and they didn’t get on anyway. Or if they did, they spent $84 to stand in line and ride one ride. BUT people who have the chance to go back a lot, don’t mind wasting a day in line, and want to sleep in might be happy.
> 
> I personally don’t think Disney will change the boarding group system for a long time, and not unless it either becomes unnecessary because interest has waned OR because a critical mass of guests are truly unhappy. Right now, it seems like this system works for almost everyone, with only a minority finding it unsuitable.


Meh.  I’m not sure it’s going to work well long-term.  I don’t find it “unfair” or “unsuitable,” and I got on just fine yesterday, so I’m certainly not a fit for “it doesn’t suit my style or a didn’t get a boarding group.”  I’m honestly thinking, “if I’m Disney, and I’ve got a huge hit on my hands, but people aren’t coming to my parks and a lot of people are unhappy anyway,” I’m looking to change that system.  People love the ride.  But park attendance doesn’t look great for MLK weekend.  And that’s gotta be a problem for them.

It’s too early to say if that’s the case long-term, but if it DOES stay that way, I could see them changing it up.

ETA: I’m not *complaining* about the current system at all.  I have zero emotional investment in what they do.  I’m just considering whether it’s working well for Disney’s bottom line, which is what they care about, because they’re a business.  And again, it’s way too early to tell right now!  But what works at WDW, where this ride is in one of the less-popular parks, may be different than what works best here.  That’s all I’m saying.


----------



## ironband74

Touch wood, but after the earlier breakdown it seems to have been going steady now for about 4 hours.  At noon it was BG 32, and at 4pm BG 77, That's better than 10 an hour over a 4 hour stretch.

I can't imagine being one of the maintenance people assigned to this attraction. Super stressful, I'm sure.


----------



## katyringo

The more I think about it the more I think Disney is using the best solution there is.

In WDW they really need to restructure  fast pass tiers for holly wood studios before they add add ROR to the mix there. Having the boarding group I think there actually makes it possible to ride ROR and have a fastpass for another tier 1 ride..

mans disneyland if your added it to maxpass without a standby it would just the same exact thing except fastpasses for it would be gone in seconds.. the only thing is that they could use the standby line is stead of back up BG... but then you have the standby line craziness.

I’ve watched some YouTube videos of when avatar land opened at WDW and holy cow... yeah I think Disney knew exactly what they were doing opening 2 Star Wars lands and then opening it in phases..

I think we will see this boarding group situation for awhile.

one thing is bugging me. I dunno just rubs me the wrong way I guess. Seeing a lot of you tubers and instgramers who got to ride multiple times at the media event, then came opening day, and are there again today.  I know we can’t control people but at least this system limits everyone to 1 ride per day.... it would be nice if people accepted 1 ride per trip...


----------



## EmJ

brightlined said:


> Exactly this, but also: Day 2 of operations is too early to be talking about what "should" be happening. It's not like Disney is listening to a message board.
> 
> I'm not a mod, but I would strongly suggest that if people want to make suggestions on changing anything, they do so in another thread where it can be reasonably discussed without interfering with what's happening right now.


I did think to myself that we have all this time for debate because we are NOT talking about ride breakdowns today, lol. Other than the breakdown at 10 am, the ride data looks amazing so far today! https://www.thrill-data.com/waits/attraction/disneyland/starwarsriseoftheresistance/


----------



## brightlined

Skyegirl1999 said:


> Meh.  I’m not sure it’s going to work well long-term.  I don’t find it “unfair” or “unsuitable,” and I got on just fine yesterday, so I’m certainly not a fit for “it doesn’t suit my style or a didn’t get a boarding group.”  I’m honestly thinking, “if I’m Disney, and I’ve got a huge hit on my hands, but people aren’t coming to my parks and a lot of people are unhappy anyway,” I’m looking to change that system.  People love the ride.  But park attendance doesn’t look great for MLK weekend.  And that’s gotta be a problem for them.


This ride really isn't here to improve attendance. Right now, it'll be lucky to get 10,000 through it per day, and Disneyland's average daily attendance is 50,000. Most people who go to DL this weekend won't be able to ride it.

Honestly, ROTR is there to be the diamond in the Imagineering portfolio, proving that Disney does theme park rides better than anyone else. So far, so good.


----------



## CaliforniaGirl09

baozi said:


> Not to you specific question, but I think WDW and DLR share the same system, same mechanism as far as authorization and authentication go. You can make an experiment with both apps logged out, and log into one of them, then you can see it logs into the other as well.


Good idea. Will do that. 



twodogs said:


> Hi all, We are back at GCH for a break, so I thought I would quickly post our experience today for our first try at ROTR.
> 
> 0600: left GCH, no line whatsoever at security to get into DTD
> 
> 0605: arrived at gates, no lines at MM only gates to far right, but we have APs and using EMH and several CMs could not tell me if we could use the 2 lines marked MM (as opposed to the other lines which were marked MM/EMH), so we got in a line marked MM/EMH to be safe.  About 13 people in front of us.  Regular entry lines already past the monorail and about 1/2 between monorail and DCA.
> 
> 0640: (I think, was too hyped to look at phone) opened gates.  Regular lines well past DCA.  Our gate had immediate problems as CM was brand new and very frazzled and angry.  She could not get first family’s tickets to scan, then finally retook their photos several times; next family is told by her that they already used their MM (they were staying onsite, so also had EMH); argument ensues, lead comes over, pulls them aside, takes tickets and leaves; next family has tickets and shows their DVC keys to GCH (which look different than our regular GCH keys) and she tells them that DVC doesn’t get you EMH, argument ensues, lead comes back with first family’s tickets, tells her DVC keys are good and overrides, lets first family in since they do have EMH; OUR turn finally!!  Scans my AP and says it is expired and I can’t enter.  She is fuming now as all the guests are anxious and nothing working. Calls lead over, takes our APs, we step aside.  Next family shows no tickets valid.  Lead brings our AP back, she has to override them and we finally enter.  It was stressful and unnecessary for everyone; no idea why they put a clearly brand new CM on the gates at MM/EMH for ROTR weekend.  We knew we had plenty of time, so stayed calm but it was nerve racking.
> 
> 0700: pin trading.  Walking up Main Street, and CM’s telling all EMH guests to have room keys out to get into Tomorrowland (blocked by the red corn dog wagon Area with ropes.  Rest of non-EMH guests allowed up around the Hub on Main Street.  We show keys and they let us into Tomorrowland (and you had to go this way if you wanted to get to FL also).  Rode SM with no wait x 2, shopped, etc.
> 
> 0735:  Decided at 7:35 to start looking for good signals.  We had 6 phones all logged into the app as me:
> iPhone 7 WiFi only
> iphone 10 Wifi only
> iphone 10R Verizon
> iphone 10R Verizon
> iphone 10 Verizon
> iphone 11 AT&T
> 
> There were 4 of us, so DD14 and I each had one WiFi phone and one Verizon cell phone.  DD12 had her Verizon cell and DH his ATT cell. DD14 and I stood near Buzz gift shop per @wonkakid’s advice for good WiFi (had good Wifi and cell here).  DD12 and DH went to train station loading area and neither had a signal so they walked over to the entrance the Subs).  We put one WiFi phone and one Verizon 10R with app already open.  All other phones, we hard-closed app prior to 8.  Crowds were thick but not insane at Buzz FP kiosks (there was a line of 20-30 there right at 7am and it grew) with people who had no phones or were hedging bets on an IT issue.
> 
> I used my Apple Watch to count the seconds.  Right at 8, we all opened app, but those that were already opened went to Find out More and got red button immediately.  I got the red button immediately on both my WiFi phone and my Verizon cell but the app had to open.  DH never got the red button at all on ATT cell.  I immediately got “you are already in a boarding group” on both my Wifi and Verizon phones.  DD12 and DD14 are not sure which of them actually got the group, so it was either Verizon cell or WiFi, but both phones that got in the fastest ALREADY had the app open when 8am hit.  I know that is counter to what people at WDW were recommending (they recommended hard-close app and open right at 8, which also worked, but was not as fast as app open for our family).  Got BG 14!!!!!!
> 
> Rode Buzz, Pirates, and group called right at 845.  In line at 9am, on at 933, off around 10.  Line moved continuously, and no breakdowns.  Loved the ride and will try tomorrow but the process will be a little different since no EMH.
> 
> Right after we got our BG, APs disappeared from phone and would not let me book MP (though I had booked MP right at going through gates at 0700, so it was working earlier).  Kept telling me to purchase MP for our AP, even though we already have MP!!  We didn’t want to waste time at GS, and about 9 or so, the app was showing a message that all MP was down.  But then I was able to book one anyway??  It was weird.  I think the whole system crashed this AM.
> 
> So grateful to all on these boards and the WDW boards, as all of your advice was valuable this AM.  We also needed the Force because many people around us did not get BGs.  It was very sad.  Some had technical issues, some had parties that were showing as not in the park.  My Advice there is that if you can, try to book a MP right after entering the park (before BGs drop).  If you can do that for all in the party, then you know it recognizes you as all in the park.  If not, it will error on the MP booking and you will hopefully have time to go to GS before BGs drop.
> 
> MTFBW everyone (including us!) as we try again tomorrow!!!!


This is fantastic. Thank you so much!! 



Aurora0427 said:


> This is super helpful and we will follow this strategy next weekend!!!!


Us, too. We will see you there


----------



## ironband74

Disney clearly put a lot of thought into how they were going to handle this.  As someone who revels in going to the parks when they are at their busiest, I think that the system is working as intended and doing what it is intended to do.  Anyone remember when Star Tours first opened?  When Indy first opened?  

It's super early.  I'm going to watch with interest.  So far the only thing that I don't like is that the attraction shuts down before the rest of the park did yesterday.  I'm curious to see if that is the norm.  Hip shot:  If they get through all the BGs and BBGs for a day, I'd love to see them do a second drop of BGs for the evening.  But I haven't thought that all the way through and I'm sure that would solve more problems than it solves.


----------



## EmJ

Skyegirl1999 said:


> Meh.  I’m not sure it’s going to work well long-term.  I don’t find it “unfair” or “unsuitable,” and I got on just fine yesterday, so I’m certainly not a fit for “it doesn’t suit my style or a didn’t get a boarding group.”  I’m honestly thinking, “if I’m Disney, and I’ve got a huge hit on my hands, but people aren’t coming to my parks and a lot of people are unhappy anyway,” I’m looking to change that system.  People love the ride.  But park attendance doesn’t look great for MLK weekend.  And that’s gotta be a problem for them.
> 
> It’s too early to say if that’s the case long-term, but if it DOES stay that way, I could see them changing it up.
> 
> ETA: I’m not *complaining* about the current system at all.  I have zero emotional investment in what they do.  I’m just considering whether it’s working well for Disney’s bottom line, which is what they care about, because they’re a business.  And again, it’s way too early to tell right now!  But what works at WDW, where this ride is in one of the less-popular parks, may be different than what works best here.  That’s all I’m saying.


Wouldn’t the same thing happen if it were fastpass plus standby though? Serious question. But I have to imagine people would be getting there CRAZY early, maybe 3 or 4 am in the hope of getting a good spot in the standby line in case they aren’t able to snag a fastpass in the 30 seconds after opening. So the people who are staying away from perceived mobs would be seeing the same thing on social media, and maybe worse. Then Disney not only has people avoiding the parks, but people who could be dining and shopping tied up in a standby queue instead.

Idk. It’s a sticky wicket. I do agree there probably needs to be a separate “ROTR praise and gripes” thread or something, lol.


----------



## brightlined

ironband74 said:


> It's super early.  I'm going to watch with interest.  So far the only thing that I don't like is that the attraction shuts down before the rest of the park did yesterday.  I'm curious to see if that is the norm.


Complete speculation: I'm betting that will be the norm, at least with midnight closings. With the amount of nightly maintenance that it needs, they'll probably need those extra hours.

If it means a seemingly successful day like today, it seems like it's worth it.



ironband74 said:


> Hip shot:  If they get through all the BGs and BBGs for a day, I'd love to see them do a second drop of BGs for the evening.  But I haven't thought that all the way through and I'm sure that would solve more problems than it solves.


They'd have to announce it during what could be the busiest part of the day. If they end up underestimating BGs in the morning, it just means upping the number of them the next day. (I believe they went lighter today than yesterday.)


----------



## CastAStone

ironband74 said:


> So far the only thing that I don't like is that the attraction shuts down before the rest of the park did yesterday. I'm curious to see if that is the norm.


It is in Florida.


----------



## montreid

Nah-- you can only talk about boarding groups and status of ride so much    Plus, we have 200+ pages to catch up to DWDs ROTRs thread.


----------



## Amunet

I have a question about other rides and how they are affected by these BG.
Does everyone crowd around the Star Wars area for boarding groups or is it pretty spread out? I'm trying to figure out when to go on the Millennium Falcon ride. When we plan on trying for a BG, it will have MM/EMH. If I get a BG that day, would it be best to book  it over to the ride and do standby there?

Thus far, how have lines been for other rides? Are they quite full because of the influx of people?


----------



## montreid

CastAStone said:


> It is in Florida.


2 hours before close is the typical WDW MO.    Last night it was 2.5 hours here in DLR


----------



## NorthernCalMom

Lesley Wake said:


> That just seems like absolute hell. You WILL have people just camped out around the ride entrance all day.
> 
> Yes, the virtual queue is not ideal. But really when you have a ride with this high of a demand, nothing is going to be a perfect situation. Everyone’s perfect situation is that they get to ride. For every person that gets to ride, there are so many more who weren’t able to. Honestly the VQ is the best method for the current situation.



I so, so agree. Right now you have all the people who are willing to rope drop compete for a limited number of ride spots. If you were to release those spots in chunks throughout the day, not only would the same number of people compete for a smaller number of tickets first thing in the morning but a far larger number of people would compete over the later released ones. The result for people who travel from afar, who may only have a few days in the parks (as supposed to AP holders who can come back easily), and who can now increase their chances at getting to ride by coming early, would have a far, far lower chance at getting to ride at all. Ride spots would become these mythical golden tickets you are unlikely to ever get your hands on, unless you’re in the parks frequently. I like the current system because, even though it uses an element of chance, it also allows us to improve the odds, regardless if we are on a once-in-a-lifetime visit or come every weekend, by putting in some work and research. Seems fair to me.

Just another opinion...


----------



## Vysecity

I hate to be "that guy" but it seems to be moving pretty well today


----------



## CastAStone

Amunet said:


> I have a question about other rides and how they are affected by these BG.
> Does everyone crowd around the Star Wars area for boarding groups or is it pretty spread out? I'm trying to figure out when to go on the Millennium Falcon ride. When we plan on trying for a BG, it will have MM/EMH. If I get a BG that day, would it be best to book  it over to the ride and do standby there?
> 
> Thus far, how have lines been for other rides? Are they quite full because of the influx of people?


Yesterday MFSR had its longest waits of the day right after rope drop, except for when they dumped the ROTR queue late morning. Right after lunch it was 30 minutes for a while, and after 6 PM it stayed 35 or lower til close.

So no, don’t go in the early morning. Waits for the other lands were the best of the day while MFSR was the worst of the day.


----------



## Amunet

CastAStone said:


> Yesterday MFSR had its longest waits of the day right after rope drop, except for when they dumped the ROTR queue late morning. Right after lunch it was 30 minutes for a while, and after 6 PM it stayed 35 or lower til close.
> 
> So no, don’t go in the early morning. Waits for the other lands were the best of the day while MFSR was the worst of the day.


Ah, the park closes at 9pm that night, so going after 6pm will still be a good idea?
I'm trying to figure out the most efficient way to use normal fastpasses/ride order but these BGs are really throwing everything for a loop lol


----------



## NorthernCalMom

dina444444 said:


> I wouldn’t. I would rather know at the beginning of the day what the day is going to look like compared to an hourly lottery.


Worse, an hourly lottery with steadily decreasing odds, since (at least in my experience from having been there in the the summer only; maybe it’s different during other parts of the year—I wouldn‘t know) the crowd levels tend to go up during the day until they reach a fairly steady high at which they usually stay until pretty late in the evening.


----------



## midnight star

Skyegirl1999 said:


> People love the ride. But park attendance doesn’t look great for MLK weekend. And that’s gotta be a problem for them.


This worries me. When park attendance was low when the first ride opened, they cut cm hours and entertainment. Hope it doesn't happen again.


----------



## CaliforniaGirl09

I've mentioned Japan's lottery before, and this would be another option. I personally like the existing system, but this is how they do it in Japan. https://tdrexplorer.com/how-to-use-the-lottery-system-at-tokyo-disney-resort/


----------



## VandVsmama

They probably stop operating ROTR a couple of hours before park close in order to ensure something like a full systems check in preparation for the following day.  I'd bet that they're spending the overnight hours reviewing how the ride operated all day and then making subtle adjustments every day.  Since there's likely a lot of computer programming involved in this, the IT side of the Imagineering crew is probably programming slight adjustments, which they, in turn, have to test at night when no guests are there.

So, for example, run a couple of hours of full systems tests with the ride operating as it does during the day...then they'd have something like a "go/no go" decision point in the middle of the night to decide whether those adjustments will go live at 8:00 am when the park opens.


----------



## LeiaOfAlderaan

I posted earlier about my concerns re: the slowness of my iPhone 6s when opening and using the most recent DL app. Posting an update in case it helps anyone else! I loaded the app on my DH and DD phones (theirs are the same model) signed in under my account and noticed their apps opened in a few seconds. Finally realized mine was super slow due to being in low power mode! I’m so glad I discovered this before our trip, since I am always in low power mode in the parks.


----------



## Mathmagicland

LeiaOfAlderaan said:


> I posted earlier about my concerns re: the slowness of my iPhone 6s when opening and using the most recent DL app. Posting an update in case it helps anyone else! I loaded the app on my DH and DD phones (theirs are the same model) signed in under my account and noticed their apps opened in a few seconds. Finally realized mine was super slow due to being in low power mode! I’m so glad I discovered this before our trip, since I am always in low power mode in the parks.


another tip, make sure fhe Disneyland app itself is set up for Cellular on.  I’ve been checking lots of settings today in prep for next weekend and found that the app itself had cellular turned off.  Likely I had done that at some point to save battery life...no wonder I’ve had spotty service in the parks, as it would only work in a,WiFi area.  Now I’ve got cellular on and my portable chargers all charged up!


----------



## Geemo

dina444444 said:


> The Chart:
> 
> View attachment 465931


I look forward to see this info for the upcoming days
Thanks


----------



## DLgal

Skyegirl1999 said:


> Meh.  I’m not sure it’s going to work well long-term.  I don’t find it “unfair” or “unsuitable,” and I got on just fine yesterday, so I’m certainly not a fit for “it doesn’t suit my style or a didn’t get a boarding group.”  I’m honestly thinking, “if I’m Disney, and I’ve got a huge hit on my hands, but people aren’t coming to my parks and a lot of people are unhappy anyway,” I’m looking to change that system.  People love the ride.  But park attendance doesn’t look great for MLK weekend.  And that’s gotta be a problem for them.
> 
> It’s too early to say if that’s the case long-term, but if it DOES stay that way, I could see them changing it up.
> 
> ETA: I’m not *complaining* about the current system at all.  I have zero emotional investment in what they do.  I’m just considering whether it’s working well for Disney’s bottom line, which is what they care about, because they’re a business.  And again, it’s way too early to tell right now!  But what works at WDW, where this ride is in one of the less-popular parks, may be different than what works best here.  That’s all I’m saying.



This is how I feel. Heck, I went to the park yesterday and didn't even attempt to be there before opening. I got there at 8:40 and had a great day with my son, not doing anything Star wars related at all. 

I don't feel that anything is unfair or doesn't suit my touring style. TBH, I don't really HAVE a "touring style." We go at all different times and days, spend anywhere from 2 hours to 10 hours in the parks. There's no set way we do things. 

HOWEVER, I have one child who is very into Star Wars. He is also autistic and trying to explain this BG system to him is just not computing in his brain. He doesn't understand why the ride is open, but I can't tell him that we will be able to ride or not. I think about all the excited kids out there whose parents will have to explain this lottery system and take a kid to the park super early, and then maybe not even get a BG that day, or the next time they try, or the next. 

There has to be a better way, is all I'm saying, and I don't expect that people will be happy to just "keep trying" day after day with no reasonable guarantee that they will ever get a chance to ride. At some point, the aggravation. and uncertainty is going to turn into anger. 

I also find it a bit disingenuous how heavily this ride is being advertised locally on television and radio, without a caveat about how difficult it is to actually get to ride it.


----------



## DLgal

brightlined said:


> This ride really isn't here to improve attendance. Right now, it'll be lucky to get 10,000 through it per day, and Disneyland's average daily attendance is 50,000. Most people who go to DL this weekend won't be able to ride it.
> 
> Honestly, ROTR is there to be the diamond in the Imagineering portfolio, proving that Disney does theme park rides better than anyone else. So far, so good.



Disney didn't spend a billion dollars and add a 14 acre land to NOT boost attendance. The land itself was designed to increase capacity by 25%.


----------



## lorenae

DLgal said:


> This is how I feel. Heck, I went to the park yesterday and didn't even attempt to be there before opening. I got there at 8:40 and had a great day with my son, not doing anything Star wars related at all.
> 
> I don't feel that anything is unfair or doesn't suit my touring style. TBH, I don't really HAVE a "touring style." We go at all different times and days, spend anywhere from 2 hours to 10 hours in the parks. There's no set way we do things.
> 
> HOWEVER, I have one child who is very into Star Wars. He is also autistic and trying to explain this BG system to him is just not computing in his brain. He doesn't understand why the ride is open, but I can't tell him that we will be able to ride or not. I think about all the excited kids out there whose parents will have to explain this lottery system and take a kid to the park super early, and then maybe not even get a BG that day, or the next time they try, or the next.
> 
> There has to be a better way, is all I'm saying, and I don't expect that people will be happy to just "keep trying" day after day with no reasonable guarantee that they will ever get a chance to ride. At some point, the aggravation. and uncertainty is going to turn into anger.
> 
> I also find it a bit disingenuous how heavily this ride is being advertised locally on television and radio, without a caveat about how difficult it is to actually get to ride it.



Yes, BUT......if you get there “super early”, you will get a boarding group and will get to ride the ride.   It’s not a lottery, it’s a matter of “first come, first served”, at least if the WDW is a good model.  

The VQ is better than waiting in line for 10 hours for a ride that may go down.   It’s not an 100% absolute guarantee, but it’s pretty good. If you get there at park opening, you will be able to ride in most cases.


----------



## Lewdannie

ahhhcrap said:


> Sat on the benches at the Main St train station facing the castle .


Sitting up higher should help, good thinking


----------



## DLgal

lorenae said:


> Yes, BUT......if you get there “super early”, you will get a boarding group and will get to ride the ride.   It’s not a lottery, it’s a matter of “first come, first served”, at least if the WDW is a good model.



No, that's not how it works. Not everyone who gets there prior to park opening gets a boarding group. Literally thousands of people didn't, both yesterday and today. Everyone gets on the app right when the park opens and tries, and many people miss out. 

There are people in a FB AP group I'm on that were there both yesterday and today, prior to park opening, and did not get a BG either time. Being there early is no guarantee.

We are going tomorrow, and are going to try, but I already told my son we probably would NOT get to ride. I give my odds of getting a BG at approx 50%.


----------



## brightlined

DLgal said:


> Disney didn't spend a billion dollars and add a 14 acre land to NOT boost attendance. The land itself was designed to increase capacity by 25%.


Galaxy's Edge was designed for that. ROTR by itself was not.


----------



## DLgal

brightlined said:


> Galaxy's Edge was designed for that. ROTR by itself was not.



Yeah, and the attendance went DOWN year over year after GE opened without RotR. Disney themselves said that they hoped the opening of this ride would reverse the low attendance phenomenon seen after GE opened.


----------



## kirlij

Thanks to everyone for taking the time to post your experiences over the last two days.  It is a great help for those of us who will be trying to snag a boarding group in the near future.


----------



## SirBill

Have a great idea, people proposing alternate ride schemes for ROTR need to have ridden Hagrids 10 times at high season.


----------



## PaintsWithAllTheColors

Quick update - as posted previously, we got boarding group 115 right around 8:01am after glitched didn’t let us in right away. 

We left around 11am and monitored from home throughout the day. We figured it was roughly 10 groups an hour. We live 40 minutes away so when it hit 105 we got in the car to head back and just entered the park. It’s currently at group 111 but appears to have been there a while. We’ll see!


----------



## disneylover102

Well, BGs are up to 111 now. I have hope that it will get up to 120!


----------



## DLRExpert

didn’t see this mentioned.

Btw the park opened 15 minutes early on Friday and 10 minutes today.
Meaning typical rope drop intro played and all attractions available.

However I wouldn’t risk riding something before original park opening time.

ME


----------



## Amunet

Mathmagicland said:


> another tip, make sure fhe Disneyland app itself is set up for Cellular on.


How do you do this?


----------



## montreid

for the back up groups -- are you given 1 or 2 hours to return back to ride?   Yesterday there were varying reports of 1-3  hours instead of the standard 2 hours


----------



## brightlined

DLgal said:


> Yeah, and the attendance went DOWN year over year after GE opened without RotR. Disney themselves said that they hoped the opening of this ride would reverse the low attendance phenomenon seen after GE opened.


That's nowhere near what you started out saying, and not at all what I was arguing with you about.

For the record: you have a much better chance getting your son on the ride under the current system (by being there at open) then you would using _any_ of the other suggestions you've made. Spreading the BGs out or having them try to organize some kind of quasi-managed line would _lessen_ your odds of getting on it, and would force you to wait hours for those lessened chances. The current method puts all of your chances into one _really good_ chance.

This is just like a hard-to-get concert ticket. Sometimes you score a ticket when they go on sale, sometimes you don't. Fortunately, here, there's a new concert every day for the foreseeable future. And the tickets should be easier to get as the season progresses.


----------



## nutshell

CaliforniaGirl09 said:


> I've mentioned Japan's lottery before, and this would be another option. I personally like the existing system, but this is how they do it in Japan. https://tdrexplorer.com/how-to-use-the-lottery-system-at-tokyo-disney-resort/


TDR’s lottery is for shows not rides. Much less availability. I’ve NEVER snagged a show lottery at TDR after several attempts. I’d much rather do the current BG method.


----------



## PaintsWithAllTheColors

Just walked by RotR. The line is crazy and people look like they’ve been sitting and waiting awhile. Seems like it’s down


----------



## EmJ

Amunet said:


> How do you do this?


Assuming you have an iPhone, open "Settings", then scroll all the way down until you see all of your individual apps. Click the Disneyland app and you should be able to see if Cellular is on. You can also confirm that the notification and location settings are how you want them.


----------



## LilyJC

montreid said:


> for the back up groups -- are you given 1 or 2 hours to return back to ride?   Yesterday there were varying reports of 1-3  hours instead of the standard 2 hours



I’ll be back with my stats, but we were backup group 92 today and had 2 hours.


----------



## Skyegirl1999

lorenae said:


> Yes, BUT......if you get there “super early”, you will get a boarding group and will get to ride the ride.   It’s not a lottery, it’s a matter of “first come, first served”, at least if the WDW is a good model.
> 
> The VQ is better than waiting in line for 10 hours for a ride that may go down.   It’s not an 100% absolute guarantee, but it’s pretty good. If you get there at park opening, you will be able to ride in most cases.


This is not true at all...

Plenty of people were there at park opening without being able to ride, both yesterday and today.

Again, not complaining, but this isn’t accurate.


----------



## brightlined

Oddly, it is, in its own way, a lottery. But it's a lottery based on randomness/chaos, not an intentional draw.


----------



## CaliforniaGirl09

nutshell said:


> TDR’s lottery is for shows not rides. Much less availability. I’ve NEVER snagged a show lottery at TDR after several attempts. I’d much rather do the current BG method.


Yep, me, too. But in the other options/methods this was one that came up in the other thread.


----------



## SOCALMouseMommy

lorenae said:


> Yes, BUT......if you get there “super early”, you will get a boarding group and will get to ride the ride.   It’s not a lottery, it’s a matter of “first come, first served”, at least if the WDW is a good model.



If only! That’s not how it works at all unfortunately. I still much prefer this to a standby line (and in fact answered as much in a survey question from Disney many months ago). My child could not wait in a 2-, 3- or 4-hour line. So at least this way we have a chance to try.


----------



## VandVsmama

DLgal said:


> This is how I feel. Heck, I went to the park yesterday and didn't even attempt to be there before opening. I got there at 8:40 and had a great day with my son, not doing anything Star wars related at all.
> 
> I don't feel that anything is unfair or doesn't suit my touring style. TBH, I don't really HAVE a "touring style." We go at all different times and days, spend anywhere from 2 hours to 10 hours in the parks. There's no set way we do things.
> 
> HOWEVER, I have one child who is very into Star Wars. He is also autistic and trying to explain this BG system to him is just not computing in his brain. He doesn't understand why the ride is open, but I can't tell him that we will be able to ride or not. I think about all the excited kids out there whose parents will have to explain this lottery system and take a kid to the park super early, and then maybe not even get a BG that day, or the next time they try, or the next.
> 
> There has to be a better way, is all I'm saying, and I don't expect that people will be happy to just "keep trying" day after day with no reasonable guarantee that they will ever get a chance to ride. At some point, the aggravation. and uncertainty is going to turn into anger.
> 
> I also find it a bit disingenuous how heavily this ride is being advertised locally on television and radio, without a caveat about how difficult it is to actually get to ride it.



So try for a boarding group, but don't tell your Star Wars kid that's what you're doing.  Tell him that there's an entirely different plan for the day.  And then if you DO luck out and get a boarding group, THEN tell him.  And, of course, go to the DAS kiosk in Galaxy's Edge so you can also get a DAS return time along with your boarding group.


----------



## montreid

This is what I've noticed too between WDW and DLR -- our crowded is very different from their crowded.   We were at WDW over xmas during the busiest times of the year.....yet it felt very much like a typical summer day at DLR.  The only times it felt crowded a la DLR was 12/26th between PP and Small World.  That felt like DLR 

Same for ROTR.  when we went, on Sat 12/28 - 6AM drop was crowded, but it was nothing like what I saw on instagram of yesterday and today at DLR --- and consistent with the regular groups gone in a minute.  

It's gotten more sane over in WDW with it lasting a few minutes so even individual technical snafu will mostly be accommodated over a few minutes.   60 secs?  it's a lottery, but as best as it can be...at least it's not at 6AM and in the rain.


----------



## PaintsWithAllTheColors

There’s no longer a range given for boarding groups, just BG 112. Does this mean it’s the last group of the day?


----------



## KPeterso

Finally home after a very long day. We had boarding group 84 which was a back up group. We were called at 4:40. Got in the line around 4:55. Asked about also using DAS and they told us we would need to get a return time still so we went through the regular line. Line was about 30-40 minutes and moved the whole time. Was not bad at all. And we loved the ride and were truly amazed by it all!!!

oh and I had asked about the wheelchair rental opening time andI had asked the cast member when I got one this am and was told that they opened at 4 am.


----------



## EmJ

PaintsWithAllTheColors said:


> There’s no longer a range given for boarding groups, just BG 112. Does this mean it’s the last group of the day?


Yes, probably so. I'm so sorry. After all that drive! But this is what they did yesterday, when it capped out at 114.


----------



## dina444444

PaintsWithAllTheColors said:


> There’s no longer a range given for boarding groups, just BG 112. Does this mean it’s the last group of the day?


Is the ride currently down? I wouldn’t count it out until we get to 10pm.


----------



## montreid

dina444444 said:


> Is the ride currently down? I wouldn’t count it out until we get to 10pm.


Same.  It's weird to close at 8PM and consistent with a shutdown -- but since it's already BG112, they may call it too -- so hard to tell what the operators maybe thinking with 4 hours of park left on Day 2.


----------



## bwvBound

socaldisneylover said:


> I don’t know if it’s been mentioned, but in Anaheim you only have One Hour after your group is called, not Two, like it is in Orlando.


We had a two hour return window today for group 41.  But later in the evening, as I've been watching, there are fewer groups in the range, inferring shorter return window.  In fact, last I checked, they were boarding only group 112 (just one group rather than a rang).  Guess those folks are expected to be standing at the attraction ready-to-go and waiting?


----------



## PaintsWithAllTheColors

EmJ said:


> Yes, probably so. I'm so sorry. After all that drive! But this is what they did yesterday, when it capped out at 114.



Bummer! That’s okay, thanks for letting us know! We’ll go console ourselves with drinks at Trader Sam’s. Who’s the true winner?


----------



## IsleofDisney

PaintsWithAllTheColors said:


> There’s no longer a range given for boarding groups, just BG 112. Does this mean it’s the last group of the day?



Can you request to be part of that BG? There might be some guests who had that group but left for the day.


----------



## BecAus

It just went to 112 - 113, don't go too far : )


----------



## DryBananaHippyHat

PaintsWithAllTheColors said:


> Bummer! That’s okay, thanks for letting us know! We’ll go console ourselves with drinks at Trader Sam’s. Who’s the true winner?


My app says they’re boarding groups 112-113 now!


----------



## montreid

DryBananaHippyHat said:


> My app says they’re boarding groups 112-113 now!


A New Hope


----------



## PaintsWithAllTheColors

BecAus said:


> It just went to 112 - 113, don't go too far : )





DryBananaHippyHat said:


> My app says they’re boarding groups 112-113 now!





montreid said:


> A New Hope



Aghhh! The emotional roller coaster is real lol  we just reached Trader Sams and the line is making me nervous, so we’re turning back around. DH is getting less and less amused but he’s a trooper so on we go!


----------



## EmJ

BecAus said:


> It just went to 112 - 113, don't go too far : )


YAY!


----------



## EmJ

PaintsWithAllTheColors said:


> Aghhh! The emotional roller coaster is real lol  we just reached Trader Sams and the line is making me nervous, so we’re turning back around. DH is getting less and less amused but he’s a trooper so on we go!


What number are you again?


----------



## PaintsWithAllTheColors

EmJ said:


> What number are you again?



115!


----------



## PaintsWithAllTheColors

PaintsWithAllTheColors said:


> 115!


WE JUST GOT CALLED!!


----------



## EmJ

It says now boarding 115!!!


----------



## midnight star

PaintsWithAllTheColors said:


> WE JUST GOT CALLED!!


yay they are getting higher than yesterday


----------



## BecAus

It just hit 115! So happy for you.  Enjoy the ride!!


----------



## JoySK

PaintsWithAllTheColors said:


> WE JUST GOT CALLED!!


I am so excited and I am in my living room in Canada right now!!  This thread has been the BEST over the past two days!


----------



## IsleofDisney

PaintsWithAllTheColors said:


> WE JUST GOT CALLED!!



Woohoo!!! Soak in every minute of it, take your time enjoying the ride, you earned it of all people!!!


----------



## BecAus

JoySK said:


> I am so excited and I am in my living room in Canada right now!!  This thread has been the BEST over the past two days!


Ha, ha - I'm in Oz! It's excruciating watching it and I'm in no way invested whatsoever, just following along with everyone's experiences.
So glad Paints with all the Colors got on! And anyone else with backup groups as well of course!


----------



## disneylover102

Literally so close. and it was all because of a bad connection this morning.


----------



## katyringo

VandVsmama said:


> So try for a boarding group, but don't tell your Star Wars kid that's what you're doing.  Tell him that there's an entirely different plan for the day.  And then if you DO luck out and get a boarding group, THEN tell him.  And, of course, go to the DAS kiosk in Galaxy's Edge so you can also get a DAS return time along with your boarding group.



this. I will actually have the first chance to ride at Disney world instead of land most likely. After many trips to land we are planning our first world trip. I’m not saying a word about this ride to my kiddo. If we can’t get on then I’ll hold the disappointment and book another trip .. we will have two days to try at Hollywood studios.

that’s another factor I just though of. Park hopping at world is much harder. We won’t have hoppers there so really we have two days to try. At Disneyland.. I think we will see a lot more people starting their day on the land side because hopping is much more a thing.


----------



## BecAus

disneylover102 said:


> Literally so close. and it was all because of a bad connection this morning.


So sorry, that's so disappointing.  Hope you get to ride in the near future.


----------



## montreid

PaintsWithAllTheColors said:


> Aghhh! The emotional roller coaster is real lol  we just reached Trader Sams and the line is making me nervous, so we’re turning back around. DH is getting less and less amused but he’s a trooper so on we go!


After the ride; great way to finish it off with Oga's or a round of Blue Milk


----------



## disneylover102

BecAus said:


> So sorry, that's so disappointing.  Hope you get to ride in the near future.


I won’t be able to. Today’s our last day.


----------



## PaintsWithAllTheColors

Well, after mass confusion at the ride entrance, cast members just came around and announced that no one is getting let on and even people already in line will be asked to exit

People are losing their minds. DH just spoke to a manager (calmly, I promise) who said the ride is totally down and everyone in the queue will be asked to exit, so really no chance at this point. 

Very confused as to why they continued to call boarding groups :/ feeling pretty bad for all the front-line CMs right now


----------



## BecAus

disneylover102 said:


> I won’t be able to. Today’s our last day.


Ohhh no, really sorry.  I'd just gone back and checked.  I thought I remembered you were 120 which you were - so disappointing : (


----------



## MonocularVision

PaintsWithAllTheColors said:


> Well, after mass confusion at the ride entrance, cast members just came around and announced that no one is getting let on and even people already in line will be asked to exit



Are they giving any compensation? Maybe a FP for the future? That is what they have done at WDW.


----------



## BecAus

PaintsWithAllTheColors said:


> Well, after mass confusion at the ride entrance, cast members just came around and announced that no one is getting let on and even people already in line will be asked to exit


Ohh no, what the ****.  I would be so upset. So sorry : (


----------



## IsleofDisney

PaintsWithAllTheColors said:


> Well, after mass confusion at the ride entrance, cast members just came around and announced that no one is getting let on and even people already in line will be asked to exit



Wow, I hope they give you some compensation for the emotional rollercoaster they put your family through


----------



## SOCALMouseMommy

PaintsWithAllTheColors said:


> Well, after mass confusion at the ride entrance, cast members just came around and announced that no one is getting let on and even people already in line will be asked to exit
> 
> People are losing their minds. DH just spoke to a manager (calmly, I promise) who said the ride is totally down and everyone in the queue will be asked to exit, so really no chance at this point.
> 
> Very confused as to why they continued to call boarding groups :/ feeling pretty bad for all the front-line CMs right now


Oh that is so sad! To be so excited that your group was called and to be right there after waiting all day. I’m so sorry!


----------



## montreid

MonocularVision said:


> Are they giving any compensation? Maybe a FP for the future? That is what they have done at WDW.


That's for those guaranteed -- but then again - you were in line already too; so a FP for tomorrow isn't out of the question to request


----------



## socaldisneylover

So they got less groups through today than yesterday.


----------



## CastAStone

socaldisneylover said:


> So they got less groups through today than yesterday.


Not exactly. They started with group 14 yesterday, today they started with group number 5. They got 103 through yesterday and something like 107 through today, depending exactly where it fell apart tonight. It says calling 113-117 now, but it majorly stalled out at 111.


----------



## PaintsWithAllTheColors

MonocularVision said:


> Are they giving any compensation? Maybe a FP for the future? That is what they have done at WDW.





IsleofDisney said:


> Wow, I hope they give you some compensation for the emotional rollercoaster they put your family through



They did say that everyone with a boarding group would get a multi-experience FP but so far nothing showed up in the app. We probably could’ve gotten something if we fought it but we’re local APs and so a FP wouldn’t really do much for us and we’ll come back soon to try RotR again.

My sincere sympathies to those who aren’t local and couldn’t ride, like @disneylover102 :/


----------



## CastAStone

I’d give the people who got called a FP for tomorrow but that’s just me.


----------



## CastAStone

PaintsWithAllTheColors said:


> we’re local APs and so a FP wouldn’t really do much for us and we’ll come back soon to try RotR again.


I dunno, with a ROTR FP, you don’t have to be there at 7 AM to get a boarding group next time, and you can ride at your leisure.


----------



## PaintsWithAllTheColors

CastAStone said:


> I dunno, with a ROTR FP, you don’t have to be there at 7 AM to get a boarding group next time, and you can ride at your leisure.



Ahhh I see, a RotR specific FP. Gotcha. Yeah that would be fantastic actually.... ugh... we’re on the tram at this point and I just can’t bring myself to lug ourselves back in. Thanks for the good idea though, I’ll definitely keep it in mind for any future mishaps


----------



## PaintsWithAllTheColors

We just got a notification indicating that “Unfortunately we are not able to honor...” on my phone, but it was just a banner notification and it didn’t pop up when I clicked it. Instead  it just showed us Multiple Experience fastpasses good until 11:59 tonight


----------



## montreid

PaintsWithAllTheColors said:


> We just got a notification indicating that “Unfortunately we are not able to honor...” on my phone, but it was just a banner notification and it didn’t pop up when I clicked it. Instead  it just showed us Multiple Experience fastpasses good until 11:59 tonight


That should be good for ROTR too.  If not, GS CM should be able to adjust it without issue


----------



## StarGirl11

PaintsWithAllTheColors said:


> We just got a notification indicating that “Unfortunately we are not able to honor...” on my phone, but it was just a banner notification and it didn’t pop up when I clicked it. Instead  it just showed us Multiple Experience fastpasses good until 11:59 tonight





montreid said:


> That should be good for ROTR too.  If not, GS CM should be able to adjust it without issue



I wouldn’t be so sure. I had a similar FP issued for WDW after I had to leave for a tour and came back to the ride down for the night. I was told at the time it would be good to ride tomorrow. Ended up at GR because it wasn’t. Got it reinstated but it was a whirlwind 24 hrs with not fun conversations and plans i thought I was good to go with. Only to be told it was the wrong info.

OP make sure you talk to someone about this. Do not assume anything when it comes to FPs and this ride.


----------



## Aurora0427

PaintsWithAllTheColors said:


> Ahhh I see, a RotR specific FP. Gotcha. Yeah that would be fantastic actually.... ugh... we’re on the tram at this point and I just can’t bring myself to lug ourselves back in. Thanks for the good idea though, I’ll definitely keep it in mind for any future mishaps



I’m so sorry.... that is
just so frustrating.


----------



## matthewthompson87

PaintsWithAllTheColors said:


> WE JUST GOT CALLED!!



Ok after that rollercoaster of will they or won’t they... I don’t think I’ve ever been so excited for a stranger on an internet message board...  and then so sorry that you got cleared out of the line.

I’m amazed by your patience—thank you for being such a good sport.


----------



## PaintsWithAllTheColors

montreid said:


> That should be good for ROTR too.  If not, GS CM should be able to adjust it without issue


Okay, good to know, thanks! It’s not going to work out for us to talk to someone and figure it out tonight, but I really do appreciate the sentiment!



StarGirl11 said:


> I wouldn’t be so sure. I had a similar FP issued for WDW after I had to leave for a tour and came back to the ride down for the night. I was told at the time it would be good to ride tomorrow. Ended up at GR because it wasn’t. Got it reinstated but it was a whirlwind 24 hrs with not fun conversations and plans i thought I was good to go with. Only to be told it was the wrong info.
> 
> OP make sure you talk to someone about this. Do not assume anything when it comes to FPs and this ride.


Point well taken. If it were any other day, or if we were on vacation as opposed to locals, we would definitely talk to someone. As it is, I’ve got a flight out of the country tomorrow at 6am and we’re just wiped at this point. I hope anyone else in my boat who’s reading this can take advantage of the advice!



Aurora0427 said:


> I’m so sorry.... that is
> just so frustrating.



Thank you! It is what it is, but it’s really nice to have this support/sympathy! Makes it feel a little less bad 



matthewthompson87 said:


> Ok after that rollercoaster of will they or won’t they... I don’t think I’ve ever been so excited for a stranger on an internet message board...  and then so sorry that you got cleared out of the line.
> 
> I’m amazed by your patience—thank you for being such a good sport.



Thanks for following along  sorry we couldn’t give you a happier ending to this tale!


----------



## Malcon10t

montreid said:


> That should be good for ROTR too.  If not, GS CM should be able to adjust it without issue


There is no FP currently at ROTR so no, you won't be able to use it there.


----------



## Evita_W

CastAStone said:


> LOL yeah it’s hard for me to imagine too many AP holders wanting to stay from open to 9:30 PM.


The ones that live within a 30 minute drive or so won't, they will go home and come back. Those that live further away are the ones that really won't out up with it long term.


----------



## montreid

Malcon10t said:


> There is no FP currently at ROTR so no, you won't be able to use it there.


There's no "FP" true -- but they do utilize the FP lanes for cases like this (recovery FP from evacuations), DAS, child swap.


----------



## socaldisneylover

It's sad that when they have a problem with the ride at around 8:00, they just decide to shut it down for the night, when the park is going to be open until midnight.


----------



## matthewthompson87

socaldisneylover said:


> It's sad that when they have a problem with the ride at around 8:00, they just decide to shut it down for the night, when the park is going to be open until midnight.



The extended downtime overnight is when they can patch bugs and re-test. Do you want the ride to improve reliability or stagnate at this throughput before the project managers move on to other pastures?


----------



## StarGirl11

Malcon10t said:


> There is no FP currently at ROTR so no, you won't be able to use it there.



Technically true but there are FPs level that work with the ride at least in WDW and I suspect DL probably has one in place that can be issued for certain situations.


----------



## ironband74

Well, day 2 in the books.  Tales of triumph and tales of woe - adventure, intrigue, joy, and sorrow.  I have never been so invested in the highs and lows of strangers at a theme park.  My wife definitely thinks I'm crazy...

So, logistical question. The boarding pass grab approaches. What's working? What's not working?

1. Open the app at park open, go to (Find Out More), if Join Boarding Group is red, tap it, if not, go back and then (Find Out More) until it is.
2. Open the app before park open, go to (Find Out More), at park open click (My Status). If Join a Boarding Group is not greyed out click it, if it is, go back and click (My Status) again.
3. Open the app before park open, go to (Find Out More, at park open click (My Status). If Join a Boarding Group is not greyed out, click it, if it is, drag down and release to refresh until it is not greyed out.
4. ???

This morning, playing along from home, option 1 didn't work very well and I didn't see a lit button until well into the backup BGs.

Tomorrow I'm thinking I'll try option 3 which I saw on twitter somewhere today.

It is looking more and more like a President's Weekend trip may be in the cards.


----------



## ironband74

matthewthompson87 said:


> The extended downtime overnight is when they can patch bugs and re-test. Do you want the ride to improve reliability or stagnate at this throughput before the project managers move on to other pastures?


From an operations standpoint, it makes a lot of sense.  As someone who will be going sometime in the next year, I like it a lot.  But for people who are going home without having ridden it and will not be returning for quite some time, that's little consolation.  Hopefully they still had a great day at the parks and can simply look at this as something to look forward to next time, whenever that might be.


----------



## panda123

ironband74 said:


> Well, day 2 in the books.  Tales of triumph and tales of woe - adventure, intrigue, joy, and sorrow.  I have never been so invested in the highs and lows of strangers at a theme park.  My wife definitely thinks I'm crazy...
> 
> So, logistical question. The boarding pass grab approaches. What's working? What's not working?
> 
> 1. Open the app at park open, go to (Find Out More), if Join Boarding Group is red, tap it, if not, go back and then (Find Out More) until it is.
> 2. Open the app before park open, go to (Find Out More), at park open click (My Status). If Join a Boarding Group is not greyed out click it, if it is, go back and click (My Status) again.
> 3. Open the app before park open, go to (Find Out More, at park open click (My Status). If Join a Boarding Group is not greyed out, click it, if it is, drag down and release to refresh until it is not greyed out.
> 4. ???
> 
> This morning, playing along from home, option 1 didn't work very well and I didn't see a lit button until well into the backup BGs.
> 
> Tomorrow I'm thinking I'll try option 3 which I saw on twitter somewhere today.
> 
> It is looking more and more like a President's Weekend trip may be in the cards.


I think the other option I've heard is

Open the app before park open, open a clock app with seconds displayed and exactly at park open, switch back to the Disneyland app and click (Find Out More) and hopefully find a red Join a Boarding Group button. If Join a Boarding Group is red, click it, if it is gray, go back to the Home page of the app and click (Find Out More) again.


----------



## ckb_nc

katyringo said:


> The more I think about it the more I think Disney is using the best solution there is.
> 
> In WDW they really need to restructure  fast pass tiers for holly wood studios before they add add ROR to the mix there. Having the boarding group I think there actually makes it possible to ride ROR and have a fastpass for another tier 1 ride..
> 
> mans disneyland if your added it to maxpass without a standby it would just the same exact thing except fastpasses for it would be gone in seconds.. the only thing is that they could use the standby line is stead of back up BG... but then you have the standby line craziness.
> 
> I’ve watched some YouTube videos of when avatar land opened at WDW and holy cow... yeah I think Disney knew exactly what they were doing opening 2 Star Wars lands and then opening it in phases..
> 
> I think we will see this boarding group situation for awhile.
> 
> one thing is bugging me. I dunno just rubs me the wrong way I guess. Seeing a lot of you tubers and instgramers who got to ride multiple times at the media event, then came opening day, and are there again today.  I know we can’t control people but at least this system limits everyone to 1 ride per day.... it would be nice if people accepted 1 ride per trip...


Pandora was a lesson learned and we experienced it in October 2018. The queuing system is a good answer to the let’s wait for 6 hours for one ride - it actually frees up guests but you have to be there first thing. I felt bad that some of the middle school band groups had no chance.


----------



## GoldeneyezCA

ckb_nc said:


> Pandora was a lesson learned and we experienced it in October 2018. The queuing system is a good answer to the let’s wait for 6 hours for one ride - it actually frees up guests but you have to be there first thing. I felt bad that some of the middle school band groups had no chance.


 I agree.  We rode FOP in Aug 2017, 3 months after opening.  We woke up at 4 am PST for 4 mornings in a row trying to get FP+’s, and finally scored one evening slot for the last day of our trip.   But since part of our family was only there for the first few days of the trip, we ended up at AK at 6:15 am for an 8 am opening with a group that included a 4 yo and my FIL with hip problems.  We were nearly trampled as everyone speed-walked to the ride, where we waited another hour in line.  The ride was incredible, the experience of getting to the ride was not, and we technically still ended up waiting in line for almost 3 hrs.  

I agree that this process isn’t fully fair or fun, but it’s still better than that chaos.  I mean, we did Indy,  Space Mtn, and a yummy breakfast at Carnation Cafe while waiting for our BG to be called today, which was sooooo much more pleasant than 3 hrs in line.  

That said, we didn’t take the kids this morning and have decided to go back tomorrow, and I’m worried about dragging them out of bed so early and maybe not getting a BG.  We’ll see....


----------



## Mathmagicland

SirBill said:


> Have a great idea, people proposing alternate ride schemes for ROTR need to have ridden Hagrids 10 times at high season.


For those of us on the west coast who have never been to UO and don’t follow it in the news, what is the Hagrid’s line wait experience that has been mentioned a few times in the debate on BG vs FP & lines here?


----------



## midnight star

Mathmagicland said:


> For those of us on the west coast who have never been to UO and don’t follow it in the news, what is the Hagrid’s line wait experience that has been mentioned a few times in the debate on BG vs FP & lines here?


it opened sometime last year and had a 10 hour stand by wait


----------



## Mathmagicland

midnight star said:


> it opened sometime last year and had a 10 hour stand by wait


Thanks!  Oh my—and I thought GotG was bad at 6 hours on opening weekend here.


----------



## GoldeneyezCA

duplicate post, sorry


----------



## Mainyo

We're going on Feb 7-9. We'll be headed down from the bay area on the 7th, which is a Friday, so we'll probably get to the park around 7p or so. I'm super excited about RotR, but unfortunately my SO doesn't share my same enthusiasm. 

Throw into the mix that we'll be bringing our 3 year old, I'm really hoping that we can get a BG on Saturday because I would be a little scared to ask them to wake up early again on Sunday, especially since Saturday will most likely be a long day for us.

Luckily we'll be staying within a 15 min walk from DLR, so we won't have to worry about parking. I'm thinking if we leave the hotel by 7ish, we should be okay. I practiced using the app this morning and had no problem getting the red button, but I'll make sure we both have our phones ready just in case.

Anyways, I just wanted to thank everyone for sharing their experiences with us here. Without it, I'd be totally unprepared and without a chance of getting a BG.

Looking forward to continuing to read about everyone's experiences and I look forward to hopefully sharing a positive one with you all in a few weeks!


----------



## theluckyrabbit

Oh, my... today's posts have been an emotional roller coaster! For those who got to ride: congratulations! For those who didn't: I'm so sorry!  (And hope that you get a chance to try again soon!) 
For everyone who posted updates, data, tips, and other information: Thank you! So helpful! Keep up the great work, DISers!


----------



## Vysecity

No updates so far today. I'm probably getting to parking Structure around 7:15. Hope I have enough time to get in before 8


----------



## handyl03

Left GCH at 6:34, through security at 6:35. Only 2 people at security. To DL gates at 6:39. Lines to monorail tracks.


----------



## Mar Mar Binks

Ok we are giving it a try today! Staying at GCF and will head over around 7:15.  Think good thoughts! Gonna have only 2 phones for the 5 of us.


----------



## Mar Mar Binks

Vysecity said:


> No updates so far today. I'm probably getting to parking Structure around 7:15. Hope I have enough time to get in before 8


Good luck! I will post an update on the lines around 7:40.


----------



## vharris2828

We will be there this week and I can’t even decide if I want to attempt tomorrow morning with crowds likely being higher. Or if I should just go for Tuesday through Friday. Curious what lines to get in do this morning.


----------



## handyl03

7:09 and they haven’t opened the gates yet. Lines heading back to DCA.


----------



## Lesley Wake

Mathmagicland said:


> For those of us on the west coast who have never been to UO and don’t follow it in the news, what is the Hagrid’s line wait experience that has been mentioned a few times in the debate on BG vs FP & lines here?





midnight star said:


> it opened sometime last year and had a 10 hour stand by wait


It also breaks down frequently (seems to have stabilized more in the past month or so), so guests either had to continue waiting in the queue with only the hope it would come back online, or leave the queue after waiting hours. So it was a constant gamble if you’d get to ride or not. 

The breakdowns got so bad they started shutting the ride down for portions of the day-either opening it late (at an unannounced time, so people would just try hovering around the entrance hoping it would open), or closing early (so people didn’t know what time they had to get there in order to get in line in time). Basically a guest relations nightmare!


----------



## Mathmagicland

vharris2828 said:


> We will be there this week and I can’t even decide if I want to attempt tomorrow morning with crowds likely being higher. Or if I should just go for Tuesday through Friday. Curious what lines to get in do this morning.


 No harm in trying today, but I’m  very curious to see how different it might be Tuesday thru Thursday as the park opens at 9am those days. I wonder if the later open time might mean fewer APs who might be able to come in to try before work with an 8am opening but not 9am?


----------



## Avery's mom

Left Tropicana at 7:06, through security at 7:13. Lines at gate are long - almost to DCA. Not being let in yet...


----------



## Avery's mom

Avery's mom said:


> Left Tropicana at 7:06, through security at 7:13. Lines at gate are long - almost to DCA. Not being let in yet...


 At 7:15. Gates opened!


----------



## vharris2828

Mathmagicland said:


> No harm in trying today, but I’m  very curious to see how different it might be Tuesday thru Thursday as the park opens at 9am those days. I wonder if the later open time might mean fewer APs who might be able to come in to try before work with an 8am opening but not 9am?


I’m curious about this too. We have four small kids in tow so I’m hoping we don’t have to try every single day this week


----------



## Mar Mar Binks

Just got here at 7:30 and the line is to the monorail on the left side where the trams come in. Longer on the other side.

Edit: 7 minutes and in. I have4 bars so staying near gate with 4 bars.


----------



## BGinCali

Gor to M&F around 6:45 today and flyiver was open but not booths on the left side. Walked  through Downtown and got to gate area at 7:25 about 1/2 way back...took 5 minutes to get through DL gate. CMs doing great job directing lines and keeping us in single files.


----------



## handyl03

Current photo of Main Street!


----------



## IsleofDisney

GoldeneyezCA said:


> I agree.  We rode FOP in Aug 2017, 3 months after opening.  We woke up at 4 am PST for 4 mornings in a row trying to get FP+’s, and finally scored one evening slot for the last day of our trip.   But since part of our family was only there for the first few days of the trip, we ended up at AK at 6:15 am for an 8 am opening with a group that included a 4 yo and my FIL with hip problems.  We were nearly trampled as everyone speed-walked to the ride, where we waited another hour in line.  The ride was incredible, the experience of getting to the ride was not, and we technically still ended up waiting in line for almost 3 hrs.
> 
> I agree that this process isn’t fully fair or fun, but it’s still better than that chaos.  I mean, we did Indy,  Space Mtn, and a yummy breakfast at Carnation Cafe while waiting for our BG to be called today, which was sooooo much more pleasant than 3 hrs in line.
> 
> That said, we didn’t take the kids this morning and have decided to go back tomorrow, and I’m worried about dragging them out of bed so early and maybe not getting a BG.  We’ll see....



When my extended family of 16 visited WDW over the summer we stayed off site so we were only able to get FP up to 30 days prior to park visit. There's no way a FP was going to be available for FOP. Of our group of 16 only 3 of us were willing to ride it - me, my DH & my DHs 74yo uncle. We waited almost 3 hrs also. After about the 1.5  hr mark I could tell that the wait was getting to  DUIL, he was just thankful we were indoors at that point. The FOP queue is amazing however there is no where to sit along the way!  It is an incredible ride & glad I did it but I don't know if I'd wait 3+ hrs again if I had no FP. There's simply sooo much to see and do at AK that we had missed out on.

I agree with @GoldeneyezCA that I'd rather not wait in 3+ or line because I'd rather do other things instead of wait and you easily can. If I don't get a BG or a back up group at least I know where I stand and can get on with the rest of my day. 

ROTR is such a unique experience that will demand a unique way to tour it for weeks if not months to come. I believe this virtual queue system is a good way to get to ride the attraction. As long as you come prepared, there's a good chance you will get to ride it. I'm sure DL parks admin will re evaluate the queue system in the coming weeks, as initial interest has died down. Or maybe it won't die down and BGs become 'This is the Way'.


----------



## ironband74

IsleofDisney said:


> Or maybe it won't die down and BGs become 'This is the Way'.



Or perhaps 'I have spoken'


----------



## Lesley Wake

Did some rides open before 8? It’s weird to see wait times up on the app already!


----------



## dina444444

Good luck to everyone today! I’m in wdw so the chart updates are going to be a bit slower this week.


----------



## ironband74

All wings, report in!


----------



## Mar Mar Binks

group 14!


----------



## handyl03

We did it! Got BG 21!


----------



## CastAStone

Backups gone at 8:02. Backups start at 82.


----------



## ironband74

Playing along at home, it seemed that regular boarding groups lasted about 30 seconds longer than yesterday, unless that was just my phone being a potato.


----------



## vharris2828

Mar Mar Binks said:


> group 14!


k what did you do!!!! Did you open app right at 759 and then join. Or open app right at 8?


----------



## wdwfan22

2 questions: Can you still get a MP right away after you get a boarding pass for ROTR? And I know they say you have to be in Disneyland park, but has anyone tried to get a boarding pass from DCA? It works for MP, so I'm just curious if someone has tried it. I think it's worth a try.


----------



## ironband74

But backups gone at 8:03...


----------



## Mathmagicland

ironband74 said:


> Playing along at home, it seemed that regular boarding groups lasted about 30 seconds longer than yesterday, unless that was just my phone being a potato.


I noticed the same thing


----------



## dina444444

wdwfan22 said:


> 2 questions: Can you still get a MP right away after you get a boarding pass for ROTR? And I know they say you have to be in Disneyland park, but has anyone tried to get a boarding pass from DCA? It works for MP, so I'm just curious if someone has tried it. I think it's worth a try.


MP opens when they open the gates so you can get your first one before the ROTR boarding group drops. They work separately of each other.


----------



## Vysecity

group 80. I'm ok with that!


----------



## vharris2828

We played at home with two phones. I’m curious is that the best way to go? Two phones? Or do we only attempt with one phone? It was slower for me to get the red button today with two phones then yesterday with one phone.


----------



## Mathmagicland

Vysecity said:


> group 80. I'm ok with that!


App says 82 & above are backups so you should be good,


----------



## CastAStone

vharris2828 said:


> We played at home with two phones. I’m curious is that the best way to go? Two phones? Or do we only attempt with one phone? It was slower for me to get the red button today with two phones then yesterday with one phone.


2 phones is 100% the way to go. If you have an old phone lying around, bring it, put it on the Disney WiFi, and try for 3.


----------



## Avery's mom

Once again, my daughter's iPhone got us a BG while our 2 Androids didn't. We stood on Main Street near Carnation Cafe yesterday, and near Jolly Holiday today. We used our data on the Verizon network. CMs were advising guests to use Disneyland WiFi, but we chose to use our data since that worked for us yesterday. We are 96 today. Had 92 yesterday.


----------



## BGinCali

Got 124 - no shot but grateful for yesterday! (My last day for AP today so was trying for a second try). Was at flag pole, data - would not load for the join boarding group. Those around me are the same high groups.  Hope others had better luck!


----------



## ironband74

Yes, for those of you with boarding groups, please advise hardware, carrier, and method.

On my Android, (at home) I found that pulling down to refresh the My Status page did not work to activate the button, but going back from My Status did activate the red button.


----------



## CastAStone

Just as a note, Len Testa (@lentesta) posted on the WDWMagic boards that the Touring Plans/The Unofficial Guide team has been counting riders exiting the ride; at WDW they’re currently averaging (in between times where the ride is obviously down) 1200-1400/ hour while at DLP it’s only 700 so far.
Lots of upside to get after.

The hourly capacity is intended to settle at ~1700/hr.


----------



## Mathmagicland

wdwfan22 said:


> 2 questions: Can you still get a MP right away after you get a boarding pass for ROTR? And I know they say you have to be in Disneyland park, but has anyone tried to get a boarding pass from DCA? It works for MP, so I'm just curious if someone has tried it. I think it's worth a try.


I have not yet seen anyone willing to risk a try from DCA...


----------



## cm123

I'm starting to think the way to go is go to the park......all while running an android emulator at home on your stable internet and run a script that checks you in at exactly 8am


----------



## Theok029

I have an IPhone 11 Pro Max on ATT. On Jan 18 and 19, I waited by the Frontierland entrance because I had full signal there. Making sure I had all my parties tickets linked, I opened the app fresh at 758am and waited for my clock to go to 8am. Right when that happened, I hit Find Out More. If join wasn’t on, immediately go back and try again and smack that join button, verify group, and continue. I got 5 the first day for a party of 6 and 30 the second for party of 5.

I’d also recommend you just only have your group’s tickets linked if you have a bunch linked to your app.


----------



## laugard

Group 74! Never been here for opening, but thought we'd try and so appreciate reading about everyone's experiences here. We live 45 min away at entered the parking structure at 6:57. Was in the security line at 7:18 and on the tram at 7:38. We lined up at disney, very nervous about whether we'd be in by 8 as they hadn't started scanning. But we made it in at 7:51 and I got BG 74!!!


----------



## Mathmagicland

BGinCali said:


> Got 124 - no shot but grateful for yesterday! (My last day for AP today so was trying for a second try). Was at flag pole, data - would not load for the join boarding group. Those around me are the same high groups.  Hope others had better luck!


This is interesting, as yesterday @dina444444 and others were around the flagpole and got very low boarding groups...


----------



## MonocularVision

cm123 said:


> I'm starting to think the way to go is go to the park......all while running an android emulator at home on your stable internet and run a script that checks you in at exactly 8am



I have been capturing the network traffic of the app in the morning and it looks fairly trivial to write a script to directly make the calls needed as opposed to going through the trouble of running an emulator.

Note: I have been doing this to try to figure out which navigation in the app might be best to use, not to write such a script. I would not use my account with such a script to avoid getting locked out or flagged in any way.


----------



## katyringo

I’ve been reading on the WDW thread that most people are getting boarding groups now. It makes sense that Florida as increased the capacity over time and DL will get there too.


----------



## Mike_M

Got group 21 today!

I flew down from Seattle this weekend specifically for this and it’s paid off well!

very happy this weekend.


----------



## EmJ

MonocularVision said:


> I have been capturing the network traffic of the app in the morning and it looks fairly trivial to write a script to directly make the calls needed as opposed to going through the trouble of running an emulator.


Words I understood from this sentence: I, have, of, it, and, as, to


----------



## Abbey1

Can someone explain to me what the benefit is to selecting the My Status button instead of Join Boarding Group from the RotR page? It seems like this would add an additional step to the process but from what I’ve read, it sounds like this is the consensus of the best way to go?


----------



## laugard

I should add - I was using an Android. I opened the app at 7:59, then right at 8 tapped Find out more. Join Boarding Group was available to tap and after making sure the group in my party was correct, I  continued and was in!


----------



## Mar Mar Binks

vharris2828 said:


> k what did you do!!!! Did you open app right at 759 and then join. Or open app right at 8?


We actually had a friend do it from home!  We were able to get to the boarding group selection right away also but they had already beat us by about two seconds.

edit: we were on the main app page and right at 8 and 1 sec selected find out more. Boarding group was lit up and my husband was able to select boarding groups but by then my friend it already gotten in. So likely got us maybe a few boarding groups faster for him to beat us by about three or four seconds.


----------



## cm123

laugard said:


> I should add - I was using an Android. I opened the app at 7:59, then right at 8 tapped Find out more. Join Boarding Group was available to tap and after making sure the group in my party was correct, I  continued and was in!



The last 2 days I have been trying to do that method on my Android phone and didn't have any luck - only worked after I forced closed the app. Weird.


----------



## montreid

@dina444444

Correct if wrong:

715 Gates open
800 Drop
801-2ish Reg BG out' cutoff  82
802 Backup BG out at ??

-We assisted today from home.   BG14


----------



## matthewthompson87

MonocularVision said:


> I have been capturing the network traffic of the app in the morning...
> 
> ...I have been doing this to try to figure out which navigation in the app might be best to use,



Ooh! Good idea. Eager to hear your findings eventually (if you plan on sharing them?).


----------



## dina444444

montreid said:


> @dina444444
> 
> Correct if wrong:
> 
> 745 Gates open
> 800 Drop
> 802 Reg BG out' cutoff  82
> 803 Backup BG out at ??
> 
> -We assisted today from home.   BG14


I think gates opened at 7:15 and all groups were gone at 8:02.


----------



## Mar Mar Binks

Mar Mar Binks said:


> We actually had a friend do it from home!  We were able to get to the boarding group selection right away also but they had already beat us by about two seconds.


----------



## Skyegirl1999

Abbey1 said:


> Can someone explain to me what the benefit is to selecting the My Status button instead of Join Boarding Group from the RotR page? It seems like this would add an additional step to the process but from what I’ve read, it sounds like this is the consensus of the best way to go?


When I got group 46 on Friday, I used “Join Boarding Group.”  Specifically, I had the app open and was pull-down refreshing the “My Status” page because the people nearby who’d ridden at WDW said to do that.  However, after doing that once or twice at 8 with no results, and hearing people start to cheer that they were getting BGs, I quickly went “back” a page and was able to hit “Join Boarding Group.”

I have an iPhone 11pro and Verizon.  Was in the crush of humanity by Buzz.


----------



## DLgal

No luck for me on a brand new Galaxy S10, with 5 bars of signal.

I launched the app right at 8, and my buttons never turned red at all. I never even had the option. Button was greyed out with "loading" showing. The My Status button wasn't even red. I tried refreshing, closing and relaunching. Nothing. I'm pissed and my son was practically in tears saying "the phone is not working" while everyone around us was cheering. 

I calmed him down and we got in line to renew his DAS. The CM asked if we got a BG and I told her what happened. She said it happens to a lot of people and the system is a complete crapshoot. She told me this BG system won't be in place very long. She said it should go straight standby sooner rather than later. She then hooked us up with an earlier return time for MFSR since we had such a disappointing morning so far.

We will try again Tuesday but I don't know what else we can do if my phone/app just decides to hang up again. I'm the only one with a phone. I followed all the advice I've read about how to optimize my chances, but when the app is unresponsive, that all goes out the window.


----------



## dina444444

DLgal said:


> No luck for me on a brand new Galaxy S10, with 5 bars of signal.
> 
> I launched the app right at 8, and my buttons never turned red at all. I never even had the option. Button was greyed out with "loading" showing. I tried refreshing, closing and relaunching. Nothing. I'm pissed and my son was practically in tears saying "the phone is not working" while everyone around us was cheering.
> 
> I calmed him down and we got in line to renew his DAS. The CM asked if we got a BG and I told her what happened. She said it happens to a lot of people and the system is a complete crapshoot. She told me this BG system won't be in place very long. She said it should go straight standby sooner rather than later. She then hooked us up with an earlier return time for MFSR since we had such a disappointing morning so far.
> 
> We will try again Tuesday but I don't know what else we can do if my phone/app just decides to hang up again. I'm the only one with a phone. I followed all the advice I've read about how to optimize my chances, but when the app is unresponsive, that all goes out the window.


Since you are AP holders if you can have someone not in the park help you that may work when the app can’t get a signal in the park.


----------



## Skyegirl1999

DLgal said:


> No luck for me on a brand new Galaxy S10, with 5 bars of signal.
> 
> I launched the app right at 8, and my buttons never turned red at all. I never even had the option. Button was greyed out with "loading" showing. The My Status button wasn't even red. I tried refreshing, closing and relaunching. Nothing. I'm pissed and my son was practically in tears saying "the phone is not working" while everyone around us was cheering.
> 
> I calmed him down and we got in line to renew his DAS. The CM asked if we got a BG and I told her what happened. She said it happens to a lot of people and the system is a complete crapshoot. She told me this BG system won't be in place very long. She said it should go straight standby sooner rather than later. She then hooked us up with an earlier return time for MFSR since we had such a disappointing morning so far.
> 
> We will try again Tuesday but I don't know what else we can do if my phone/app just decides to hang up again. I'm the only one with a phone. I followed all the advice I've read about how to optimize my chances, but when the app is unresponsive, that all goes out the window.


I’m sorry that was your experience. :-(  Hope you have a great rest of the day!

I wouldn’t trust the word of a CM in terms of how long they’ll keep BGs, though...


----------



## handyl03

We opened the app when we got into DL. We went up and sat on the benches in front of DL Railroad on Main Street. Had husbands phone showing clock with seconds counting - at 7:59:59 clicked find out more on my phone - went to next screen and join boarding group was lit red - hit the button - went to select group page - our group of 5 was already checked green - clicked button to confirm group - went to page with boarding group 21.


----------



## DLgal

dina444444 said:


> Since you are AP holders if you can have someone not in the park help you that may work when the app can’t get a signal in the park.



I had a signal. I had been on it in the time leading up to the opening and everything was working then. The My Status buttom was red, all other app features were working. I hard closed the app and relaunched it at 7:59, and minimized it. Right at 8, opened it up and clicked "learn more" and then everything looked different and buttons were greyed out.


----------



## dina444444

DLgal said:


> I had a signal. I had been on it in the time leading up to the opening and everything was working then. The My Status buttom was red, all other app features were working. I hard closed the app and relaunched it at 7:59, and minimized it. Right at 8, opened it up and clicked "learn more" and then everything looked different and buttons were greyed out.


Did you back out to the home page and click on the learn more again? Sometimes you have to do it a few times for it to load. Or click on my status at that point and the join group will be blue there.


----------



## DLgal

Skyegirl1999 said:


> I’m sorry that was your experience. :-(  Hope you have a great rest of the day!
> 
> I wouldn’t trust the word of a CM in terms of how long they’ll keep BGs, though...



Guest relations CMs have never given me inaccurate info. She could have very easily said that the BG system was permanent and that is just how it's going to be. I asked specifically "how long is this BG system going to be the only way people can get on this ride?" Her verbatim response was "Not too long. Once everything dies down, it will go to a regular standby line, which will happen sooner rather than later."


----------



## DLgal

dina444444 said:


> Did you back out to the home page and click on the learn more again? Sometimes you have to do it a few times for it to load. Or click on my status at that point and the join group will be blue there.



Yes, I backed out and the app wouldn't even refresh (the pull down didn't work). I couldn't click My status. It was greyed out. I tried everything.


----------



## dina444444

DLgal said:


> Yes, I backed out and the app wouldn't even refresh (the pull down didn't work). I couldn't click My status. It was greyed out. I tried everything.


That sucks. I would try to “play along from home” tomorrow morning if you can to see if it works then. Also, is your app up to date?


----------



## DLgal

dina444444 said:


> Since you are AP holders if you can have someone not in the park help you that may work when the app can’t get a signal in the park.



What do you mean by this? It's just me and my kids. Who am I supposed to ask?


----------



## DLgal

dina444444 said:


> That sucks. I would try to “play along from home” tomorrow morning if you can to see if it works then. Also, is your app up to date?


 
Yep, updated. I was able to play along from home just fine the past 2 days. The app just completely froze in the park.


----------



## Nickarooney

Can someone explain how someone helps from home? Are they logged in as someone who has scanned into the park or can you make reservations for other people linked to your account even if you haven't gone to the parks that day? I know you can only get a boarding group if scanned into the park but I'm not familiar enough with all the other details to figure out how they are doing that (like can you have multiple devices logged into the same app account and it not override itself?)...and I haven't had coffee yet  Thanks! I have no trip planned and live 2,000 miles away - just genuinely curious.


----------



## brightlined

The "friend at home" thing means that you connect your account with another AP holder. That person isn't in the park, but would be able to book a BG for anyone they're connected to who's in the park. (They wouldn't be able to book one for themselves.)

I've helped a couple of friends get FOP FP's at WDW during the daytime while they're wandering the parks (and I'm in my office).


----------



## Skyegirl1999

Nickarooney said:


> Can someone explain how someone helps from home? Are they logged in as someone who has scanned into the park or can you make reservations for other people linked to your account even if you haven't gone to the parks that day? I know you can only get a boarding group if scanned into the park but I'm not familiar enough with all the other details to figure out how they are doing that (like can you have multiple devices logged into the same app account and it not override itself?)...and I haven't had coffee yet  Thanks! I have no trip planned and live 2,000 miles away - just genuinely curious.


You can have multiple phones logged into the same account, or you can have a friend scan your tickets into their account and book for you once you’ve scanned in.

Either way, the ticket has to have been scanned into the park to join a BG.


----------



## Nickarooney

brightlined said:


> The "friend at home" thing means that you connect your account with another AP holder. That person isn't in the park, but would be able to book a BG for anyone they're connected to who's in the park. (They wouldn't be able to book one for themselves.)
> 
> I've helped a couple of friends get FOP FP's at WDW during the daytime while they're wandering the parks (and I'm in my office).





Skyegirl1999 said:


> You can have multiple phones logged into the same account, or you can have a friend scan your tickets into their account and book for you once you’ve scanned in.
> 
> Either way, the ticket has to have been scanned into the park to join a BG.



Gotcha! Thank you!!!!


----------



## brightlined

DLgal said:


> Guest relations CMs have never given me inaccurate info. She could have very easily said that the BG system was permanent and that is just how it's going to be. I asked specifically "how long is this BG system going to be the only way people can get on this ride?" Her verbatim response was "Not too long. Once everything dies down, it will go to a regular standby line, which will happen sooner rather than later."


"Once everything dies down" is a pretty substantial caveat. Any CM that can predict that should give me some Wall Street stock tips. (I would personally be shocked if ROTR was running regular standby this summer.)


----------



## katyringo

Have you guys heard of the scandal from Cinderella’s royal table where a guy named Howie or something would help others get reservations ? He had like a legit online community and now that’s why CRT has to be prepaid when booking.

so be cautious of having others use your account, etc.


----------



## Go💛Go

brightlined said:


> The "friend at home" thing means that you connect your account with another AP holder. That person isn't in the park, but would be able to book a BG for anyone they're connected to who's in the park. (They wouldn't be able to book one for themselves.)
> 
> I've helped a couple of friends get FOP FP's at WDW during the daytime while they're wandering the parks (and I'm in my office).


I’ve also been FP Concierge for family and friends in the World parks.

I’ve hesitated to offer BG assistance because with the 6a and 7a Studios opening that was far too early for my PT zone life.


----------



## DLgal

brightlined said:


> "Once everything dies down" is a pretty substantial caveat. Any CM that can predict that should give me some Wall Street stock tips. (I would personally be shocked if ROTR was running regular standby this summer.)



We'll just have to see, won't we?  I give it a month, tops. I'm prepared to be wrong.


----------



## CastAStone

brightlined said:


> "Once everything dies down" is a pretty substantial caveat. Any CM that can predict that should give me some Wall Street stock tips. (I would personally be shocked if ROTR was running regular standby this summer.)


A fun thread would be “what date do you think DL ends BGs for ROTR” and everyone picks a date.

Not sure what the appropriate forum is but I’d donate $20 to the apolitical charity of the winner’s choice.


----------



## CaliforniaGirl09

Thanks for all the reports so far this morning. Congrats to those who were successful and sorry for those who had IT problems. Has anyone tried the scan in and then leave trick yet? Wondering if that will work like it does at WDW?


----------



## DryBananaHippyHat

A couple that I follow on Instagram tried scanning into to DCA to get a BG. It did not work. You have to be scanned in to Disneyland specifically. We all knew that was the case anyway, but it’s nice to know for sure. And I really appreciate that they were willing to try (knowing it probably wouldn’t work) and waste a potential ride on ROTR.


----------



## Lesley Wake

katyringo said:


> I’ve been reading on the WDW thread that most people are getting boarding groups now. It makes sense that Florida as increased the capacity over time and DL will get there too.


Yeah, right now at Disneyland they have the lowest capacity and highest demand. Definitely a combo that will lead to disappointments!


----------



## Evita_W

cm123 said:


> I'm starting to think the way to go is go to the park......all while running an android emulator at home on your stable internet and run a script that checks you in at exactly 8am


Shh.....don't tell our plans, then Disney will find a way to block scripts.....LOL


----------



## brightlined

DryBananaHippyHat said:


> A couple that I follow on Instagram tried scanning into to DCA to get a BG. It did not work. You have to be scanned in to Disneyland specifically. We all knew that was the case anyway, but it’s nice to know for sure. And I really appreciate that they were willing to try (knowing it probably wouldn’t work) and waste a potential ride on ROTR.


The next one for someone to try would be to scan into DL first then leave and scan into DCA and see if that works. (Ie, if it's enough to have scanned into DL that day.)


----------



## GoldeneyezCA

BG 31 this morning!  
Location:  Critter Country, hubby was next in line for kiosk but got through on phone right before I did 
Data:  Cellular 
Network:  Verizon
App:  open to landing page, ready to push “join boarding group) 
This has worked for us 2 days in a row, got BG 20 yesterday!


----------



## Theok029

Abbey1 said:


> Can someone explain to me what the benefit is to selecting the My Status button instead of Join Boarding Group from the RotR page? It seems like this would add an additional step to the process but from what I’ve read, it sounds like this is the consensus of the best way to go?



whoops, I meant Find Out More, which takes you to the page with those two buttons. You want to hit Join Boarding Group, not my status


----------



## GoldeneyezCA

HOWEVER...they haven’t started calling groups yet!!!


----------



## Vysecity

GoldeneyezCA said:


> HOWEVER...they haven’t started calling groups yet!!!


Anxiety rising...


----------



## Jung-li

Read on another site that can't be linked here that people were making fake boarding pass using a template that was being passed around. They just fill in a number to the bg page. They said it was working because tickets and passes weren't being scanned at the ride. Have they started scanning tickets now or are they still just looking at the boarding group you show on your phone?


----------



## Satye1

Ladyslug said:


> That's true.  Aside from opening day itself, for which I hope they have a different system worked out, I'm hoping they have the place fully staffed to make sure everyone can get through at a decent clip.  However, it's been so long since I've been to Hollywood Studios (or Disneyland, for that matter) that I don't have a good feeling as to the difference in turnstile numbers, ticket processing methods, and CM staffing.  It will still be worth it to get in line early at the turnstiles, I expect, which is basically how all rides work.


What day is opening day?


----------



## EmJ

Jung-li said:


> Read on another site that can't be linked here that people were making fake boarding pass using a template that was being passed around. They just fill in a number to the bg page. They said it was working because tickets and passes weren't being scanned at the ride. Have they started scanning tickets now or are they still just looking at the boarding group you show on your phone?


What in the world is WRONG with people?! You'd think this is the last boat out of wherever, the way people are treating it. It's a ride. A really cool, fun ride, but a ride nonetheless. It's not going anywhere, for decades. People need to calm their respective horses. Smh.


----------



## Go💛Go

Satye1 said:


> What day is opening day?


Opening Day for RotR at DL was Friday - 2 days ago.


----------



## GoldeneyezCA

They just started with group 12


----------



## handyl03

Now open and boarding groups 12-13.


----------



## justkeepswimmin

Hi all-Been lurking on this thread all weekend. My girls and I decided to take a last minute trip and drove here from AZ yesterday. Today was our only shot to get a boarding group but we all read this board and did a practice run yesterday. Got to the gates slightly before 7 and lines were past monorail track. They didn’t start scanning people in till 7:15 which added to my stress but once we were all in we decided the train platform was our best strategy based on reports here.  We positioned ourselves on each side of the station steps and launched ‘Find out more’ from the home screen at exactly 8am.

We got group 14!!! My oldest daughter’s phone (IPhone XR, t-mobile) was the winner.  We were standing on right side steps, Guest Services side. All the people where we were standing got boarding groups (family across from us got 13!) and it was super stressful but also really fun and exciting bc we were all high-fiving each other.

Other things we did:
-Closed all open apps
-practiced trying for pass day before
-made sure battery save wasn’t on phone 
-split up and tried from different locations 

Thanks to everyone here who helped us come up with a strategy! Just started boarding first group of the day (12 I think) so we’re boarding soon!!!


----------



## shleaz

Do we know why the starting group number is different every day? Why was it 5 yesterday and 12 today?


----------



## brightlined

shleaz said:


> Do we know why the starting group number is different every day? Why was it 5 yesterday and 12 today?


I think the best guess so far is that the missing groups are media, CMs, special guests, etc. Could also be test groups.


----------



## dina444444

shleaz said:


> Do we know why the starting group number is different every day? Why was it 5 yesterday and 12 today?


There’s no rhyme or reason. DHS is the same.


----------



## WonkaKid

ROTR didn’t open until about 9:30(ish) today. I had the app open and ready to go right at 8:00. It took a few tries to get through but eventually I did - around 8:02. I got BG 130. Needless to say, I won’t be riding it today. I’d hoped to but it’s not a big deal. I come every Sunday and will try again next week. Crowds were pretty brutal today. More on that later.


----------



## BlueRibbon

DLgal said:


> No luck for me on a brand new Galaxy S10, with 5 bars of signal.
> 
> I launched the app right at 8, and my buttons never turned red at all. I never even had the option. Button was greyed out with "loading" showing. The My Status button wasn't even red. I tried refreshing, closing and relaunching. Nothing. I'm pissed and my son was practically in tears saying "the phone is not working" while everyone around us was cheering.
> 
> I calmed him down and we got in line to renew his DAS. The CM asked if we got a BG and I told her what happened. She said it happens to a lot of people and the system is a complete crapshoot. She told me this BG system won't be in place very long. She said it should go straight standby sooner rather than later. She then hooked us up with an earlier return time for MFSR since we had such a disappointing morning so far.
> 
> We will try again Tuesday but I don't know what else we can do if my phone/app just decides to hang up again. I'm the only one with a phone. I followed all the advice I've read about how to optimize my chances, but when the app is unresponsive, that all goes out the window.



I feel you. Going on Friday - I went to the "My Status" page and kept refreshing. When 8am came, I refreshed, and "Join Boarding Group" wouldn't activate. I had to restart the app, and finally it worked. In all that time, I was able to secure BG 110. It was def 8:01 by the time I got it.

Yesterday was a different story. We were by the flagpole and right at 8am I was able to select "Join Boarding Group" selected everyone in my party and when I clicked "Continue" a red message floated up from the bottom saying "No more boarding groups." What was crazy is that people were getting BGs AFTER I got this message. I tried again to the same result. DW and DD apps weren't responsive and they couldn't even get "Join Boarding Group" to activate. 

Another daughter mentioned this morning that she's in no hurry to try and get a BG again at 8. Hearing all the cheering around you, while you're SOL is a tough pill to take. I had to agree with her, but I'll work on her to try again.


----------



## handyl03

Just got our notification to board for group 21! Thank you everyone for all of the great tips!


----------



## MonocularVision

DLgal said:


> Yep, updated. I was able to play along from home just fine the past 2 days. The app just completely froze in the park.



I would bet the difference was being in the park. The signal strength of your phone doesn’t tell you much if the issue is the number of folks trying to use the same tower. Cell phone towers have a back haul connection (the typically wired pipe from the cell tower to the Internet) that can be overloaded if too much is happening.

Our plan is to spread out our group some and probably have half the group near the Train station (so we can have two folks on cell and one on the Esplanade WiFi ) and the other half down at the Starbucks (again two on cell and one on the Starbucks WiFi). I really think performing this away from the crowds is the best bet to keeping the app responsive. (I realize in your case you don’t have the luxury of multiple groups. So sorry for your son )


----------



## MonocularVision

matthewthompson87 said:


> Ooh! Good idea. Eager to hear your findings eventually (if you plan on sharing them?).



Unfortunately quite a bit of the communication that takes place appears to be happening over Websocket connections instead of standard HTTP(S) connections. The on phone HTTP proxy I am using doesn’t seem to handle Websockets very well, but the desktop version of Charles has worked better for me in the past. Unfortunately, I haven’t been around my desktop the last few days to try that.

If I can find the time to get it worked out, I definitely plan on sharing my findings in a way that may help folks get BG’s faster. Of course, anything I find will be limited to the iOS version (unless the Android app works _exactly_ the same way).


----------



## montreid

Yeah; the more connections into the server is probably the best way forward to avoid technical delays.   Wifi here; separate carriers there....everywhere a duck duck .

special groups again this AM.   I wonder how they are doing VIP tours with ROTR here.


----------



## dina444444

montreid said:


> Yeah; the more connections into the server is probably the best way forward to avoid technical delays.   Wifi here; separate carriers there....everywhere a duck duck .
> 
> special groups again this AM.   I wonder how they are doing VIP tours with ROTR here.


I think same as DHS, you have to have a boarding group. The vip tour doesn’t give you access.


----------



## vharris2828

CastAStone said:


> 2 phones is 100% the way to go. If you have an old phone lying around, bring it, put it on the Disney WiFi, and try for 3.


Maybe we throw our iPad in the mix too. Can they all be on the same account?


----------



## Ladyslug

Go💛Go said:


> Opening Day for RotR at DL was Friday - 2 days ago.


And they did do things a little differently (opened the turnstiles extra-early, slowly moved everyone throughout the park as it got more and more crowded) to make sure everyone who arrived early was able to at least be through the turnstiles before park opening (thank goodness).  They were never going to be able to accommodate everyone who wanted to ride on opening day, but at least they gave them the chance.

Well, except for those not using smartphones -- they might have to figure out a different way to get passes distributed to people without smartphones so more than ~10 people at each kiosk have a shot.


----------



## DLRExpert

There is no way BGPs lasts past this month at Disneyland.


----------



## ironband74

I would be willing to try and help someone in the park get a boarding group from home, just to get first hand experience in doing it.   However, I wouldn't expect anyone to trust me with their ticket numbers who doesn't know me.


----------



## ironband74

vharris2828 said:


> Maybe we throw our iPad in the mix too. Can they all be on the same account?


Yes, you can log into the same account on multiple devices. Can't hurt!


----------



## matthewthompson87

DLRExpert said:


> There is no way BGPs lasts past this month at Disneyland.



Do you have any data to support your statement?


----------



## ironband74

They went gangbusters in the first half hour and then stopped calling groups.    Did they break down or just front load the queue?


----------



## DLRExpert

3 Days and able to get the pass while at Disneyland. Here is what I did...
- Turn off WiFi and use LTE from phone, provider (Google FI for me)
- Only have the tickets you are going to use for the day scanned into your phone.
- Test the connection and that all passes are available by reserving a FP. It's okay if you don't have MaxPass as you will still be able to tell which tickets are available.
- Close Apps before park opening
- Open just the Disneyland App a few minutes before park opening.
- Select Find Out More button under the ROTR image on the Home Page
- Select My Status (you won't be able to choose Join a Boarding Pass yet)
- When park is open go back one screen to My Status / Join Boarding Group Page
- If you cannot select Boarding Group select My Status again and see if the Join Boarding Group is open, if not go back one screen. Repeat the following until you see the Join Boarding Group button appear.


I think what the main issue is that most guests are selecting Find Out More from the Home Screen at park opening which is bogging down the system. By already being one screen ahead, you are avoiding that first step.

I felt really bad yesterday as these three adults near were so excited to be at Disneyland for the ride and as people started to cheer, you could tell they were stuck at a loading screen on all three of their devices. I have learned not to cheer as many people who are there are not getting a BGP.

ME


----------



## VandVsmama

katyringo said:


> I’ve been reading on the WDW thread that most people are getting boarding groups now. It makes sense that Florida as increased the capacity over time and DL will get there too.



That's great news!  I think that as the daily ROTR operations progress as time goes on, the same will happen at DL.


----------



## handyl03

Ride just went down after we got through the pre-show. We were taken off and reassigned boarding group good any time today that the ride is operating. We were boarding group 21.


----------



## DLRExpert

matthewthompson87 said:


> Do you have any data to support your statement?



No data, but from being there for these first three days, seeing and hearing disappointed guests and lines at Guest Services there is no way they are going to let this continue.

Plus, you have to figure guests who plan to visit the park and see signs saying they cannot ride the new attraction are just going back home.

The majority of people will understand that a new attraction will break down. It's part of the experience. Radiator Springs Racers, Indiana Jones Adventure all did it.
They do not understand having to get to a park at opening and not even being guaranteed a Boarding Pass.
Better to have a sign that says ROTR may have down time issues longer waits than usual than No more guests allowed to ride because of sold out Boarding Passes.
Which, they DO NOT advertise on the radio or TV as being needed to ride the attraction.

ME


----------



## Mathmagicland

brightlined said:


> The next one for someone to try would be to scan into DL first then leave and scan into DCA and see if that works. (Ie, if it's enough to have scanned into DL that day.)


I may be able to try this on Sunday, in a week, if no one has done so before then, as it will not be a full day in the parks for me.


----------



## VandVsmama

DLRExpert said:


> 3 Days and able to get the pass while at Disneyland. Here is what I did...
> - Turn off WiFi and use LTE from phone, provider (Google FI for me)
> - Test the connection and that all passes are available by reserving a FP. It's okay if you don't have MaxPass as you will still be able to tell which tickets are available.
> - Close Apps before park opening
> - Open just the Disneyland App a few minutes before park opening.
> - Select Find Out More button under the ROTR image on the Home Page
> - Select My Status (you won't be able to choose Join a Boarding Pass yet)
> - When park is open go back one screen to My Status / Join Boarding Group Page
> - If you cannot select Boarding Group select My Status again and see if the Join Boarding Group is open, if not go back one screen. Repeat the following until you see the Join Boarding Group button appear.
> 
> 
> I think what the main issue is that most guests are selecting Find Out More from the Home Screen at park opening which is bogging down the system. By already being one screen ahead, you are avoiding that first step.
> 
> I felt really bad yesterday as these three adults near were so excited to be at Disneyland for the ride and as people started to cheer, you could tell they were stuck at a loading screen on all three of their devices. I have learned not to cheer as many people who are there are not getting a BGP.
> 
> ME



Thank you for these details!  This is going to help our family a lot when we go in March.


----------



## Mathmagicland

handyl03 said:


> Ride just went down after we got through the pre-show. We were taken off and reassigned boarding group good any time today that the ride is operating. We were boarding group 21.


Does your reassigned BG have a number?


----------



## Aurora0427

DLgal said:


> Yep, updated. I was able to play along from home just fine the past 2 days. The app just completely froze in the park.



I think you did everything you could.... you just got very unlucky. Totally sucks and I am so sorry.


----------



## montreid

DLRExpert said:


> No data, but from being there for these first three days, seeing and hearing disappointed guests and lines at Guest Services there is no way they are going to let this continue.
> 
> Plus, you have to figure guests who plan to visit the park and see signs saying they cannot ride the new attraction are just going back home.
> 
> The majority of people will understand that a new attraction will break down. It's part of the experience. Radiator Springs Racers, Indiana Jones Adventure all did it.
> They do not understand having to get to a park at opening and not even being guaranteed a Boarding Pass.
> Better to have a sign that says ROTR may have down time issues longer waits than usual than No more guests allowed to ride because of sold out Boarding Passes.
> Which, they DO NOT advertise on the radio or TV as being needed to ride the attraction.
> 
> ME


What's your solution?  5+ hour standby line that a ride can evacuate when it goes down for an hour and restart over again?  Sure, that's only several thousand disappointed people at a time instead and for the lucky ones with able to experience this single ride and a few others.   That's an expensive E Ticket.


----------



## Sith

Does anyone know if the DTD Monorail station has been scanning tickets prior to park opening? I know monorails don't always start running until after park opening, but that shouldn't matter as long as they scan your ticket before opening. Anybody have any experience with this?


----------



## Mar Mar Binks

Still down. We are in fast pass line due to DAS. So far 30 minutes.


----------



## brightlined

DLRExpert said:


> There is no way BGPs lasts past this month at Disneyland.


Here's hoping - I'll be there in two weeks.

Reasons I think it'll go longer:

I suspect they're going to use BGs to manage the maintenance schedule while they work to get ROTR's capacity to something reliable - hopefully somewhere close to RSR's (1500/hr). (BGs also help control the number of people in line in the expectation of frequent breakdowns - easier to clear 12 BGs than a four-hour line.)

I would also bet that will take weeks, not days.  Minimum, that's March (very optimistically), which slides into the Spring Break season, followed by the busy Summer season. (My vote for earliest standby is actually right after Labor Day.)

Complaints are going to happen either way - they'll lessen after this initial weekend, as (hopefully) fewer people will be trying to get in early to ride (weekends excepted). Even with complaints about getting shut out in the morning - having the queue cleared for an hour-long breakdown would be awful if you've already waited three hours in it.

ROTR needs to be running 100% reliably before they can stop using BGs. And I think we're a long way from that.

(Cynically, the BGs also bring in more attendance in the morning, which is a boost to DL's bottom line.)

This isn't a situation like with GE's open, where people were a bit meh and didn't show up. This is a top-tier must-do A-level ride that's going to have a lot of interest for a while, especially as word-of-mouth gets out as to how good it is.


----------



## mom2rtk

Sith said:


> Does anyone know if the DTD Monorail station has been scanning tickets prior to park opening? I know monorails don't always start running until after park opening, but that shouldn't matter as long as they scan your ticket before opening. Anybody have any experience with this?


Sounds really risky.


----------



## Go💛Go

Mar Mar Binks said:


> Still down. We are in fast pass line due to DAS. So far 30 minutes.


If they begin passing out bananas and water, it means they expect RotR to be running fairly soon. At the most, Studios guests got up to popcorn, chips, and then caramel popcorn without needing to be evacuated. 

Hopefully your wait isn’t too much longer.


----------



## deli8788

Boarding group 27 here waiting in queue. Rides been down for 30ish minutes.
This morning we rope dropped and rode Peter Pan at about 754am. Got off and found a good cell spot right behind the carousel. Two iPhone 11pros. One with sprint and one with T-Mobile. One with T-Mobile got us BG.


----------



## CaliforniaGirl09

DLRExpert said:


> I think what the main issue is that most guests are selecting Find Out More from the Home Screen at park opening which is bogging down the system. By already being one screen ahead, you are avoiding that first step.



Really interesting theory! Thanks for sharing. We were going to stay on landing page, but maybe we'll try this instead.



DLRExpert said:


> No data, but from being there for these first three days, seeing and hearing disappointed guests and lines at Guest Services there is no way they are going to let this continue.


I was wondering if there had been a lot of upset guests. I've looked at the "visitors posts" on the main DL Facebook and Twitter pages and haven't seen complaints so I wasn't sure whether upset people had been vocal. Maybe Disney scrubs the negative comments on social media?


----------



## twodogs

Group 27!  But ride has been down for 45 minutes. No snacks yet. No info on ride. We had again 6 phones and the oldest phone iPhone 7 on WiFi got it. We had another on WiFi and 4 on cell and the old phone on WiFi won. App was open on the phone and she hit find out more right at 8. Go figure. Hope this gets moving soon!!


----------



## DLRExpert

brightlined said:


> Here's hoping - I'll be there in two weeks.
> 
> Reasons I think it'll go longer:
> 
> I suspect they're going to use BGs to manage the maintenance schedule while they work to get ROTR's capacity to something reliable - hopefully somewhere close to RSR's (1500/hr). (BGs also help control the number of people in line in the expectation of frequent breakdowns - easier to clear 12 BGs than a four-hour line.)
> 
> I would also bet that will take weeks, not days.  Minimum, that's March (very optimistically), which slides into the Spring Break season, followed by the busy Summer season. (My vote for earliest standby is actually right after Labor Day.)
> 
> Complaints are going to happen either way - they'll lessen after this initial weekend, as (hopefully) fewer people will be trying to get in early to ride (weekends excepted). Even with complaints about getting shut out in the morning - having the queue cleared for an hour-long breakdown would be awful if you've already waited three hours in it.
> 
> ROTR needs to be running 100% reliably before they can stop using BGs. And I think we're a long way from that.
> 
> (Cynically, the BGs also bring in more attendance in the morning, which is a boost to DL's bottom line.)
> 
> This isn't a situation like with GE's open, where people were a bit meh and didn't show up. This is a top-tier must-do A-level ride that's going to have a lot of interest for a while, especially as word-of-mouth gets out as to how good it is.





montreid said:


> What's your solution?  5+ hour standby line that a ride can evacuate when it goes down for an hour and restart over again?  Sure, that's only several thousand disappointed people at a time instead and for the lucky ones with able to experience this single ride and a few others.   That's an expensive E Ticket.



Again down time for a new attraction is not new. It happens to all of them. Probably worse when Racers opened because from the beginning it started with Fastpass. 

ROTR does not offer FP so I doubt the line for the attraction will be 5 hours plus, maybe 3-4 at park opening and slowly dwindling as it gets later in the day with a slight spike after the fireworks.  With no FP and no downtime ROTR from the cave and before the waterfall took 30 minutes yesterday to go through.


----------



## Lesley Wake

For everyone who keeps saying the BGs will end soon-there was the same talk about how MFSR FPs will start after the SWGE reservation system ends, then by July 4, then end of summer, Halloween, thanksgiving, end of year, opening of Rise, etc! I don’t think anyone (including Disney) knows how long the BGs will last. 

I personally wouldn’t count on them ending until the ride is more stabilized and the BGs aren’t running out instantly. Maybe they will even start doing weekdays without BGs and weekends (and high crowd days) with BGs! We will all just have to wait and see but I wouldn’t plan on visiting without a BG unti we hear otherwise!


----------



## Sith

mom2rtk said:


> Sounds really risky.


Yeah I wouldn't normally try it. Just curious. Our flight comes into SNA at 8:05 on 1/30 which is a 9am opening. We had the same flight on 12/30, and we were on Main Street at 8:45am using Uber. And that included going through bag line. So, I know it's possible that we could be in the park by 9am on the 30th. I just worry that the security line on the Harbor side will be huge and prevent us from getting in before opening.


----------



## amfunsize

IsleofDisney said:


> When my extended family of 16 visited WDW over the summer we stayed off site so we were only able to get FP up to 30 days prior to park visit. There's no way a FP was going to be available for FOP. Of our group of 16 only 3 of us were willing to ride it - me, my DH & my DHs 74yo uncle. We waited almost 3 hrs also. After about the 1.5  hr mark I could tell that the wait was getting to  DUIL, he was just thankful we were indoors at that point. The FOP queue is amazing however there is no where to sit along the way!  It is an incredible ride & glad I did it but I don't know if I'd wait 3+ hrs again if I had no FP. There's simply sooo much to see and do at AK that we had missed out on.
> 
> I agree with @GoldeneyezCA that I'd rather not wait in 3+ or line because I'd rather do other things instead of wait and you easily can. If I don't get a BG or a back up group at least I know where I stand and can get on with the rest of my day.
> 
> ROTR is such a unique experience that will demand a unique way to tour it for weeks if not months to come. I believe this virtual queue system is a good way to get to ride the attraction. As long as you come prepared, there's a good chance you will get to ride it. I'm sure DL parks admin will re evaluate the queue system in the coming weeks, as initial interest has died down. Or maybe it won't die down and BGs become 'This is the Way'.



I haven't been to WDW in 20 years so please forgive me but what is FOP?


----------



## dieumeye

DLRExpert said:


> Again down time for a new attraction is not new. It happens to all of them. Probably worse when Racers opened because from the beginning it started with Fastpass.
> 
> ROTR does not offer FP so I doubt the line for the attraction will be 5 hours plus, maybe 3-4 at park opening and slowly dwindling as it gets later in the day with a slight spike after the fireworks.  With no FP and no downtime ROTR from the cave and before the waterfall took 30 minutes yesterday to go through.


Having a standby line does not magically increase capacity. All that would do is make all the disappointed people who didn’t get a BG stand in line for hours before they find out they can’t ride.

There are more people that want to ride each day than the current capacity of the attraction. A standby line won’t change that and it would make the experience worse for both the people who do get to ride and the people who don’t get to ride.


----------



## dina444444

amfunsize said:


> I haven't been to WDW in 20 years so please forgive me but what is FOP?


Flight of passage. The e ticket pandora ride at animal kingdom.


----------



## IsleofDisney

amfunsize said:


> I haven't been to WDW in 20 years so please forgive me but what is FOP?



Flight of Passage attraction in Pandora Land at Animal Kingdom. It's based on the Avatar movie. This ride opened in May 2017 and is the most difficult to get a FP for, except for the new ROTR if you count BGs as a sort of FP.


----------



## handyl03

Mathmagicland said:


> Does your reassigned BG have a number?


No new BG group number assigned. We can come back anytime the ride is up.


----------



## DLRExpert

dieumeye said:


> Having a standby line does not magically increase capacity. All that would do is make all the disappointed people who didn’t get a BG stand in line for hours before they find out they can’t ride.
> 
> There are more people that want to ride each day than the current capacity of the attraction. A standby line won’t change that and it would make the experience worse for both the people who do get to ride and the people who don’t get to ride.



So far downtime during the past three days has been typical for a new attraction.
Just give the guests who visit Disneyland at, no matter what time of the day they arrive a fair and equal chance if they are willing to wait. 
Have a sign out front stating that the new ride may have more down times than usual. Instead of saying there are no more Boarding Passes available.
Which again, they do not state in the Radio or TV advertising as being needed.


----------



## matthewthompson87

DLRExpert said:


> ROTR does not offer FP so I doubt the line for the attraction will be 5 hours plus, maybe 3-4 at park opening and slowly dwindling as it gets later in the day with a slight spike after the fireworks.



This feels like a broken record at this point... but an average family will not wait 3-4 hours for a ride anymore. That model of theme park behaviors is over. Just seeing a line that long (and not even getting in the line) negatively impacts the perception of a desirable vacation destination.

If you’re talking about annual pass holders, dedication to ride a ride doesn’t look like waiting in line for 10 hours or more anymore. Dedication is coming back several different times for lesser amounts of time to try to get a boarding pass.

Yes, this is a big shift in how theme parks operate... but it’s definitely the future, not something temporary nor a failure by any measurable means.


----------



## amfunsize

dina444444 said:


> Flight of passage. The e ticket pandora ride at animal kingdom.



Got it thanks. I've been following this forum for about a week and didn't understand the FOP or why people were mentioning Hagrid's ride (someone clarified around page 75) but now, hopefully, I'm caught up.


----------



## DLRExpert

matthewthompson87 said:


> This feels like a broken record at this point... but an average family will not wait 3-4 hours for a ride anymore. That model of theme park behaviors is over. Just seeing a line that long (and not even getting in the line) negatively impacts the perception of a desirable vacation destination.



They seem to be ok with waiting for FOP and Slinky. Or when the park is at a peak attendance.


----------



## dieumeye

DLRExpert said:


> So far downtime during the past three days has been typical for a new attraction.
> Just give the guests who visit Disneyland at, no matter what time of the day they arrive a fair and equal chance if they are willing to wait.
> Have a sign out front stating that the new ride may have more down times than usual. Instead of saying there are no more Boarding Passes available.
> Which again, they do not state in the Radio or TV advertising as being needed.


I think you vastly under estimate how long the standby line would be. But I guess we’ll never know.

I think it would be interesting if they picked one day of the week, say Wednesday, and on that day each week the ride operates with a regular standby line.

Of course, people would complain about that too, but it would give an option for people that don’t want to do boarding groups and are happy to wait in line for hours. And, best of all, it would give us great data to compare both approaches.

Edit: to your above post, SDD is at 100 and FoP is at 190. RotR would be longer I bet. But regardless, word is that the number one guest complaint about visits to Disney parks is that the lines are too long. So even if people are waiting, the research would suggest that they are not happy about it.


----------



## WonkaKid

BlueRibbon said:


> I feel you. Going on Friday - I went to the "My Status" page and kept refreshing. When 8am came, I refreshed, and "Join Boarding Group" wouldn't activate. I had to restart the app, and finally it worked. In all that time, I was able to secure BG 110. It was def 8:01 by the time I got it.


I had the app open just before 8:00. I tried to get a BG several times but the option wouldn’t light/activate. So I, too, had to kill the app and relaunch it to get things moving. It almost feels like doing nothing would have been a better option .


----------



## Heather07438

amfunsize said:


> I haven't been to WDW in 20 years so please forgive me but what is FOP?


Flight of Passage is similar to Soarin' but on steroids.  You ride it on the back of a banshee, a wild animal from Avatar.  And the ride is incredible.  So incredible in fact that waits still often see 285 minutes (yep, 5hrs which has happened several times over the last 60 days).  2.5 years later and people still regularly wait 3+ hours.
That's why I think interest in RoR will not die down anytime in the near future either.  RoR is even better than FoP.


----------



## dieumeye

Seems like the ride has been down for quite a while. is this the longest single down time it has had so far?


----------



## Vysecity

dieumeye said:


> Seems like the ride has been down for quite a while. This is the longest single down time it has had so far?


I believe it is. Had to happen when I was here


----------



## brightlined

DLRExpert said:


> They seem to be ok with waiting for FOP and Slinky. Or when the park is at a peak attendance.


I think the difference between WDW and DL plays into that, though. When FOP has a three- or four-hour line, it isn't locals. It's people who are on their one trip to WDW who know that this ride is great and this is their only chance to ride it.

That might be the argument for ROTR-DL to have a slightly lower standby wait than we would expect (ie, three hours instead of five). I think the locals would see that it's a three-hour wait and not bother. Essentially the same result as the BG system: come to the park, not ride.

Btw - the BGs also mask how early they're closing the ride. Under the standby system - if they need to close the ride no later than 10pm for nightly maintenance, there's an argument that they'd have to close the line at 7pm or earlier, and Disney (to their credit) generally dislikes closing lines before park close.


----------



## Mar Mar Binks

Vysecity said:


> I believe it is. Had to happen when I was here


We are at 1:15 waiting.


----------



## SirBill

DLRExpert said:


> No data, but from being there for these first three days, seeing and hearing disappointed guests and lines at Guest Services there is no way they are going to let this continue.
> ...



Not sure what you would base that on, the exact same scenario has been playing out at the Hollywood Studios park since the ride opened there for over a month now.

They have the same disappointed guests and lines and probably even in greater numbers.  Yet the boarding groups are still in use there...

I know there is the argument that Disneyland is more of a locals park.  But that would seem to argue for boarding groups to stay in place, much, much longer there - as it's easier for locals to pop in around 8am to try and get a boarding group, then just head home again, so more people would be tolerant of the boarding group system than would be at Disney World, where many people may only be getting one chance over several years.


----------



## montreid

dieumeye said:


> I think you vastly under estimate how long the standby line would be. But I guess we’ll never know.
> 
> I think it would be interesting if they picked one day of the week, say Wednesday, and on that day each week the ride operates with a regular standby line.
> 
> Of course, people would complain about that too, but it would give an option for people that don’t want to do boarding groups and are happy to wait in line for hours. And, best of all, it would give us great data to compare both approaches.
> 
> Edit: to your above post, SDD is at 100 and FoP is at 190. RotR would be longer I bet. But regardless, word is that the number one guest complaint about visits to Disney parks is that the lines are too long. So even if people are waiting, the research would suggest that they are not happy about it.


When we were at AK this xmas - FOP topped 325 minutes----yep 5.5 hours.  the standby line snaked all the out of Pandora to the Starbucks.


----------



## handyl03

Mar Mar Binks said:


> We are at 1:15 waiting.


Cast members are saying at least another hour. Telling everyone to screenshot boarding passes to show for return later. Boarding passes up to 27 will be honored all day.


----------



## s0rt0ffairytale

Timeline of my day so far! Woke up at 5am to get into the Mickey & Friends parking structure at 6:25. Got into the ticket line at 7, they officially opened gates at 7:10 and we were scanned into the park by 7:30. My friend counted down the seconds to 8am and we clicked right into Join a Boarding Group from the Learn More page. Super lucked out with a BG 13!!! Got the notification to board at 9:37 and out of the ride by 10:05. It was an incredible experience! Thank you all for your tips and insights. We definitely wouldn't have been as prepared without so much great information!


----------



## twodogs

90 minutes in line so far. They’ve said if you leave the line, you can’t come back. No Chewie and no snacks like WDW.


----------



## twodogs

handyl03 said:


> Cast members are saying at least another hour. Telling everyone to screenshot boarding passes to show for return later. Boarding passes up to 27 will be honored all day.


That is not what CMs in the ride are saying. They say if we leave we don’t ride. Super frustrating to be stuck with no info.


----------



## handyl03

I’m sitting at the ride entrance and have heard the same instructions about 100 times. Screen shot your boarding pass it will be honored all day. Today the problem is mechanical - now telling guests 1-2 hours more. Cast member Gabriel who is standing right next to us right now said down time issues past 2 days were due to guests not following directions or doing things they were asked not to do.


----------



## deli8788

Rides been down for a while now. When we left we were told we could not come back. We were forfeiting our BG. We were 27.


----------



## deli8788

I’ve already scanned my BG. It’s no longer on my account. How would I screen shot it?


----------



## handyl03

More info - yesterday a guest had a cell phone was out when it shouldn’t have been, it fell out on the track and was run over per CM.


----------



## montreid

deli8788 said:


> I’ve already scanned my BG. It’s no longer on my account. How would I screen shot it?





deli8788 said:


> I’ve already scanned my BG. It’s no longer on my account. How would I screen shot it?


Ride entrance CM should be able to help you.  If not, CS CM closest is by HH.


----------



## handyl03

deli8788 said:


> I’ve already scanned my BG. It’s no longer on my account. How would I screen shot it?


If you already scanned your BG you must have already been in line for the ride. Didn’t they scan your tickets on the way out? We just got back on, ride is up. They took those with recovery passes first. Went through a shorter entrance.


----------



## socaldisneylover

handyl03 said:


> Cast member Gabriel who is standing right next to us right now said down time issues past 2 days were due to guests not following directions or doing things they were asked not to do.


So in other words, these issues are going to continue forever and ever.


----------



## njchris

socaldisneylover said:


> So in other words, these issues are going to continue forever and ever.


People don’t listen so it will continue to be an issue. That happened a lot on Ellen’s energy adventure in Epcot. ‘Do not get out of vehicle to change seats’. So they do it anyway and the ride has to shut down and cycle so everyone has to leave.


----------



## HydroGuy

IsleofDisney said:


> Flight of Passage attraction in Pandora Land at Animal Kingdom. It's based on the Avatar movie. *This ride opened in May 2017* and is the most difficult to get a FP for, except for the new ROTR if you count BGs as a sort of FP.


And yours truly was there on opening day for FOP and also on the second day. 

Several things make FOP and ROTR (at DL) apples and oranges to compare:

First, the obvious one mentioned by others already, FOP is at WDW, and WDW and DLR visitors are different demographics
FOP opened on Memorial Day weekend while ROTR DL opened in mid-January
FOP opened as part of the entire opening of a new land - Pandora - while SWGE opened 8 months ago at DL
FOP had FP+ from the beginning (I had FP+ both days I went on opening weekend). At WDW that means 60+ days in advance to get the FP - yes you have to choose the day you will be at the park - the time you get some choice based on what's available
DL ROTR was able to get some feedback from WDW ROTR operations which opened 6 weeks prior.
I agree that BGs are the way to go (for DL at least) until they get the ride operating reliably. For many reasons including the ability to close it early for maintenance.

Once DL has ROTR more reliable, I would say a middle road that might address all sides of the disagreement here about BG vs. SB lines is to have both - like FP. So all those lucky ones who get BGs in the morning are set, and if you don't get one, well there is the (3-6 hour?) SB line option - which rewards the early arrivers. Of course, that is sort of like just having FP, so maybe they will switch on FP for ROTR instead of BGs, although MaxPass at DLR allows you to get FPs before park opening while BGs do not.


----------



## dina444444

HydroGuy said:


> And yours truly was there on opening day for FOP and also on the second day.
> 
> Several things make FOP and ROTR (at DL) apples and oranges to compare:
> 
> First, the obvious one mentioned by others already, FOP is at WDW, and WDW and DLR visitors are different demographics
> FOP opened on Memorial Day weekend while ROTR DL opened in mid-January
> FOP opened as part of the entire opening of a new land - Pandora - while SWGE opened 8 months ago at DL
> FOP had FP+ from the beginning (I had FP+ both days I went on opening weekend). At WDW that means 60+ days in advance to get the FP - yes you have to choose the day you will be at the park - the time you get some choice based on what's available
> DL ROTR was able to get some feedback from WDW ROTR operations which opened 6 weeks prior.
> I agree that BGs are the way to go (for DL at least) until they get the ride operating reliably. For many reasons including the ability to close it early for maintenance.
> 
> Once DL has ROTR more reliable, I would say a middle road that might address all sides of the disagreement here about BG vs. SB lines is to have both - like FP. So all those lucky ones who get BGs in the morning are set, and if you don't get one, well there is the (3-6 hour?) SB line option - which rewards the early arrivers. Of course, that is sort of like just having FP, so maybe they will switch on FP for ROTR instead of BGs, although MaxPass at DLR allows you to get FPs before park opening while BGs do not.


Another big difference is that FoP has 4 “shows” so if one goes down it doesn’t send the whole ride down where as if one part of ROTR goes down the whole thing goes down.


----------



## brightlined

On the bright side, they're calling more groups - up to 29.


----------



## HydroGuy

amfunsize said:


> Got it thanks. I've been following this forum for about a week and didn't understand the FOP or why people were mentioning Hagrid's ride (someone clarified around page 75) but now, hopefully, I'm caught up.


FYI on the Newbies Sticky thread there is a link I wrote about DLR Abbreviations (https://www.disboards.com/threads/dlr-abbreviations-list.1520784/), which itself has a link to a thread about WDW abbreviations. Might help you navigate all the funny acronyms thrown around!


----------



## montreid

I think like FOP if any of the 'shows' go down, it's still 'okay' for the main ride to proceed.  It happened at WDW for ROTR a few weeks ago and they kept the ride going---much to some folks chagrin.  

FOP broke down once when we were in Preshow 1.  got to play with the screen imager for 15minutes --- that was kindof fun in itself.


----------



## deli8788

handyl03 said:


> If you already scanned your BG you must have already been in line for the ride. Didn’t they scan your tickets on the way out? We just got back on, ride is up. They took those with recovery passes first. Went through a shorter entrance.


No. When we got out of line the CM told us “you do realize you are forfeiting your BG?” We have other amazing Disney things to do. So we understood the risk. Not gonna let it ruin my day.


----------



## handyl03

socaldisneylover said:


> So in other words, these issues are going to continue forever and ever.


The ride just went down again. We made it on - it was AMAZING - but my son and his friend made it to the door to get on the actual ride when it broke down for the second time. They are being issued their second recovery fast pass right now.


----------



## dina444444

montreid said:


> I think like FOP if any of the 'shows' go down, it's still 'okay' for the main ride to proceed.  It happened at WDW for ROTR a few weeks ago and they kept the ride going---much to some folks chagrin.
> 
> FOP broke down once when we were in Preshow 1.  got to play with the screen imager for 15minutes --- that was kindof fun in itself.


Well FoP has 4 ride rooms. Like how soarin has 2 or 3 depending on which park you are it. So it can still operate of one goes down.


----------



## handyl03

deli8788 said:


> No. When we got out of line the CM told us “you do realize you are forfeiting your BG?” We have other amazing Disney things to do. So we understood the risk. Not gonna let it ruin my day.


For future riders - If the ride breaks down they will scan your ticket and issue you a recovery fast pass good to ride anytime the ride is up throughout the day. Don’t leave the line if the ride breaks down. It’s worth a few minutes wait. They were very efficient in getting us off of the ride and getting everyone’s tickets scanned for fast passes.


----------



## HydroGuy

I am not going to get too deep into the BG vs. SB argument. Originally I thought BG was a good idea. But it is just now occuring to me that I might want to cancel my trip in early March - whose main purpose is to ride ROTR. I am planning to come with 3 of my adult sons. We would have a weekend. So two chances to get a BG. I have not seen anyone here speculate yet about the success rate of getting a BG, but with the anecdotes of 8AM cheering vs. disappoinment it seems it might be 50/50 at best. I live in CO. I really do not want to come out to SoCal with 2 of my kids (the 3rd lives there already) if I do not know that we have a high % chance of riding ROTR. Like 95% at least.

So I guess I am saying I hope selfishly they switch from BGs sooner rather than later. If I had a 4 day trip planned then I might feel differently. But 2 days? That sounds awfully risky...

ETA: And of course, having BGs "sell out" in 1 minute like the last few days could change by March. Maybe to 10-15 minutes? But still.


----------



## Heather07438

HydroGuy said:


> And yours truly was there on opening day for FOP and also on the second day.
> 
> Several things make FOP and ROTR (at DL) apples and oranges to compare:
> 
> First, the obvious one mentioned by others already, FOP is at WDW, and WDW and DLR visitors are different demographics
> FOP opened on Memorial Day weekend while ROTR DL opened in mid-January
> FOP opened as part of the entire opening of a new land - Pandora - while SWGE opened 8 months ago at DL
> FOP had FP+ from the beginning (I had FP+ both days I went on opening weekend). At WDW that means 60+ days in advance to get the FP - yes you have to choose the day you will be at the park - the time you get some choice based on what's available
> DL ROTR was able to get some feedback from WDW ROTR operations which opened 6 weeks prior.
> I agree that BGs are the way to go (for DL at least) until they get the ride operating reliably. For many reasons including the ability to close it early for maintenance.
> 
> Once DL has ROTR more reliable, I would say a middle road that might address all sides of the disagreement here about BG vs. SB lines is to have both - like FP. So all those lucky ones who get BGs in the morning are set, and if you don't get one, well there is the (3-6 hour?) SB line option - which rewards the early arrivers. Of course, that is sort of like just having FP, so maybe they will switch on FP for ROTR instead of BGs, although MaxPass at DLR allows you to get FPs before park opening while BGs do not.


At first that seemed like a superb idea to me but when I played it out, it didn't work as well as the current system.

The first hurdle is that BG distribution would be cut in half.  So if they are running out in 3 or 7 minutes, then they'll be running out in 90 or 200 seconds.


----------



## BGinCali

At 1pm just got notice that they won’t get to my backup BG (124) / not a surprise but I guess nice for someone who was considering staying late/had hope.


----------



## Heather07438

HydroGuy said:


> I am not going to get too deep into the BG vs. SB argument. Originally I thought BG was a good idea. But it is just now occuring to me that I might want to cancel my trip in early March - whose main purpose is to ride ROTR. I am planning to come with 3 of my adult sons. We would have a weekend. So two chances to get a BG. I have not seen anyone here speculate yet about the success rate of getting a BG, but with the anecdotes of 8AM cheering vs. disappoinment it seems it might be 50/50 at best. I live in CO. I really do not want to come out to SoCal with 2 of my kids (the 3rd lives there already) if I do not know that we have a high % chance of riding ROTR. Like 95% at least.
> 
> So I guess I am saying I hope selfishly they switch from BGs sooner rather than later. If I had a 4 day trip planned then I might feel differently. But 2 days? That sounds awfully risky...
> 
> ETA: And of course, having BGs "sell out" in 1 minute like the last few days could change by March. Maybe to 10-15 minutes? But still.


I hear you on that point.  I'd wait to see how DL works out over the next few weeks.  

DL & WDW are different, but at WDW I'd venture to say that in 2 shots guests would be nearing a 95% chance to ride.  I've been following the WDW board and it's extremely rare to hear of a party trying twice and not succeeding.  Just not fully confident the same will hold true at DL but it might.


----------



## montreid

The trouble with rampup between DLR and WDW is the sheer number of AP readily available.  WDW didn't have BG gone in 1minute until ultimate peak holidays week.  Even 12/28th took 5+minutes while DLR CLOSED due to capacity on 12/27th.  

BGs blew through backups in 2-3 minutes flat today.   Even after one month at WDW, the routine is ~130 normal and finish about 160s on good days.    

It'll be interesting to see if crowds will settle down for drop in the next month during the 'low' season, but with March-April spikes.  I wouldn't be surprised even if ROTR gets to 1500/hour and 100/BG x 12 hours operations = 180 BG  --they will routinely run out in 2-3 minutes at drop....just doing the math.


----------



## gottalovepluto

twodogs said:


> Hi all, We are back at GCH for a break, so I thought I would quickly post our experience today for our first try at ROTR.
> 
> 0600: left GCH, no line whatsoever at security to get into DTD
> 
> 0605: arrived at gates, no lines at MM only gates to far right, but we have APs and using EMH and several CMs could not tell me if we could use the 2 lines marked MM (as opposed to the other lines which were marked MM/EMH), so we got in a line marked MM/EMH to be safe.  About 13 people in front of us.  Regular entry lines already past the monorail and about 1/2 between monorail and DCA.
> 
> 0640: (I think, was too hyped to look at phone) opened gates.  Regular lines well past DCA.  Our gate had immediate problems as CM was brand new and very frazzled and angry.  She could not get first family’s tickets to scan, then finally retook their photos several times; next family is told by her that they already used their MM (they were staying onsite, so also had EMH); argument ensues, lead comes over, pulls them aside, takes tickets and leaves; next family has tickets and shows their DVC keys to GCH (which look different than our regular GCH keys) and she tells them that DVC doesn’t get you EMH, argument ensues, lead comes back with first family’s tickets, tells her DVC keys are good and overrides, lets first family in since they do have EMH; OUR turn finally!!  Scans my AP and says it is expired and I can’t enter.  She is fuming now as all the guests are anxious and nothing working. Calls lead over, takes our APs, we step aside.  Next family shows no tickets valid.  Lead brings our AP back, she has to override them and we finally enter.  It was stressful and unnecessary for everyone; no idea why they put a clearly brand new CM on the gates at MM/EMH for ROTR weekend.  We knew we had plenty of time, so stayed calm but it was nerve racking.
> 
> 0700: pin trading.  Walking up Main Street, and CM’s telling all EMH guests to have room keys out to get into Tomorrowland (blocked by the red corn dog wagon Area with ropes.  Rest of non-EMH guests allowed up around the Hub on Main Street.  We show keys and they let us into Tomorrowland (and you had to go this way if you wanted to get to FL also).  Rode SM with no wait x 2, shopped, etc.
> 
> 0735:  Decided at 7:35 to start looking for good signals.  We had 6 phones all logged into the app as me:
> iPhone 7 WiFi only
> iphone 10 Wifi only
> iphone 10R Verizon
> iphone 10R Verizon
> iphone 10 Verizon
> iphone 11 AT&T
> 
> There were 4 of us, so DD14 and I each had one WiFi phone and one Verizon cell phone.  DD12 had her Verizon cell and DH his ATT cell. DD14 and I stood near Buzz gift shop per @wonkakid’s advice for good WiFi (had good Wifi and cell here).  DD12 and DH went to train station loading area and neither had a signal so they walked over to the entrance the Subs).  We put one WiFi phone and one Verizon 10R with app already open.  All other phones, we hard-closed app prior to 8.  Crowds were thick but not insane at Buzz FP kiosks (there was a line of 20-30 there right at 7am and it grew) with people who had no phones or were hedging bets on an IT issue.
> 
> I used my Apple Watch to count the seconds.  Right at 8, we all opened app, but those that were already opened went to Find out More and got red button immediately.  I got the red button immediately on both my WiFi phone and my Verizon cell but the app had to open.  DH never got the red button at all on ATT cell.  I immediately got “you are already in a boarding group” on both my Wifi and Verizon phones.  DD12 and DD14 are not sure which of them actually got the group, so it was either Verizon cell or WiFi, but both phones that got in the fastest ALREADY had the app open when 8am hit.  I know that is counter to what people at WDW were recommending (they recommended hard-close app and open right at 8, which also worked, but was not as fast as app open for our family).  Got BG 14!!!!!!
> 
> Rode Buzz, Pirates, and group called right at 845.  In line at 9am, on at 933, off around 10.  Line moved continuously, and no breakdowns.  Loved the ride and will try tomorrow but the process will be a little different since no EMH.
> 
> Right after we got our BG, APs disappeared from phone and would not let me book MP (though I had booked MP right at going through gates at 0700, so it was working earlier).  Kept telling me to purchase MP for our AP, even though we already have MP!!  We didn’t want to waste time at GS, and about 9 or so, the app was showing a message that all MP was down.  But then I was able to book one anyway??  It was weird.  I think the whole system crashed this AM.
> 
> So grateful to all on these boards and the WDW boards, as all of your advice was valuable this AM.  We also needed the Force because many people around us did not get BGs.  It was very sad.  Some had technical issues, some had parties that were showing as not in the park.  My Advice there is that if you can, try to book a MP right after entering the park (before BGs drop).  If you can do that for all in the party, then you know it recognizes you as all in the park.  If not, it will error on the MP booking and you will hopefully have time to go to GS before BGs drop.
> 
> MTFBW everyone (including us!) as we try again tomorrow!!!!


I cannot believe MP is STILL crashing on them. That’s ridiculous.


----------



## LilyJC

My family experienced the ride yesterday, 1/18, so I’ll share our timeline/phone issues for informational purposes. We’ve been local APs for years, and almost never rope drop or stay all day. We typically roll in for dinner and benefit from the great canceled Maxpass selection, so yesterday was different for us. I very much wanted our family of four to ride together for our first time though, so yesterday was our best option for several weeks.

Anyhow, we came in on Ball from the 57. Mickey & Friends looked slammed as we turned onto Disneyland Dr., so we stayed right and parked at Pixar Pals instead. There was a tiny backup there but nothing too crazy. We parked at 7am and checked out the security situation. The tram lines appeared daunting, so we took the walkway to DTD. We checked the DLH security lines and those were backed up to the hat. We avoided that and went through the regular DTD lines. We noticed people lined up for the monorail, but I knew that was too risky. We reached the gates at 7:33 and found a short line. We made it through in under 5 minutes. I eventually found a canceled SM Maxpass for almost immediate return as we walked down Main St. to make sure all four of us had actually been scanned into the park.

Rope drop was at 7:50 so my family wanted to walk towards SM. We stood near the ball fountain thing in front of Alien Pizza Planet and waited. My husband on iPhone X, oldest on 6s, and me on 7 all with Verizon cellular. We chose the more info button right at 8, but both my husband and I kept getting the "something went wrong" notice when we tried to select our party. The 6s got through with boarding group 92. It's unclear whether we would have had a lower BG number, but my oldest first accidentally selected our After Dark tickets that are already loaded in the account. She then had to start over and select our APs. After the last update to the DLR app, I had noticed it was super glitchy on a trip this past Tuesday night. I was concerned that it would create issues, so it's a great idea to practice with the app at home before showing up. We were irritated but still felt fortunate to have gotten a BG at all. There were a few scattered cheers in the area, but not that many so I superstitiously wouldn't recommend hanging out there... We knew people in the same area who were unable to get one at all due to the app glitching.

We headed over to DCA after riding SM, and it was a dream morning over there.  Once they fixed the system failure and we were able to use our Maxpass once again, we were able to ride so many rides at DCA! It wasn't until around 3ish that it became more work to find canceled MPs back at DL. We had seen that BG 92 had been called at 7:30pm on Friday, so we were pleasantly surprised to be called at 5:25!

Here's our abbreviated timeline since this is so long:

7:00am - parked at Pixar Pals
7:25am - made it through DTD security
7:33am - got in line at DL
7:38am - scanned through
8:00am - BG 92 on iPhone 6s with Verizon
5:25pm - BG 92 called and given until 7:25 to head to ride
5:45pm - checked in with first CMs
5:46pm - sent to available CM to scan each of four boarding passes
6:20pm - made it into the debriefing room
6:41pm - exited our ride vehicle 

Not all of us are huge Star Wars fans, but we all agreed it was worth the time and effort! Amazing!


----------



## asumom

VandVsmama said:


> Thank you for these details!  This is going to help our family a lot when we go in March.


Hopefully it will have calmed down by march.


----------



## gottalovepluto

handyl03 said:


> More info - yesterday a guest had a cell phone was out when it shouldn’t have been, it fell out on the track and was run over per CM.


Sucks the ride went down for everyone because of one idiot.


----------



## Mark_E

Curious to see how it is once we get midweek, non-holiday dates. I’ll be there 27-30th so hoping it’s a bit tamer. As a UK visitor I’m not sure how good my phone signal will be although it seems T Mobile is the best option (I can usually choose from multiple networks)


----------



## Mike_M

HydroGuy said:


> ...But it is just now occuring to me that I might want to cancel my trip in early March - whose main purpose is to ride ROTR. I am planning to come with 3 of my adult sons. We would have a weekend. So two chances to get a BG. I have not seen anyone here speculate yet about the success rate of getting a BG, but with the anecdotes of 8AM cheering vs. disappoinment it seems it might be 50/50 at best. I live in CO. I really do not want to come out to SoCal with 2 of my kids (the 3rd lives there already) if I do not know that we have a high % chance of riding ROTR. Like 95% at least.



I feel I was very lucky with getting a BG on both days I’ve been here this weekend. I was ecstatic about getting one on Saturday and feel that getting another one today was the cherry on top (although it’s been breaking down a lot today and I’m currently waiting for it to come back up to ride it that 2nd time).

I don’t suspect it will be easy to get on this ride for some time. If the risk of not getting on RotR is too much for anyone, I’d hold off a trip till it normalizes more. If you can live without getting on this one ride, then by all means, keep your reservations and enjoy the park as you have in the past.

I would have been disappointed had I not gotten on this weekend, but a trip to Disneyland is always magical for me and I suspect would have regardless.


----------



## HydroGuy

Heather07438 said:


> I hear you on that point.  I'd wait to see how DL works out over the next few weeks.
> 
> DL & WDW are different, but at WDW I'd venture to say that in 2 shots guests would be nearing a 95% chance to ride.  I've been following the WDW board and it's extremely rare to hear of a party trying twice and not succeeding.  Just not fully confident the same will hold true at DL but it might.


I followed the WDW thread for the first few days after ROTR opened. Wow that took a lot of time! I dropped off after day 3.

The key is when the "one minute sell out" starts getting longer. I suspect by early March it will be more than a minute. But how much? We'll see. I appreciate everyone here posting their experiences.


----------



## Mar Mar Binks

We just got off for 2nd time due to ride malfunctioning at 1 pm.  Kids holding up well but headed back to room with 7 year old to swim.  Not sure if anyone has finished ride since 10:30 or so.  They give you fast pass to return if on ride.  Will see if consistently back up and try again later.  We were BG 14 by the way.


----------



## HydroGuy

Mike_M said:


> I feel I was very lucky with getting a BG on both days I’ve been here this weekend. I was ecstatic about getting one on Saturday and feel that getting another one today was the cherry on top (although it’s been breaking down a lot today and I’m currently waiting for it to come back up to ride it that 2nd time).
> 
> I don’t suspect it will be easy to get on this ride for some time. If the risk of not getting on RotR is too much for anyone, I’d hold off a trip till it normalizes more. If you can live without getting on this one ride, then by all means, keep your reservations and enjoy the park as you have in the past.
> 
> I would have been disappointed had I not gotten on this weekend, but a trip to Disneyland is always magical for me and I suspect would have regardless.


Thanks, I come to DLR a few times a year, but the last time I was there with all 3 kiddos at the same time was 6 years ago. I might just start planning for June rather than March, as a backup.


----------



## Mar Mar Binks

handyl03 said:


> Cast members are saying at least another hour. Telling everyone to screenshot boarding passes to show for return later. Boarding passes up to 27 will be honored all day.


They gave us a fast past to return after an hour and 45 minutes wait.  We just tried again and made it to the part right before main ride and then were shuttled down a hallway with little explanation but we all knew... Got another fast pass to try again later.  CM look tired but doing their best.  Crowd nice to them.


----------



## handyl03

We made it back on after the first break down but only because we walked back to the ride to check on how things were going and then parked ourselves at the entrance to recharge our phones. As soon as it went back up the CM that we had been talking too directed us to another entrance for fast pass recovery guests. That entrance led right in to the briefing room. My son and his friend were over at Space Mountain and arrived a few minutes after us - they got all the way to the doors to board when the ride broke down for the second time. They got their second set of recovery fast passes too. Good luck![/QUOTE]


----------



## Heather07438

HydroGuy said:


> I followed the WDW thread for the first few days after ROTR opened. Wow that took a lot of time! I dropped off after day 3.
> 
> The key is when the "one minute sell out" starts getting longer. I suspect by early March it will be more than a minute. But how much? We'll see. I appreciate everyone here posting their experiences.


Good luck   I hope it works out and BGs start lasting more than a few minutes on a consistent basis.  10-15 minutes would be nice!


----------



## handyl03

Ride is working again. My son is in line hoping the third times the charm!


----------



## StarGirl11

The not being able to leave the queue without forfeiting your BG really doesn’t sit well with me. I know there hasn’t been enough FPs issued or DAS people coming through at the same time to cause a backup. But if something like FoP going down on my last trip due to a fire alarm causing the FP line to back all the way up to where you enter the queue then your going to possible have problems with people who have DAS and for the reasons to avoid being in tightly packed spaces with people. A person who doesn’t know how long the FP queue is (which admittedly isn’t huge) could enter without realizing how long they’ll be in there and thus start having problems. Admittedly at that point you should just choose to leave. But the idea you might have to forfeit your chance to ride because of a medical problem out of your control after thinking you should be able to ride....They have to realize how this could be a problem.


----------



## Mar Mar Binks

handyl03 said:


> Ride is working again. My son is in line hoping the third times the charm!


Here is hoping it stays up so more people can enjoy it!  I am going to rest and try again once up consistently for a while.


----------



## EmJ

Does anyone have the link to that Twitter account that maps out the ride performance? Thrill Park or something? I accidentally closed the window on my iPad and can't find it, so now I have the sadz.

ETA: Nevermind, I found it right after I posted because the universe is like that sometimes. For anyone else who might be interested: https://www.thrill-data.com/waits/attraction/disneyland/starwarsriseoftheresistance/. Definitely not a good day for ROTR


----------



## CableKC

We r at the park on Sunday 1/19.

My strategy of boarding the monorail and then trying for a boarding pass ( once my ticket was scanned ) fell through when I got to the monorail line at 745am and saw that there was a huge line just to board.   I suspected that no one is scanned to enter until after 8am....which meant that I wouldn't be able to get scanned till 815am.   So, I head to the main DL entrance and get into the park by 750am.  I go to the DL app and there is no option for me to "Join boarding group" at that time.   At 8am....I start refreshing until I have the option to get the boarding pass.   I get an error.   Refresh....another error.   Refresh.....another error .   I finally get in but end up getting boarding group 126.   By this time.....it's about 801am.

I continually check the status and it shows "open" but no boarding number.    By 1030ish.....they start to call boarding numbers between 12 to 20.   By 2pm....they are only open to 28-32.  

Over the course of 4 hours.....even at 2p.....they are only up to 32.     I get a message saying that they won't be able to accommodate my boarding pass of 126.    I don't know if the ride is just really slow or something else.   But if it's totally random that someone that gets a low boarding pass # even if they r there at 8am, that does now bode well for the vast majority of Patrons that go to DL and want to ride.   

I assume that demand for the ride is super high given the timing...but this was fairly disappointing.   I would have thought that if I could get a boarding pass 801am.....that I could at least ride the ride by the evening.


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## twodogs

I wish they were letting us out of the line and offering us a return anytime fast pass or letting us show our boarding group scream shop and that is not what is happening. There is literally no one coming out of the line the line is not being evacuated currently I am just passed the waterfall and they are telling us we cannot leave her we will not be able to ride again. I’m very frustrated by this mixture of information in the fact that we’ve been here almost 2 hours


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## socaldisneylover

Park has been open 6+ Hours, and they're only on Group 34.  Going to be lucky if they get to 100 today.

Sorry to say, but I'm going to go out on a limb and agree with some of the people in the know who posted on another board.  They say that these problems and shutdowns are going to be the norm for months or even years to come for this ride.  And how it takes over an hour to reset everything once the ride goes down, which is likely to always be the case going forward.

I think there is almost zero chance they'll stop the boarding groups anytime soon.  It may be late 2020 before that happens, if it even does.  They can't have people waiting in a 4 hour standby line, knowing that with each passing minute, a crash becomes more and more likely, and they'll have to tell people who have waited for hours that they're SOL.


----------



## CableKC

twodogs said:


> I wish they were letting us out of the line and offering us a return anytime fast pass or letting us show our boarding group scream shop and that is not what is happening. There is literally no one coming out of the line the line is not being evacuated currently I am just passed the waterfall and they are telling us we cannot leave her we will not be able to ride again. I’m very frustrated by this mixture of information in the fact that we’ve been here almost 2 hours


Sounds like you are getting more info from Disboards than the CM there.


----------



## twodogs

twodogs said:


> I wish they were letting us out of the line and offering us a return anytime fast pass or letting us show our boarding group scream shop and that is not what is happening. There is literally no one coming out of the line the line is not being evacuated currently I am just passed the waterfall and they are telling us we cannot leave her we will not be able to ride again. I’m very frustrated by this mixture of information in the fact that we’ve been here almost 2 hours


I wrote that earlier and then the ride finally came back up and then we went through the first part and the evacuated. Total of 2 hours 40 minutes. They gave us a FP to come back. It was exhausting. I don’t understand why after an hour, trapped in the line with it broken, they don’t clear it and give FPs. It doesn’t take long to do. And it doesn’t increase the number of people who eventually ride??


----------



## JPTexan82

My personal opinion until the issue dies down to increase the ability for more guest to be able to ride. Since DL has so many AP’s. Once you ride, you are not allowed to get an other guaranteed Boarding Group for a period of time (let’s say 14-21 days). You can only be able to book a backup boarding group. This will allow the day guest, vacation groups a better chance as they are there for only a limited amount of time.
Nothing is worse than spending $149.00 for a one day ticket and not to be able to experience ROTR.


----------



## twodogs

CableKC said:


> Sounds like you are getting more info from Disboards than the CM there.


Absolutely. The announcements in the ride for the 2 hours plus we were in line and not able to leave without giving up our BG for the day, all said ask a CM for questions. They were not  ever in our area of the line ever in two hours.


----------



## brightlined

CableKC said:


> I assume that demand for the ride is super high given the timing...but this was fairly disappointing.   I would have thought that if I could get a boarding pass 801am.....that I could at least ride the ride by the evening.


Scroll back through this thread, and you'll get a better picture of everything, including the morning BG distribution problems. And the ride's been down most of this afternoon.

No fault of yours - this was just a unfortunate choice of days.


----------



## socaldisneylover

I think it is EXTREMELY disingenuous of Disney to promote this ride in the media, when not only MUST you be in the park at the official opening time, but you also have to be very lucky in order to be assigned to a group.  It's really a bait and switch.  We'll promote the ride through an exciting commercial, but once you get to the park, we'll either explain what steps are necessary for even a chance to ride....or else have signs up saying that there's no chance of getting on the ride, since you were not there before 8:00 AM.


----------



## aymiewilson

This might be a dumb question but...
For all the people practicing at home how to get a boarding group, do you have to have tickets already loaded in your account? My friend and I bought ours from Get Away Today, so we just have those vouchers that you have to go redeem at a guest relations kiosk for your real ticket. Can I still practice from home without any ticket linked to my Disney account?


----------



## Evita_W

montreid said:


> What's your solution?  5+ hour standby line that a ride can evacuate when it goes down for an hour and restart over again?  Sure, that's only several thousand disappointed people at a time instead and for the lucky ones with able to experience this single ride and a few others.   That's an expensive E Ticket.


Honestly, not sure what solution there can be, but this won't work past this month or mid Feb without lots of complaints from the Disneyland regulars, they won't out up with having to show up at park opening and then possibly not being able to ride until 8 PM or later.


----------



## Evita_W

JPTexan82 said:


> My personal opinion until the issue dies down to increase the ability for more guest to be able to ride. Since DL has so many AP’s. Once you ride, you are not allowed to get an other guaranteed Boarding Group for a period of time (let’s say 14-21 days). You can only be able to book a backup boarding group. This will allow the day guest, vacation groups a better chance as they are there for only a limited amount of time.
> Nothing is worse than spending $149.00 for a one day ticket and not to be able to experience ROTR.


They can't do this legally, in fact even their current setup violates the fine print on your ticket that says valid for unlimited use of all attractions, except arcades.


----------



## brightlined

aymiewilson said:


> This might be a dumb question but...
> For all the people practicing at home how to get a boarding group, do you have to have tickets already loaded in your account? My friend and I bought ours from Get Away Today, so we just have those vouchers that you have to go redeem at a guest relations kiosk for your real ticket. Can I still practice from home without any ticket linked to my Disney account?


Yep, you can practice at home - the main part of the process doesn't involve your ticket status until a few screens in.


----------



## vharris2828

This might be a dumb question but...
For all the people practicing at home how to get a boarding group, do you have to have tickets already loaded in your account? My friend and I bought ours from Get Away Today, so we just have those vouchers that you have to go redeem at a guest relations kiosk for your real ticket. Can I still practice from home without any ticket linked to my Disney account?
[/QUOTE]
you don’t need tickets to get through first screen. It basically takes you to the same spot and asks if you want to link tickets.


----------



## SirBill

A thought about how long it will be before you can take more than a minute and still get a normal boarding group... this is where Disneyland being a locals park will help out.  Over the next month or so locals will be trying pretty frequently to get in, causing the boarding group distribution times to remain really short.  But after most of the locals have ridden a few times, they will not be trying as often to come early to get a BG and so then the time before they are distributed should mellow out.  I'm going back in March and I'm expecting maybe 5-10 minutes at that point before boarding groups are gone.

At Disney World things will probably remain crazy there for several years, because most people going there are not going often, so every day there will be mostly a large number of new people who are trying really hard to get a boarding group.

In the end I think it's great that Disney now has a ride of such high caliber that it is a massive draw, and enhances Galaxy's Edge to boot!  Even if there are many short term pains.


----------



## katyringo

The ride is not doing stellar today.

I feel for those who have had less then stellar expirence.

I also just feel it’s way to early to make predictions and things. Most of agree that we want Disney to continue to be innovative and try new things and for that to happen we as guests are going to have to be okay with things not being perfect on day 1.


----------



## brightlined

Evita_W said:


> They can't do this legally, in fact even their current setup violates the fine print on your ticket that says valid for unlimited use of all attractions, except arcades.


I don't see that language in the AP terms and conditions. What's there is: "Parks, services, entertainment and attractions may change operating hours, close temporarily, or may otherwise change or be discontinued without notice and without liability." There's no guarantees of anything. 

My (older) pass says: "It provides the individual with pre-specfied, revocable privileges." I assume they'd just have to announce a restriction to be good to go.

That's not to say that it's a good idea or that they would actually do it. But I think they could legally restrict AP access to ROTR, if (for some bizarre reason) they wanted to.


----------



## vharris2828

I’m a tad surprised how quickly it seemed wdw issued snacks and one day passes and Disneyland hasn’t really done the same at all? Today sounds like it’s been a bit of a disaster!! I do think they had a pretty great first two days. Yesterday seemed to run pretty smoothly. But today not so much


----------



## montreid

Those gremlins from WDW took the flight over to DLR!  
Finally moving consistently now and have to work down those FPs from earlier.


----------



## montreid

From rest of wait times - seems typical MLK weekend day -- how are the crowds doing?


----------



## DLgal

montreid said:


> From rest of wait times - seems typical MLK weekend day -- how are the crowds doing?



DL was not too crowded. DCA is another story. It is packed today, and the lines for the festival were all VERY long.


----------



## DLgal

So, I guess it's a good thing we didn't get a BG this morning after all, seeing the absolute cluster that this ride has been today. 

All these people with BG have essentially wasted their entire morning waiting in a line for a broken ride to come back up, or leaving, and coming back, just to wait MORE while the ride is down again, etc. And I'll be surprised if they even get through the "guaranteed" BG numbers today. I wonder what the guest recovery will be for people whose BG numbers below 82 are never called.

How is this better than just having a standby line again? Seems either way, many people have dedicated literally hours to this ride today with nothing to show for it.


----------



## brightlined

DLgal said:


> How is this better than just having a standby line again? Seems either way, many people have dedicated literally hours to this ride today with nothing to show for it.


No different. People would still be sitting in line in the hopes of being able to ride.

Actually, one big difference - in this situation, a bunch of people (including later BG groups) went on about their day because they knew they weren't going to be able to ride today. I mean, to be fair, you were one of those people.


----------



## sammybk

We decided at the last minute to try today going with our toddler at opening and practice getting a boarding group. We parked at the Fairfield by about 7:10am, were in line a few minutes later and inside the park by 7:30.

We hung out at the train station on Main Street until rope drop and hopped on the first train to keep our toddler occupied and happy.  We followed suggestions to monitor the second hand on a smart watch.

At 8:00:00 sharp, clicked into the ride of the resistance banner from the app home screen.  Was able to immediately join a boarding group. Pulled #12 (first one for today) while in the New Orleans Square station. Rode trains and Fantasyland rides until around 9:30 to check on ROTR.

Wife went in just after groups called and we grabbed a baby swap for me to come back.  It took her about 30 minutes line+ride.

By the time I came back it was around 10:20am. Was in the final line to load a ride vehicle and they turned lights on and walked everyone out. At that point it was about 15 minutes in, and then another 15 minutes out waiting.

We were both reissued fast passes. I got to go on finally as soon as it reopened after the first breakdown - around 12:10. My wife tried to press her luck and ride again with her elicit fast pass, but it broke down on her after 2 minutes into the experience. She was issued two more new fast passes.  We decided to call it a day and get the kid home for nap time at 1pm. 

Feel incredibly lucky we both got on having been visiting with 1 year old. The CM were in good spirits on the ride rolling with the breakdowns and ad libbing. A highlight was getting to see the first order breakroom when getting walked out backstage.


----------



## Tinkerbell19672

I appreciate all the help in getting into a BG. I will be there next weekend and excited to try to ride.  But it seems like people are starting to post spoilers here . Mentioning staging areas or whatever else. I don’t want to know anything about this ride before I go and I’m finding myself skimming through so I don’t read anything that will spoil it.


----------



## JPTexan82

Evita_W said:


> They can't do this legally, in fact even their current setup violates the fine print on your ticket that says valid for unlimited use of all attractions, except arcades.


The way around it legally, back up boarding group.


----------



## CastAStone

If it stays up they have a good shot at making it through all the regular groups.

If.


----------



## Mathmagicland

Tinkerbell19672 said:


> I appreciate all the help in getting into a BG. I will be there next weekend and excited to try to ride.  But it seems like people are starting to post spoilers here . Mentioning staging areas or whatever else. I don’t want to know anything about this ride before I go and I’m finding myself skimming through so I don’t read anything that will spoil it.


I don’t think that is a spoiler - @sammybk mentions being walked out backstage after the ride stopped, and in process he saw off-stage areas such as a cast member break room.  That is not part of the attraction.


----------



## CastAStone

Tinkerbell19672 said:


> I appreciate all the help in getting into a BG. I will be there next weekend and excited to try to ride.  But it seems like people are starting to post spoilers here . Mentioning staging areas or whatever else. I don’t want to know anything about this ride before I go and I’m finding myself skimming through so I don’t read anything that will spoil it.


*Attn all: *There is a Spoiler flag you can use!
Anything after the boarding group line merges with the FastPass line, please consider as a spoiler!


----------



## socaldisneylover

CastAStone said:


> If it stays up they have a good shot at making it through all the regular groups.
> 
> If.


Oh....don't worry about that.  They'll probably do whatever is necessary to get through the guaranteed groups, because otherwise it's going to cost Disney money.


----------



## CastAStone

socaldisneylover said:


> Oh....don't worry about that.  They'll probably do whatever is necessary to get through the guaranteed groups, because otherwise it's going to cost Disney money.


At DHS if it’s been close they’ve been pushing it but they have been willing to call it if needed.


----------



## montreid

CastAStone said:


> At DHS if it’s been close they’ve been pushing it but they have been willing to call it if needed.


Like the other day -  it was horrible - recovery to almost 1/2 of the regular groups.


----------



## socaldisneylover

montreid said:


> Like the other day -  it was horrible - recovery to almost 1/2 of the regular groups.


I am finding it hard to believe that they are EVER going to get it together enough to operate this attraction without boarding groups.  One would think that they are improving, and people here keep mentioning that by closing early every night, they're able to work on fixes, and improve reliability.

Well, obviously that isn't happening in Orlando, and as evidenced by the fact the 3rd day at Disneyland looks like the worst so far, it's more or less a crap shoot whether each day will be good or bad in terms of getting through boarding groups.

I think that as the weeks and months go by, without any improvement in the running of this attraction, the bad press is going to damage the glowing reviews of the ride.  Sure, it's this mind blowing, revolutionary attraction.....that you'll be lucky if you actually get a chance to go on it.

I'm guessing there has yet to be a day at WDW where the attraction did not go down at least once.


----------



## gottalovepluto

twodogs said:


> I wish they were letting us out of the line and offering us a return anytime fast pass or letting us show our boarding group scream shop and that is not what is happening. There is literally no one coming out of the line the line is not being evacuated currently I am just passed the waterfall and they are telling us we cannot leave her we will not be able to ride again. I’m very frustrated by this mixture of information in the fact that we’ve been here almost 2 hours


Complain. Hit up Twitter. Tell City Hall. There is no reason for that policy to find 2 hours as an acceptable amount of time to leave guests waiting in a line that does not move.

Disney needs to change this specific procedure and they will only do that with enough complaints. People should be getting a return FP just like all the other rides when they malfunction. They don’t make everyone wait in Indy for 2 hours when it breaks.


----------



## gottalovepluto

socaldisneylover said:


> Oh....don't worry about that.  They'll probably do whatever is necessary to get through the guaranteed groups, because otherwise it's going to cost Disney money.


How would it cost Disney money? They don’t comp people with jack when rides go down...


----------



## otten

gottalovepluto said:


> How would it cost Disney money? They don’t comp people with jack when rides go down...



May DHS anyway they have been comping people with one day park hopper tickets if they are in a regular boarding group that doesn’t get called.


----------



## gottalovepluto

otten said:


> May DHS anyway they have been comping people with one day park hopper tickets if they are in a regular boarding group that doesn’t get called.


Wow! I’d be hoping my BG wasn’t called at DL if DLR got generous like that!

(I’m not really a SW fan obviously )


----------



## franandaj

I've been reading this thread on and off since Friday and finally I got to the end! Every time i was close another three to eight pages would pop up!

Another local AP holder here. Thanks to everyone who are sharing their experiences. I've been "playing along from home" the last two days. I feel like I've got a pretty good handle on the process.

I did get to ride during the previews so I'm in no rush to get out there at rope drop and face the current madness. Plus I leave for WDW in two weeks and have two days there where I plan on riding.  

But here's something to add to the discussion of how AP holders will react. I have never made a rope drop from home, only if I was staying on property (VGC owner as well). But I have already made plans to come out in late February after I get back from WDW to try the BG process. I even made a 9:10 reservation at Carnation. The park opens at 9AM that day so we will do the BG crazy and then sit down for a nice breakfast while we either wait for our BG or ride something else and go home.

I'm only one person (OK I'm bringing two others with me) but this process is bringing me to do something I have never done before. I'm usually a "stroll into the parks in the afternoon, ride a couple things, shop a bit, get a bite to eat, maybe a drink, and go home" kind of person. 

I'm hoping that most of the AP folks are over the hype in a month and on a weekday to boot. We'll see, but I'm curious to hear how the weekdays go this week!


----------



## DGsAtBLT

DLgal said:


> So, I guess it's a good thing we didn't get a BG this morning after all, seeing the absolute cluster that this ride has been today.
> 
> All these people with BG have essentially wasted their entire morning waiting in a line for a broken ride to come back up, or leaving, and coming back, just to wait MORE while the ride is down again, etc. And I'll be surprised if they even get through the "guaranteed" BG numbers today. I wonder what the guest recovery will be for people whose BG numbers below 82 are never called.
> 
> How is this better than just having a standby line again? Seems either way, many people have dedicated literally hours to this ride today with nothing to show for it.



The issues today have to do with the poor reliability of the attraction.

The virtual queue and BGs are still better than a regular standby line here, because when it goes down and stays down, or is up and down all day long, Disney has the ability to insure the fewest number of guests are stuck in a queue and nobody new is entering and wasting time. It also stops a major (and dangerous) crowd forming outside the attraction waiting for it to come back up. The virtual queue makes it so Disney is not clearing what could potentially be hours and hours worth of people multiple times a day.

What Disney should be doing, and to my knowledge what they have been doing in DHS is issuing recovery FP when they clear the line. I would be upset if they’re not doing that, but again that’s not really a BG issue that would be fixed with stand by.

I just don’t understand how anybody can look at this rides operations on both coasts and think, hmmm, I’d like to take my chances with a regular line here. No thank you.


----------



## socaldisneylover

DGsAtBLT said:


> I just don’t understand how anybody can look at this rides operations on both coasts and think, hmmm, I’d like to take my chances with a regular line here. No thank you.


The ride's reliability is a complete and utter disaster.  I agree with some insiders who believe that it will be a recurring issue for the duration of this attraction.  I am beginning to doubt whether they will ever be able to operate it like a regular attraction, since it seems like there is no rhyme or reason to when or how many times it's going to crash each day.  Every time there appears to be some improvement at WDW, there's a horrible day where the ride takes two steps back, and after 6 weeks of operation, the improvement in getting more people through is minimal.


----------



## DLgal

socaldisneylover said:


> The ride's reliability is a complete and utter disaster.  I agree with some insiders who believe that it will be a recurring issue for the duration of this attraction.  I am beginning to doubt whether they will ever be able to operate it like a regular attraction, since it seems like there is no rhyme or reason to when or how many times it's going to crash each day.  Every time there appears to be some improvement at WDW, there's a horrible day where the ride takes two steps back, and after 6 weeks of operation, the improvement in getting more people through is minimal.



At some point, you have to wonder if they will just scrap the trackless vehicles and carve a track into the darn thing. 

The tech behind this ride is clearly not ready for prime time.


----------



## nutshell

So many the cup is half empty types around here. Disney is working on it. Things will be fine. Patience.


----------



## Aurora0427

twodogs said:


> Absolutely. The announcements in the ride for the 2 hours plus we were in line and not able to leave without giving up our BG for the day, all said ask a CM for questions. They were not  ever in our area of the line ever in two hours.



I cannot believe they are making everyone wait in line for two plus hours. That is unbelievable. So not only do you have to stress out about getting a BG, you then have to worry about the ride going down while you’re waiting to board! If the ride is down over 60 minutes, the humane thing to do is evacuate the line and give everyone a FP to return. Really really crappy of Disney.


----------



## Mike_M

With talking about reliability, let’s not forget that Indy doesn’t have a stellar record yet we love it none the less. Additionally, on a trip back in Feb of last year, POTC was down for nearly the whole week and that’s been one of the most reliable rides over the years.

We are 3 days into a ride that is as cutting edge as it gets. There are bound to be growing pains. I was caught in the queue for the 2nd breakdown and enjoyed an hour relaxing before the line moved again. I’m ok with that. I would have preferred that it not breakdown, but in the end, I got to ride it today before having to get back on a plane to Seattle, so I’m grateful and happy, not upset.

RSR had its fast pass rushes in the beginning. Star Tours had the longest line ever at opening. This is just how it is at first. Couple years from now, it’ll all normalize and people will be looking to the next big thing.


----------



## StarGirl11

DLgal said:


> At some point, you have to wonder if they will just scrap the trackless vehicles and carve a track into the darn thing.
> 
> The tech behind this ride is clearly not ready for prime time.



Okay maybe I’m misunderstanding what you’re getting at here but trackless ride vehicles have been around a lot longer then ROTR. TokyoDisney and Hong Kong Disney both have well loved trackless rides. This really isn’t a new system. New to US Disney yes. New overall? No

Admittedly I don’t know how opening for those went. But point is I don’t think they’ll be abandoning trackless


----------



## DGsAtBLT

DLgal said:


> At some point, you have to wonder if they will just scrap the trackless vehicles and carve a track into the darn thing.
> 
> The tech behind this ride is clearly not ready for prime time.



Trackless has been done for a while in the overseas parks.

Without getting into detail because of spoilers, I’ve gotten the impression the issue is getting all the moving parts and different systems to work at the same time?


----------



## montreid

Luigi is trackless. Same tech iirc


----------



## Vysecity

At what time did they stop taking BG yesterday? 8pm? I'm group 80 and I'm not liking my chances


----------



## HydroGuy

socaldisneylover said:


> *The ride's reliability is a complete and utter disaster.*  I agree with some insiders who believe that it will be a recurring issue for the duration of this attraction.  I am beginning to doubt whether they will ever be able to operate it like a regular attraction, since it seems like there is no rhyme or reason to when or how many times it's going to crash each day.  Every time there appears to be some improvement at WDW, there's a horrible day where the ride takes two steps back, and after 6 weeks of operation, the improvement in getting more people through is minimal.


We don't know that really. There was an anecdotal CM report today in this thread that most of the problems so far have been caused by guests.  This sounds a lot like RSR did at first, which also had a lot of guest related problems as I recall.


----------



## StarGirl11

Vysecity said:


> At what time did they stop taking BG yesterday? 8pm? I'm group 80 and I'm not liking my chances



Im not sure about yesterday but WDW never keeps them open until closing it feels like. I think usually it’s around two hours before? So if that’s accurate they’ve still got a few more hours to 10. Good luck. Hope you get called


----------



## DLgal

StarGirl11 said:


> Okay maybe I’m misunderstanding what you’re getting at here but trackless ride vehicles have been around a lot longer then ROTR. TokyoDisney and Hong Kong Disney both have well loved trackless rides. This really isn’t a new system. New to US Disney yes. New overall? No
> 
> Admittedly I don’t know how opening for those went. But point is I don’t think they’ll be abandoning trackless



This trackless system is not the same one in use at the other, existing Disney trackless rides. 

Imagineering essentially outsourced the trackless tech for this ride. An outside company provided it. This is why there have been SO many issues getting all the systems/sensors to synch up.


----------



## nutshell

DLgal said:


> This trackless system is not the same one in use at the other, existing Disney trackless rides.
> 
> Imagineering essentially outsourced the trackless tech for this ride. An outside company provided it. This is why there have been SO many issues getting all the systems/sensors to synch up.


It’s very similar. Technically, the trackless rides in Tokyo aren’t Disney either as those parks are owned and operated by the Oriental Land Company.


----------



## cm123

My understanding was that they outsourced the previous trackless ride systems to one company who had experience doing it and decided to do it in house this time and it bit them in the ***.


----------



## franandaj

DGsAtBLT said:


> Trackless has been done for a while in the overseas parks.
> 
> Without getting into detail because of spoilers, I’ve gotten the impression the issue is getting all the moving parts and different systems to work at the same time?



From what I understand a lot of this ride requires the internet to be functioning at minimal levels. I have some friends of friends with knowledge and they said that the main reason WDW opened first was because they had less internet issues. DL has spotty internet as we all know and evidently that plays a part in ride functionality. I dont know anything myself, I am just parroting what someone said to me so it is 2nd or 3rd hand hearsay.


----------



## gottalovepluto

StarGirl11 said:


> Okay maybe I’m misunderstanding what you’re getting at here but trackless ride vehicles have been around a lot longer then ROTR. TokyoDisney and Hong Kong Disney both have well loved trackless rides. This really isn’t a new system. New to US Disney yes. New overall? No
> 
> Admittedly I don’t know how opening for those went. But point is I don’t think they’ll be abandoning trackless


I vaguely recall rumors about Disney having a dispute with the company that did those trackless rides and then parting ways right as ROTR was about to get off the drawing board so Disney had to make their own?... 

Considering how awesome they are at IT this a total shock they would have trouble building a trackless ride system and software from scratch. /s


----------



## katyringo

I’m kinda surprised at some of the negativity in this thread. i much prefer disboards to other unarmed forums because it usually airs on the positive side.

the ride is complex. Ground breaking. Yeah so maybe it’s reliability is never super stellar and that’s exactly why they use the BGs.

I would much rather have spend my day enjoying disneyland and not getting to ride ROR due to downtime instead of spending hours in a line and not getting to ride ROR.


----------



## DGsAtBLT

franandaj said:


> From what I understand a lot of this ride requires the internet to be functioning at minimal levels. I have some friends of friends with knowledge and they said that the main reason WDW opened first was because they had less internet issues. DL has spotty internet as we all know and evidently that plays a part in ride functionality. I dont know anything myself, I am just parroting what someone said to me so it is 2nd or 3rd hand hearsay.



I don’t know whether to laugh or cry if that’s true. A cutting edge, never before done attraction being hindered by poor internet connection .


----------



## Avery's mom

We have BG 96 today and we're just notified that we won't be accommodated today. Not a huge surprise. For us, no big deal, as we rode yesterday. Hope for better tomorrow!


----------



## DLgal

Huh...look at the wording on this. Interesting. This doesn't indicate that Boarding Groups are the standard operating procedure for this ride.


----------



## Vysecity

Avery's mom said:


> We have BG 96 today and we're just notified that we won't be accommodated today. Not a huge surprise. For us, no big deal, as we rode yesterday. Hope for better tomorrow!


 Wow we wont even get to 96 today. I'm preparing for not getting on. Just gonna start telling nephew it might not happen


----------



## DLgal

cm123 said:


> My understanding was that they outsourced the previous trackless ride systems to one company who had experience doing it and decided to do it in house this time and it bit them in the ***.



That could be it. I may have misunderstood. 

I have also been hearing that interference from guests cell phones is causing issues. That they are considering asking guests to put their phones into airplane mode while riding. Apparently, they were doing this during the media previews since they knew those media guests would comply with any requests made of them. And it worked better.


----------



## njchris

Oh boy.  Going to try to go with my friend tomorrow morning for his b-day.  But i'm worried about being trapped in that line for a couple hours like I've seen some people above mention.  My friend suffers with pretty bad anxiety and I am not sure how well he will hold up for a long period of waiting like that.  Probably would have to leave the BG line in that case.   Oh well, might not even get in a BG so it may not even be a concern in the end.


----------



## socaldisneylover

nutshell said:


> So many the cup is half empty types around here. Disney is working on it. Things will be fine. Patience.


Disney has been working on "it" for the last year.  They even delayed opening by several months.  Disney has been working on "it" at WDW since the 1st week of December, with little to no improvement.  I wonder sincerely whether things will be fine anytime soon.


----------



## Ryan120420

socaldisneylover said:


> The ride's reliability is a complete and utter disaster.  I agree with some insiders who believe that it will be a recurring issue for the duration of this attraction.  I am beginning to doubt whether they will ever be able to operate it like a regular attraction, since it seems like there is no rhyme or reason to when or how many times it's going to crash each day.  Every time there appears to be some improvement at WDW, there's a horrible day where the ride takes two steps back, and after 6 weeks of operation, the improvement in getting more people through is minimal.



LOL! Its 6 weeks into operation.   

Its a brand new ride, its going to have issues. Its not the first time a new ride in a theme park has been plagued with crippling reliability issues.  Off the top of my head : Test Track, Top Thrill Dragster, Indiana Jones Adventure, Hagrid's Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure, Forbidden Journey are all attractions in the theme park industry that were massive reliability headaches when they debuted to the public. With time (and a lot of money) these attractions are pretty reliable now.


Disney will throw a ton of money at their new flagship ride to make it reliable.

They will figure it out.


----------



## nutshell

socaldisneylover said:


> Disney has been working on "it" for the last year.  They even delayed opening by several months.  Disney has been working on "it" at WDW since the 1st week of December, with little to no improvement.  I wonder sincerely whether things will be fine anytime soon.


Wonder away. While Disney has been working on the ride for some time now, it’s only been open at DL for three days. This is the most cutting edge ride in the world. Hiccups are not surprising.  Technical glitches and closures are a part of amusement parks. They happen every day.


----------



## socaldisneylover

Surprise!!  The ride is down again.  Stuck at Group 64.  Looks like they may not even hit their "guaranteed" 81 groups.  Will be interesting to see if they do the same Park Hopper & ROTR Fast Pass offer as at WDW.


----------



## Etonduf

DGsAtBLT said:


> I just don’t understand how anybody can look at this rides operations on both coasts and think, hmmm, I’d like to take my chances with a regular line here. No thank you.



More to the point, I don't understand how anybody could look at the Disney operations on both coasts and around the world and think that they can solve the problem better than Disney. And I'm not saying that as blind loyalty, I just think that Disney have tons of experience with these situations and the infinite number of variables involved, and that's the lens through which they view the problems. We see it through the lens of the customer, and that what we think is best is clearly biased in favor of what would benefit us and our preferred ways of experiencing the parks.

None of us have enough experience or a wide enough view of the situation to second-guess the institutional knowledge the company brings to the problem. I don't think we should just blindly trust eveything around us, but some of this discussion borders on arrogance, especially three days into the operation. How many of us think the general public are informed enough and experienced enough to tell us how to do our jobs? Yet we're happy to tell Disney how to do theirs.

Of course, I recognize the spirit of these discussions: we want a place to vent and verbalize other ideas. And that's great!

Quick edit to add: I'm not trying to say that Disney or any other organization is infallible! I just think it's really easy to play "armchair quarterback" and think we have all the answers.


----------



## nutshell

I would add that thousands of people are enjoying this ride every day. Either at DL or DHS. It’s not the “disaster” the haters are pretending it to be.


----------



## DGsAtBLT

nutshell said:


> Wonder away. While Disney has been working on the ride for some time now, it’s only been open at DL for three days. This is the most cutting edge ride in the world. Hiccups are not surprising.  Technical glitches and closures are a part of amusement parks. They happen every day.



To be fair, it’s been open since early December in DHS with little change. Some (relatively) great days, a few terrible days, but overall BG per hour remains pretty similar to what it was at the beginning.


----------



## nutshell

DGsAtBLT said:


> To be fair, it’s been open since early December in DHS with little change. Some (relatively) great days, a few terrible days, but overall BG per hour remains pretty similar to what it was at the beginning.


Yep. And that’s thousands of riders who generally didn’t have to wait in line for hours upon hours to experience the attraction. I’d call that a success and it’s only going to get better.


----------



## DGsAtBLT

nutshell said:


> Yep. And that’s thousands of riders who generally didn’t have to wait in line for hours upon hours to experience the attraction. I’d call that a success and it’s only going to get better.



Oh absolutely. I think the BGs have been the absolute right move and any issues people have with it would be magnified with a stand by line.

The reliability itself leaves a lot to be desired.


----------



## brightlined

I'm also really annoyed with negativity here. C'mon, people.

Complaining about how DL staff is handling everything is fair game, but all of the rampant speculation, projection, and passive-aggressive "oh look" is really unpleasant. Seriously, it's Day 3.

For the record: ROTR-DHS literally just had one of the best-performing days of its existence. They were averaging 12.1 BGs an hour (157 BGs) on a busy day. It's gonna get better.


----------



## socaldisneylover

nutshell said:


> Yep. And that’s thousands of riders who generally didn’t have to wait in line for hours upon hours to experience the attraction. I’d call that a success and it’s only going to get better.


To even have a chance, you have to be inside the park prior to rope drop.  But that guarantees you nothing.  You then have to hope for a reliable app connection, fast fingers, and not getting any app "errors."  But even then....no guarantee you'll get to ride.  You may end up in a backup group, in which case you're going to be waiting 12+ hours before your ride time arrives.  So you don't have to wait in a line, but you do have to wait 12+ hours to ride.  MAYBE.  You may wait 12 hours, and then get a notification that you're SOL.

And this is after 6 weeks to get things right at WDW.  Little has changed there, except from the size of crowds going to the park.


----------



## VandVsmama

Y'all just need to take a few moments and chill out.  Everything is going to work out.  Just give it time.  It's only been day 3.


----------



## laugard

Haven't been able to read previous posts yet, but am at ride now and was told if ride is functioning, plan right now is to call through group 87. IF but keeping optimistic with fingers crossed.. Still stuck at 64 and "FP" line for those who couldn't ride earlier is loooong.


----------



## sayhello

StarGirl11 said:


> Im not sure about yesterday but WDW never keeps them open until closing it feels like. I think usually it’s around two hours before? So if that’s accurate they’ve still got a few more hours to 10. Good luck. Hope you get called


WDW has stopped calling new boarding groups pretty consistently at 2 hours prior to closing.  But it's been reported some times that they really placed a *lot* of people in the queue before they stopped calling them.

Sayhello


----------



## socaldisneylover

Starting to let in more group #'s again.  Up to 65 as of 7:20.


----------



## DGsAtBLT

brightlined said:


> I'm also really annoyed with negativity here. C'mon, people.
> 
> Complaining about how DL staff is handling everything is fair game, but all of the rampant speculation, projection, and passive-aggressive "oh look" is really unpleasant. Seriously, it's Day 3.
> 
> For the record: ROTR-DHS literally just had one of the best-performing days of its existence. They were averaging 12.1 BGs an hour (157 BGs) on a busy day. It's gonna get better.



2 days ago DHS version had by far its worst day yet, in terms of BG per hour.

Not saying it to be negative, just trying to temper expectations that it’s going to get better quickly, it’s still seeing major swings at DHS and not much overall improvement (in terms of BG per hour) since opening in early December. Anyone going to DLR in the near future, I would plan for the “worst”.


----------



## mafpi

So we should get there tomorrow morning around 6. Which parking lot do you suggest we go to. Thanks in advance.


----------



## dina444444

mafpi said:


> So we should get there tomorrow morning around 6. Which parking lot do you suggest we go to. Thanks in advance.


The structures will open at 6:30. Not sure if toy story is still opening early.


----------



## PaintsWithAllTheColors

Vysecity said:


> At what time did they stop taking BG yesterday? 8pm? I'm group 80 and I'm not liking my chances



The final notice was given around 9pm but effectively no one got on past 7pm


----------



## socaldisneylover

mafpi said:


> So we should get there tomorrow morning around 6. Which parking lot do you suggest we go to. Thanks in advance.


Probably Toy Story is your safest bet.  Mickey & Friends may or may not be open that early.


----------



## becauseimnew

socaldisneylover said:


> And this is after 6 weeks to get things right at WDW.  Little has changed there, except from the size of crowds going to the park.


So things will probably remain the same when we are there in 6 weeks?


----------



## dieumeye

I have a PERFECT solution to all the RotR problems: Just rename it...

Rocket Rods of the Resistance.

Just retcon Star Wars to say the Resistance uses futuristic experimental transport vehicles. Now the repeated breakdowns are just part of the authentic experience!


----------



## StarGirl11

I do get the not wanting to be negative but there have been some real concerns brought up. Particularly the CMs that were telling riders they have to stay in the queue for 2+ hours or they won't ride. I've ridden it twice via the DAS and even knowing the likelihood of me being trapped (and lets be real that is whats happening in a sense) in the decision between riding and having to leave to address a medical issue extremely unsettles me to the point where even though I've ridden it safely in the past it's making me almost second guest the choice to ride in Februray. And I'm probably not alone in that. I'm hoping whoever it was (can't remember original commenter) brought it up with Guest Relations. Because while a short stop stay in line thing is okay. Telling someone to stay in line for 2 hours while not knowing when it will come back up is not in my opinion.


----------



## CableKC

montreid said:


> From rest of wait times - seems typical MLK weekend day -- how are the crowds doing?


I switched up going on non Early morning days to both parks ( DCA on Saturday and DL on Sunday ).   The crowds at DL seemed to slightly above average but not super crowded IMHO.     To give u an idea.....at 8pm.... there is only a 60 minute wait for Space Mountain and Smuggler's run.


----------



## nutshell

socaldisneylover said:


> To even have a chance, you have to be inside the park prior to rope drop.  But that guarantees you nothing.  You then have to hope for a reliable app connection, fast fingers, and not getting any app "errors."  But even then....no guarantee you'll get to ride.  You may end up in a backup group, in which case you're going to be waiting 12+ hours before your ride time arrives.  So you don't have to wait in a line, but you do have to wait 12+ hours to ride.  MAYBE.  You may wait 12 hours, and then get a notification that you're SOL.
> 
> And this is after 6 weeks to get things right at WDW.  Little has changed there, except from the size of crowds going to the park.


NONE of the rides are guaranteed. The virtual  queue frees up the visitor to do anything else he/she wants while waiting for the potential (not guaranteed) ride.  No one is entitled to get on the ride. But thousands are rising/riding it every day.


----------



## EmJ

Well unless something goes really haywire, it looks like they will make it through the primary boarding groups. They're on 76 now!


----------



## Mathmagicland

Vysecity said:


> At what time did they stop taking BG yesterday? 8pm? I'm group 80 and I'm not liking my chances


App shows they are up to group 77....hoping it gets to 80 for you.


----------



## socaldisneylover

becauseimnew said:


> So things will probably remain the same when we are there in 6 weeks?


Impossible to know.  It will probably be challenging to get into a boarding group on the weekends for quite some time though.


----------



## nutshell

EmJ said:


> Well unless something goes really haywire, it looks like they will make it through the primary boarding groups. They're on 76 now!


Imagine that....it’s likely to get to the predicted number. Again. Sounds like Disney knows a thing or two.


----------



## mafpi

What time does toy story open?


----------



## CastAStone

becauseimnew said:


> So things will probably remain the same when we are there in 6 weeks?


As I posted earlier today, Touring Plans is reporting that from their first hand counting of guests exiting the ride, WDW is getting nearly 2x the guests through per hour as DLP, and that’s just counting when the ride is up.

Disneyland has a lot of upside y’all.


----------



## Vysecity

just got called! BG 80


----------



## sayhello

Mathmagicland said:


> App shows they are up to group 77....hoping it gets to 80 for you.


It just hit 80!  

Sayhello


----------



## Mathmagicland

Vysecity said:


> just got called! BG 80


So happy for you!  Enjoy!!


----------



## vharris2828

What time does everyone think we should be leaving toy story lot tomorrow? We can walk to it and catch the shuttle. Just a bit unsure what time to do that. I figured we should be the the entrance by like 715?


----------



## socaldisneylover

Someone in Group #84 just got notified they won't get to ride, so they're going to stop calling new groups soon.


----------



## ckb_nc

GoldeneyezCA said:


> I agree.  We rode FOP in Aug 2017, 3 months after opening.  We woke up at 4 am PST for 4 mornings in a row trying to get FP+’s, and finally scored one evening slot for the last day of our trip.   But since part of our family was only there for the first few days of the trip, we ended up at AK at 6:15 am for an 8 am opening with a group that included a 4 yo and my FIL with hip problems.  We were nearly trampled as everyone speed-walked to the ride, where we waited another hour in line.  The ride was incredible, the experience of getting to the ride was not, and we technically still ended up waiting in line for almost 3 hrs.
> 
> I agree that this process isn’t fully fair or fun, but it’s still better than that chaos.  I mean, we did Indy,  Space Mtn, and a yummy breakfast at Carnation Cafe while waiting for our BG to be called today, which was sooooo much more pleasant than 3 hrs in line.
> 
> That said, we didn’t take the kids this morning and have decided to go back tomorrow, and I’m worried about dragging them out of bed so early and maybe not getting a BG.  We’ll see....


We did a ton with 71 and even snuck in a great nap back at the Tiny House Friday before we got called back.


----------



## EmJ

socaldisneylover said:


> Someone in Group #84 just got notified they won't get to ride, so they're going to stop calling new groups soon.


I wouldn't be surprised if they go to 81 or 82 and call it a day. That's all the primary boarding groups, and it sounds like they need some extra time tonight for maintenance.


----------



## ckb_nc

So back in the very cold East Coast (wind chill of 33 was a rude hello). Been tracking the ride - very much unfortunately is luck. Luck to get a good boarding group and luck that the ride has a good day. And after 2x on Rise, our collective feeling after Smugglers run was ok ? It reminded me of the 1980s game Dragon’s Lair where you had limited control on the outcome.


----------



## ckb_nc

mafpi said:


> So we should get there tomorrow morning around 6. Which parking lot do you suggest we go to. Thanks in advance.


First day Toy Story was open early. But getting to the park at say 6:30 is not better than strolling into DL at say 7:55. We got 36 on Saturday hitting the turnstile at 7:48am. We had 3 phones working the problem


----------



## ckb_nc

montreid said:


> Luigi is trackless. Same tech iirc


The Imagineer we met did Luigi first then Rise so yes


----------



## montreid

Yeah; probably to get to 82 and call it so can troubleshoot overnight what went wrong today.


----------



## socaldisneylover

montreid said:


> Yeah; probably to get to 82 and call it so can troubleshoot overnight what went wrong today.


82 was actually the 1st backup group, so they only need to make 81, which they're on right now.


----------



## montreid

ckb_nc said:


> So back in the very cold East Coast (wind chill of 33 was a rude hello). Been tracking the ride - very much unfortunately is luck. Luck to get a good boarding group and luck that the ride has a good day. And after 2x on Rise, our collective feeling after Smugglers run was ok ? It reminded me of the 1980s game Dragon’s Lair where you had limited control on the outcome.


That Lazer video game?!?  Oh my -- that brings back some memories of the pizza shop


----------



## montreid

ckb_nc said:


> The Imagineer we met did Luigi first then Rise so yes


They do ratatouille?  From F+F discussion, that's a trackless system too and looking forward to that in EPCOT soon.


----------



## Mar Mar Binks

Ok after 3 tries we finaly got on at 7:30 tonight! Definitely worth it but what a day.  Over 4 hours spent trying to ride the ride.  1.5 hours waiting then had to leave and since DAS they gave us return FP.  Then second time got to before main ride.  Again got return tickets.  Finally tried again at 7:30 and ride not running but they pointed us to the fastpass return line and our 13 asked to try (ok it may have been more whine like). As soon as we found end of line 2 minutes later we were moving.

We made it all the way through!  Trying again in morning.


----------



## CableKC

81 at 850pm.    45 to go with 3 hours left!

Keep your fingers crossed for me!


----------



## montreid

CableKC said:


> 81 at 850pm.    45 to go with 3 hours left!
> 
> Keep your fingers crossed for me!


I'm gonna tell him


----------



## MonocularVision

I heard that the Imagineers used the cryogenically frozen head of Walt Disney to power the wireless network for the ride but because they opened it first in WDW (not Walt’s first park), he is angry and making it run worse.


----------



## Mar Mar Binks

montreid said:


> I'm gonna tell him


Don’t you dare!  I crushed a dream today of someone in line who was trying to figure out how to max pass the rise of the resistance.


----------



## CableKC

montreid said:


> I'm gonna tell him


Let me have hope......it's all I got.


----------



## CableKC

We waited 50 minutes for Smuggler's Run....and that ride is worth it.   When we went to DW... We waited for an hour before AK closed in rain waiting for that Avatar ride.   It was worth it.   

No need for spoilers.....but is this ride even worth it?


----------



## ironband74

Yeah, and they called the later boarding groups at an accelerated rate.  Sounds like they are loading up the queue, hoping to clear it by 10, and getting to work on making sure today's issues don't repeat.

While I understand the sentiments of some of those who are dissatisfied, as an engineer who works on complex systems, I see nothing out of the ordinary here.  Disney could have played it safe and given us an attraction that would have high reliability and fewer moving parts...and a lesser experience.  With Galaxy's edge Disney has declared that playing it safe is not their mission.  They are trying to do the impossible.  And, as it happens, doing the impossible means pushing boundaries and taking risks and accepting some down-time.  The technical aspects will improve over time.  3 days here is not enough to determine anything resembling a trend.  And even with 6 weeks of data in Florida, we're just starting to see what might be an improvement trend.  

Early adopters always pay the price for being on the bleeding edge of innovation.  And that's what the folks that are riding this now, at release, are.  They are the early adopters.  They exchange reliability for the opportunity to be the first users.  Software these days is never released bug free.  The first commercial users are essentially the Beta Testers.  You can think of the cast member preview as the alpha/smoke test, and the first year or so of regular riders as Beta.  Bugs will be reported and fixed.  Some bug fixes create or expose additional problems.  Shortcomings in some of the mechanical systems will be discovered and redesigned to be more robust.  And over the next year you'll see the up-time improve until it levels off at something close to the expected capacity.

Now, the people-angle issues we are seeing I expect will correct a lot sooner. If the ride is down for an hour and you are held captive in the queue under threat of losing your BG, that's a problem I expect will be solved quickly. So please bring that up to Guest Services and name names, not to punish, but to help those CMs get the training they need to deliver a Disney experience.

Honestly, the people who built the land love it far too much to allow it to languish or be mediocre in any way. If all this is too much for you, skip it and wait a year or so. I would be willing to wager that reliability and throughput will improve.


----------



## ironband74

CableKC said:


> We waited 50 minutes for Smuggler's Run....and that ride is worth it.   When we went to DW... We waited for an hour before AK closed in rain waiting for that Avatar ride.   It was worth it.
> 
> No need for spoilers.....but is this ride even worth it?


I have not experienced it, but I have yet to talk to anyone who has ridden it who was underwhelmed.


----------



## ironband74

CableKC said:


> Let me have hope......it's all I got.


----------



## katyringo

Imagine if disneyland was given up on when the heels sunk into the concrete the first day..


----------



## gottalovepluto

katyringo said:


> Imagine if disneyland was given up on when the heels sunk into the concrete the first day..


Imagine if Disney had gotten this ride working before debuting it. They only hace dozens upon dozens of other attractions to keep guests occupied in the meantime. It’s not like they were gonna die because ROTR wasn’t up.

Worse thought: what if they think this IS the best they can do with this attraction?


----------



## Mar Mar Binks

CableKC said:


> We waited 50 minutes for Smuggler's Run....and that ride is worth it.   When we went to DW... We waited for an hour before AK closed in rain waiting for that Avatar ride.   It was worth it.
> 
> No need for spoilers.....but is this ride even worth it?


Yes.  Yes it is.   I am hauling my tired self to try again tomorrow after my crazy day of it taking 3 times to actually complete the ride.  So many cool details. Our teen who hates getting up early and is definitely not a star wars fan asked me to wake her to try again.


----------



## VandVsmama

ironband74 said:


> Yeah, and they called the later boarding groups at an accelerated rate.  Sounds like they are loading up the queue, hoping to clear it by 10, and getting to work on making sure today's issues don't repeat.
> 
> While I understand the sentiments of some of those who are dissatisfied, as an engineer who works on complex systems, I see nothing out of the ordinary here.  Disney could have played it safe and given us an attraction that would have high reliability and fewer moving parts...and a lesser experience.  With Galaxy's edge Disney has declared that playing it safe is not their mission.  They are trying to do the impossible.  And, as it happens, doing the impossible means pushing boundaries and taking risks and accepting some down-time.  The technical aspects will improve over time.  3 days here is not enough to determine anything resembling a trend.  And even with 6 weeks of data in Florida, we're just starting to see what might be an improvement trend.
> 
> Early adopters always pay the price for being on the bleeding edge of innovation.  And that's what the folks that are riding this now, at release, are.  They are the early adopters.  They exchange reliability for the opportunity to be the first users.  Software these days is never released bug free.  The first commercial users are essentially the Beta Testers.  You can think of the cast member preview as the alpha/smoke test, and the first year or so of regular riders as Beta.  Bugs will be reported and fixed.  Some bug fixes create or expose additional problems.  Shortcomings in some of the mechanical systems will be discovered and redesigned to be more robust.  And over the next year you'll see the up-time improve until it levels off at something close to the expected capacity.
> 
> Now, the people-angle issues we are seeing I expect will correct a lot sooner. If the ride is down for an hour and you are held captive in the queue under threat of losing your BG, that's a problem I expect will be solved quickly. So please bring that up to Guest Services and name names, not to punish, but to help those CMs get the training they need to deliver a Disney experience.
> 
> Honestly, the people who built the land love it far too much to allow it to languish or be mediocre in any way. If all this is too much for you, skip it and wait a year or so. I would be willing to wager that reliability and throughput will improve.



All of the above x 100.

This ride has a lot of software involved.  I strongly suspect that the reason they aren't yet running the ride up until park closing time is because of nightly bug fixes and troubleshooting.  So consider that sort of like a smaller software release...like on Friday when it officially opened, that was v1.0 of the ride.

Friday night, they made adjustments & probably tested all night long.  Then on Saturday, v1.1 of the ride ran.

Then Saturday night, more testing.  Then today (Sunday), it was v1.2 of the ride.  With these iterative small adjustments over time, Disney will improve the ride operations in order to improve the guest experience and in order to allow more park guests to experience the attraction each day.

That same v1.0, v1.1, v1.2 thing is also probably happening on a human level with the CM team who work the ride.  All of this kind of follows the general business concept of continuous improvement.

If you look back to reports & accounts of how opening day at Disneyland went in July of 1955, there were a whole mess of problems.  Heck, just Autopia alone had almost every single car break down in some way...and park guests were leaping over barriers, kicking other people out of the cars, purposely driving into other cars like it was a bumper car attraction, etc., etc.  They adjusted all of that in order to address the wild card factor - park guests.

When Carsland opened, our family didn't even venture in for a couple of years after it opened. Why?  The insanely long lines scared us off.  Didn't want to stand in a 4+ hour line to get on one ride.  When Pandora opened at WDW, the lines to get on Flight of Passage were crazy.  Heck, they still are pretty crazy.  I find it kind of amusing that people are complaining that they can't stand in a 4 hour line because of the boarding group policy for ROTR.

If going on ROTR with *100% certainty* is an absolute must do for your DL trip otherwise, the trip is totally ruined, then at least right now, you should not go to Disneyland.  Or at least don't go with the expectation of getting on the ride.  

I'd also encourage folks to consider that maybe one shouldn't put so much emotional stock in doing A particular "thing" on ANY Disney vacation.  I mean, stuff happens sometimes that's beyond your control.  Look at how many people over the years going to DL & WDW have gotten so worked up and complained to Disney that their vacation was totally ruined just because something wasn't running, or something didn't work right, or the weather got in the way of fireworks going off that night, etc.  Look at the glass as half full instead of half empty.

It's still an awesome park.  ROTR isn't going anywhere.  Disney has already invested millions and millions of dollars in development & construction of this attraction in 2 theme parks.  They want to see the return on investment for it.  And seeing that ROI means improving the guest experience so that guests will come back AND so that first-time guests will decide to go to DL or WDW instead of Universal.

Just be patient, grasshoppers.  It'll all be ok.  Heck, OUR family hasn't even been to Galaxy's Edge yet since it opened.  We're going for 2 days in March.  I'm totally stoked just to ride the Millennium Falcon ride with my family & friends.  If we get on ROTR, too?  That'll be the icing on the cake.  But if we give ROTR the good old college try and we don't get a boarding group?  I'll be disappointed, but that just means that we'll have to go back because dang it, I'm not going to wait a whole extra year to go on that ride.


----------



## njchris

So Test Track, Indiana Jones and many other rides (even ones with tracks!) had lots of downtime early on and some even today.  I guess by some people's opinions they are failures too.  And it isn't like flipping a switch to improve.  There's software development to follow which includes testing.  I wouldn't want them to make a change quickly and risk more problems or even safety.


----------



## StarGirl11

CableKC said:


> We waited 50 minutes for Smuggler's Run....and that ride is worth it.   When we went to DW... We waited for an hour before AK closed in rain waiting for that Avatar ride.   It was worth it.
> 
> No need for spoilers.....but is this ride even worth it?



I got up begrudgingly at 4:30 for my first ride at DHS because it was before they switched the system to how it works now. I normally wouldn't touch a ride with such an early wake up call this close to opening. But I was with a close friend who probably wouldn't get another chance to ride.  And since we had Christmas party plans that evening so I needed an early BG for us to ride. We got it. And I can't frankly say despite all of the issues and the storm and the other problems I had that day. I found it completely worth the trouble.

Oh and I had another fiasco involving my second ride time when I was back in January. (Basically incorrect info provided and CM gave me a bad time despite being told the night before I was cleared to ride). Still love it even after the struggles to get on both times.


----------



## socaldisneylover

I don't think they will get rid of the boarding groups until they're able to get 150+ groups through daily, on a consistent basis.


----------



## dina444444

Was the last group called 81 or 82? App isn’t showing any groups boarding now.


----------



## BecAus

dina444444 said:


> Was the last group called 81 or 82? App isn’t showing any groups boarding now.


81 - the app cleared everything off at 9.25pm


----------



## GoldeneyezCA

CableKC said:


> We waited 50 minutes for Smuggler's Run....and that ride is worth it.   When we went to DW... We waited for an hour before AK closed in rain waiting for that Avatar ride.   It was worth it.
> 
> No need for spoilers.....but is this ride even worth it?


YES.  We rode it yesterday without the kids and were so impressed that we got up at 5 am again today  so we could take them.  After riding, my kids declared that Rise is their favorite ride at DL, hands down.  Both times we’ve ridden, our fellow passengers were cheering at the end!

I agree that the early-morning wake-up, BG booking stress and downtime were not fun.  We spent one hour sitting on the ground in the queue yesterday and 2.5 hrs roaming around trying to stay awake this afternoon, waiting for our BG to be called while the ride kept breaking down.  But even after all that, it was worth it for my family.  

To be fair, though, we had BG’s 20 and 31, respectively.  We wouldn’t have had the stamina to wait until this evening, and I applaud those who have managed to do so despite a very early start.


----------



## otten

gottalovepluto said:


> Imagine if Disney had gotten this ride working before debuting it. They only hace dozens upon dozens of other attractions to keep guests occupied in the meantime. It’s not like they were gonna die because ROTR wasn’t up.
> 
> Worse thought: what if they think this IS the best they can do with this attraction?



It's not really possible to know exactly how something will run in real time without running it in real time. Things go live with bugs all the time because how something works in real life isn't the same as in test. If this weren't the case you'd never have app or OS updates.


----------



## montreid

Absolutely worth it -- even for non-SW fans, it is worth it.   Flight of Passage was incredible of itself as it took Sorin tech and doubled down on it.

ROTR, while using trackless tech, has taken both story telling like FOP with preshows, doubled down on immersive experience, and taken the trackless system to another level --- over 30minutes time.  So yeah,  worth it.


----------



## StarGirl11

njchris said:


> So Test Track, Indiana Jones and many other rides (even ones with tracks!) had lots of downtime early on and some even today.  I guess by some people's opinions they are failures too.  And it isn't like flipping a switch to improve.  There's software development to follow which includes testing.  I wouldn't want them to make a change quickly and risk more problems or even safety.



I think what we're seeing here is a combination of the following: lack of knowledge about the other rides problems, lack of memory of the other rides opening day problems, and an assumption that people think tech tends to drop without major problems. 

I mean there's a reason why when new phones come out I never buy right after release to allow for them to work out some bugs. It takes time and having done some programming myself you can test and test all you want but sometimes you'll still manage to miss a problem. And if I remember correctly this thing has over 5 million lines of code, Fixing a problem you still managed to miss isn't going to be overnight. 

Because and especially arguably if fixing the error causes another error. 

Anyways point is its going to probably be a while before they had it running mostly error free if it is a programming error causing some of this down time.


----------



## nutshell

gottalovepluto said:


> Imagine if Disney had gotten this ride working before debuting it. They only hace dozens upon dozens of other attractions to keep guests occupied in the meantime. It’s not like they were gonna die because ROTR wasn’t up.
> 
> Worse thought: what if they think this IS the best they can do with this attraction?


It is working. Thousands are riding everyday. Rides going down is normal. As has been pointed out countless times. For example, Indy still goes down multiple times almost every single day.


----------



## Version 6

"Worth it" is subjective obviously. But I found it mindblowing


----------



## rteetz

DLRExpert said:


> No data, but from being there for these first three days, seeing and hearing disappointed guests and lines at Guest Services there is no way they are going to let this continue.
> 
> Plus, you have to figure guests who plan to visit the park and see signs saying they cannot ride the new attraction are just going back home.
> 
> The majority of people will understand that a new attraction will break down. It's part of the experience. Radiator Springs Racers, Indiana Jones Adventure all did it.
> They do not understand having to get to a park at opening and not even being guaranteed a Boarding Pass.
> Better to have a sign that says ROTR may have down time issues longer waits than usual than No more guests allowed to ride because of sold out Boarding Passes.
> Which, they DO NOT advertise on the radio or TV as being needed to ride the attraction.
> 
> ME


Those lines at GS would be longer without this system.


----------



## rteetz

DLgal said:


> At some point, you have to wonder if they will just scrap the trackless vehicles and carve a track into the darn thing.
> 
> The tech behind this ride is clearly not ready for prime time.


Trackless is a proven tech. This is much more than that. There is NO WAY they would "put a track in"


----------



## dina444444

BecAus said:


> 81 - the app cleared everything off at 9.25pm


Thanks


----------



## rteetz

montreid said:


> They do ratatouille?  From F+F discussion, that's a trackless system too and looking forward to that in EPCOT soon.


Mickey and Minnies Runaway Railway is also trackless.


----------



## rteetz

gottalovepluto said:


> Imagine if Disney had gotten this ride working before debuting it. They only hace dozens upon dozens of other attractions to keep guests occupied in the meantime. It’s not like they were gonna die because ROTR wasn’t up.
> 
> Worse thought: what if they think this IS the best they can do with this attraction?


Sometimes rides operate better when they have mass amounts of people and regular park operating hours to work out the issues. Only so much can be done with testing and CMs.


----------



## GoldeneyezCA

vharris2828 said:


> What time does everyone think we should be leaving toy story lot tomorrow? We can walk to it and catch the shuttle. Just a bit unsure what time to do that. I figured we should be the the entrance by like 715?


We arrived at Toy Story yesterday (early entry day for some) at 6:15 and were in the park by 7:15, and today it was 6:45/7:30.  While it’s true that you just need to get into the park before 8, we were definitely worried this morning about the lines at the gate since we left later.  (We were also aiming for the Critter Country kiosk at Splash Mountain to increase our chances of getting a BG, though the app worked fine for us both days.) To save you stress, I’d arrive at Toy Story at 6:30 so you can get into the park before 7:30 and have time to find a good spot away from the crowds and test out your app. Good luck!


----------



## azdisneylover

katyringo said:


> Imagine if disneyland was given up on when the heels sunk into the concrete the first day..



It was asphalt that the heels sunk into on opening day. Concrete dries quicker in the heat, that if it is too warm, it needs to be "watered" so it can cure properly.


----------



## VandVsmama

From the Youtube reviews I've seen and other written reviews of ROTR I've read online, it's apparent that Imagineering hit it out of the park with ROTR.  Total game changer.  

Another game changer ride went live almost 25 years ago in 1995.  Indiana Jones is a great example of what happens when Disney gets the storytelling right for an attraction.  I mean, think about it...25 years later and IJ still is one of the most popular attractions at the Disneyland resort.  Long lines all the time.  FPs go quickly.  And you know what else?  The ride regularly breaks down at random times of day for random durations of time.  Despite that, people still flock to it.

Why?  Because it's a stellar attraction.  Because it's an immersive experience.  The ride sequence itself is the same every time.  Yet we all go on it over and over and over again.  Why?  Because it's fun.  Because it makes us go, "WOW!"

Star Tours opened in 1987.  That's an amazing ride, too, with a great story.  

Carsland opened in June of 2012...almost 8 years ago.  So for 8 years straight since it opened, RSR runs out of FP.  RSR is SUCH a great attraction.  It, too, is excellent storytelling with an immersive experience.  And from what I can tell from people's reports so far, ROTR appears to be way better.

Consider Pandora at Animal Kingdom.  The Navi River Journey ride?  Meh.  That was one and done for us.  But Flight of Passage?  Amazing.  What's the difference between the 2?  FOP has a better story.  Navi River Journey left us thinking, "What is this all for?"  After we got off of FOP for the 1st time, as we exited the ride, I shouted to one of the CMs, "THAT WAS THE BEST RIDE EVER!" and gave him a high 5.

And ROTR?  I mean, HOLY COW, I saw a video yesterday or today in which grown men had tears of joy after going on ROTR.  When a theme park ride can make grown men cry, I'd say that's an attraction that I probably need to go on.  So you better believe that if that means I have to be up early to have a chance of getting on a boarding group, I am totally doing that!  Because if I don't get up early, then there for sure is no way I'm getting on ROTR.


----------



## MithrilMaiden

I asked the general information Cast Member tonight, and he basically told mw to give up on wanting to ride tomorrow. AT&T is being crappy and I'm losing cell data right at 8 every morning because of the mass of activity, and boarding groups are always full by the time I start seeing service again. I asked the CM if there's a solution, but he said no, and it sounds like I just won't be able to ride at all because park wifi isn't reliable, either.


----------



## rteetz

MithrilMaiden said:


> I asked the general information Cast Member tonight, and he basically told mw to give up on wanting to ride tomorrow. AT&T is being crappy and I'm losing cell data right at 8 every morning because of the mass of activity, and boarding groups are always full by the time I start seeing service again. I asked the CM if there's a solution, but he said no, and it sounds like I just won't be able to ride at all because park wifi isn't reliable, either.


I wouldn’t just give up.


----------



## StarGirl11

Maybe this will put into perspective why troubleshooting code for RotR isn't exactly quick. Remember the ride has *5 million lines of code. *According to this: https://www.visualcapitalist.com/millions-lines-of-code/ that's equivalent to the Mars Curiosity rover. And knowing just how much debugging can be a game of whackamole (you fix one error only to have a new error pop up as a result of fixing the first error) at times. Its going to take a while to sort out any errors they are finding now.


----------



## Vysecity

waiting in line...its been down like 45 minutes or so


----------



## jlmarr

MithrilMaiden said:


> I asked the general information Cast Member tonight, and he basically told mw to give up on wanting to ride tomorrow. AT&T is being crappy and I'm losing cell data right at 8 every morning because of the mass of activity, and boarding groups are always full by the time I start seeing service again. I asked the CM if there's a solution, but he said no, and it sounds like I just won't be able to ride at all because park wifi isn't reliable, either.


  I thought you can go to a fastpass kiosk to get into the queue.  They must have some accommodation for people without smart phones.  ... Saw this in the disneyland.com web site: "After entering Disneyland Park, you can request to join the virtual queue and will be assigned a boarding group, either with the Disneyland app or *at select locations within the park.*"  (bold is mine)


----------



## midnight star

jlmarr said:


> I thought you can go to a fastpass kiosk to get into the queue.  They must have some accommodation for people without smart phones.  ... Saw this in the disneyland.com web site: "After entering Disneyland Park, you can request to join the virtual queue and will be assigned a boarding group, either with the Disneyland app or *at select locations within the park.*"  (bold is mine)


They are near Buzz and Splash mountain. On the first day a crush of people went to the Buzz location. Not sure about the other. So it is available, but you will have to be at the very front of the pack.


----------



## montreid

jlmarr said:


> I thought you can go to a fastpass kiosk to get into the queue.  They must have some accommodation for people without smart phones.  ... Saw this in the disneyland.com web site: "After entering Disneyland Park, you can request to join the virtual queue and will be assigned a boarding group, either with the Disneyland app or *at select locations within the park.*"  (bold is mine)


Buzz and Splash I think are the two locations.

Another option:  Scan into the park, and leave.   Go to Starbucks or good ATT signal for you and try from there.


----------



## brightlined

montreid said:


> Another option:  Scan into the park, and leave.   Go to Starbucks or good ATT signal for you and try from there.


Echoing this. I think the BG machines will be bordering on useless unless you can get to the park early enough to be one of the first people let in and head straight to them. But leaving the park and finding a better spot would be entirely doable.


----------



## VandVsmama

I had to.


----------



## mafpi

So at&t and WiFi is useless in the park?


----------



## brightlined

mafpi said:


> So at&t and WiFi is useless in the park?


So far, it feels like a your-mileage-may-vary kinda thing. We've had people find success with both, but it seems like more people on T-Mobile have acknowledged success.

I think the best advice is to get there early enough to find a spot with reliable service. (One of our success stories said they found good reception on ATT at the Frontierland entrance.)


----------



## ironband74

MithrilMaiden said:


> I asked the general information Cast Member tonight, and he basically told mw to give up on wanting to ride tomorrow. AT&T is being crappy and I'm losing cell data right at 8 every morning because of the mass of activity, and boarding groups are always full by the time I start seeing service again. I asked the CM if there's a solution, but he said no, and it sounds like I just won't be able to ride at all because park wifi isn't reliable, either.



I echo the sentiments of the others suggesting maybe moving to a better locale to get your BG.  Also possibly enlisting the help of "friends at home" to enter your ticket number(s) in and help you get a BG that way.  

If you want to PM me, I'd be happy to try for you as I'm not anywhere near the park, but at the same time I do not encourage you to send your ticket numbers to strangers on the internet.


----------



## SirBill

MithrilMaiden said:


> I asked the general information Cast Member tonight, and he basically told mw to give up on wanting to ride tomorrow. AT&T is being crappy and I'm losing cell data right at 8 every morning because of the mass of activity, and boarding groups are always full by the time I start seeing service again. I asked the CM if there's a solution, but he said no, and it sounds like I just won't be able to ride at all because park wifi isn't reliable, either.



If you are having cellular issues right at 8am, scan into the park, then leave and get some distance - maybe to the other end of Downtown Disney.  Then you should have a more stable cel signal to make an attempt.


----------



## SirBill

CableKC said:


> We waited 50 minutes for Smuggler's Run....and that ride is worth it.   When we went to DW... We waited for an hour before AK closed in rain waiting for that Avatar ride.   It was worth it.
> 
> No need for spoilers.....but is this ride even worth it?



I thought ROTR was much better than Smugglers Run, and vastly better than the Flight of Passage ride.

As an anecdote to how good I thought it was, I went to the opening of ROTR at Disney World, spent three days riding the ride every single day. Then even though I had not planned to originally, I decided after a few weeks it would be great to come out for the opening of ROTR in DisneyLand so I booked travel early January to come down. and rode ROTR this Friday and Saturday...

Going forward, my wife and I for the first time ever bought an annual pass for DL and will come out several times this year, where I'll try to get a BG every day I am here.

When I go to Disney World it would be my number one priority ride such that I'd plan the first morning at Hollywood Studios just to be sure I get as many chances as possible at getting to ride ROTR while there.  I've seen other YouTube channels agree it's the #1 ride at WDW now, including Disney Food Blog.

To me ROTR has a lot more re-rideability than Smugglers Run does - I still enjoy it but some trips I don't even try to ride.

The ride videos people post show you what is going on, but it's nothing like all the little touches that make being in the ride feel so great.


----------



## Lewdannie

MithrilMaiden said:


> AT&T is being crappy


Dude...spoilers!


----------



## baozi

So question? Is Disney wifi available outside the parks (for instance, downtown Disney)? Thanks.


----------



## BecAus

baozi said:


> So question? Is Disney wifi available outside the parks (for instance, downtown Disney)? Thanks.



No, it's not available in DtD and Disney's wifi in the parks is not great either.

When people are suggesting others try outside the parks they are saying try Starbucks which has free wifi doesn't it? or using your own carrier, if your a local, outside the parks away from the masses all trying to get on at the same time.


----------



## emchen

Sith said:


> Yeah I wouldn't normally try it. Just curious. Our flight comes into SNA at 8:05 on 1/30 which is a 9am opening. We had the same flight on 12/30, and we were on Main Street at 8:45am using Uber. And that included going through bag line. So, I know it's possible that we could be in the park by 9am on the 30th. I just worry that the security line on the Harbor side will be huge and prevent us from getting in before opening.


Suggest you have uber drop you off at Grand Cal hotel, problem solved with Harbor Entrance.


----------



## NeedhelpLol

Im flying over to DL from Australia early next week - when i booked months ago to come i had no idea it would
be such a lottery if i could ride or not - i just assumed there would be long wait times in line but was prepared
to get up super early - i wish they had of let us know months ago that it would be so hard to ride - i only have 3 days
at DL and the first day i arrive after 10am so no chance to even try for a boarding group that day  
plus ill be getting a pre paid sim card for my 
mobile phone when i arrive so i don't even know if ill have good coverage and will probably have to rely on the wi-fi .....
im a super Star Wars fan so i will be so disappointed if i don't get on but im going to give it my best shot for the two 
early mornings that i am there - wish me luck


----------



## pocketwatches

NeedhelpLol said:


> Im flying over to DL from Australia early next week - when i booked months ago to come i had no idea it would
> be such a lottery if i could ride or not - i just assumed there would be long wait times in line but was prepared
> to get up super early - i wish they had of let us know months ago that it would be so hard to ride - i only have 3 days
> at DL and the first day i arrive after 10am so no chance to even try for a boarding group that day
> plus ill be getting a pre paid sim card for my
> mobile phone when i arrive so i don't even know if ill have good coverage and will probably have to rely on the wi-fi .....
> im a super Star Wars fan so i will be so disappointed if i don't get on but im going to give it my best shot for the two
> early mornings that i am there - wish me luck


I will be there next week too. I pushed my plans out 3 months for this ride had I known about a "virtual queue" I wouldn't have.  Lets hope some of the lowest crowds of the year next weekdays will help us lol. We still might not do it. Most of the family doesn't wake up early in the morning anymore with our late work shifts.

I wouldn't worry about not getting on the ride as long as its on the weekday. If you compare this to wdw i bet during the week it will sell out in 10-15 minutes. Compared to the 2 on the weekend. So as long as you get into the part in the morning you will get on. We will learn alot about how it will act on Tuesday as this should be a "low" day.  Today will be a holiday so its going to be crazy again.


----------



## NeedhelpLol

pocketwatches said:


> I will be there next week too. I pushed my plans out 3 months for this ride had I known about a "virtual queue" I wouldn't have.  Lets hope some of the lowest crowds of the year next weekdays will help us lol. We still might not do it. Most of the family doesn't wake up early in the morning anymore with our late work shifts.


Good luck for next week   may the force be with us !!


----------



## theluckyrabbit

Mar Mar Binks said:


> Still down. We are in fast pass line due to DAS. So far 30 minutes.


Without any spoilers, how was the line from a DAS perspective? Were there any issues that you could see being an issue for someone using DAS, e.g. issues for someone pushing a wheelchair, issues for someone sensitive to loud noises, etc.? For anyone else who has done the line and the ride with DAS, non-spoiler tips and advice would be very helpful to others reading along! TIA!



emchen said:


> Suggest you have uber drop you off at Grand Cal hotel, problem solved with Harbor Entrance.


Not sure if this will be allowed -- we've had reports that ride share cannot drop off unregistered guests at the front of the GCH (valid room key, registration/reservation, or TS reservation number needed). You can always ask to be dropped off at the PPH, DLH, or the drop off lots on Harbor or by DTD. Since the Harbor bag check was expanded last year, the lines move much more quickly there.


----------



## theluckyrabbit

Thank you again to everyone for reporting your experiences and hard earned ROTR wisdom today! You are helping so many DISers!


----------



## Version 6

NeedhelpLol said:


> Im flying over to DL from Australia early next week - when i booked months ago to come i had no idea it would
> be such a lottery if i could ride or not - i just assumed there would be long wait times in line but was prepared
> to get up super early - i wish they had of let us know months ago that it would be so hard to ride - i only have 3 days
> at DL and the first day i arrive after 10am so no chance to even try for a boarding group that day
> plus ill be getting a pre paid sim card for my
> mobile phone when i arrive so i don't even know if ill have good coverage and will probably have to rely on the wi-fi .....
> im a super Star Wars fan so i will be so disappointed if i don't get on but im going to give it my best shot for the two
> early mornings that i am there - wish me luck



Which carrier are you with in Australia? I'm pretty sure all the major carriers now let you roam for $5 a day making pre paid sims pretty pointless. I used that for my current trip and was able to ride.


----------



## BecAus

Telstra is $10/day - but that’s what I use when I’m at DL. 
I’m ‘tech challenged’ so I just find it a lot easier to do that, I can live with $10/day, I think it’s pretty reasonable.

to the two (Aussie) previous posters:
I wish you both the best of luck, hopefully you’ll get on with no issues - fingers will be crossed for you!


----------



## IsleofDisney

Any reports on esplanade crowds? Or TS parking lot capacity and M&F/PixarPals lines?


----------



## Heather07438

nutshell said:


> But thousands are rising/riding it every day.


I see what you did there


----------



## hiroMYhero

ironband74 said:


> I echo the sentiments of the others suggesting maybe moving to a better locale to get your BG.  Also possibly enlisting the help of "friends at home" to enter your ticket number(s) in and help you get a BG that way.
> 
> If you want to PM me, I'd be happy to try for you as I'm not anywhere near the park, but at the same time I do not encourage you to send your ticket numbers to strangers on the internet.


Another option is to share login info for the DL app. In some cases, setting up an account that’s shareable and doesn’t have linked credit card info etc. works well. 

I have a ‘research’ My Disney Experience account in addition to my own family account and only I can reassign tickets  to/from accounts because I’m the accounts’ Manager. 

For DL, I share my account login when using MaxPass with my group.


----------



## dieumeye

Good morning. Here’s how it’s looking from my POV this morning...


724 arrived at harbor security
725 thru no bag line into esplanade

725 in line at gate 29
729 thru gate

Saw a couple different VIP groups with their phones out and the guide explaining the procedure. Im not a fan of blocking VIPs. Is there really that much harm to the system if they allow VIP groups in? Maybe there is. Not sure how many BGs worth of people all VIP groups would represent.

I’m certain that the hub/Main Street is more crowded today than it was on Friday at this time. I say that because I was walking laps around the hub Friday until rope drop, but crowd is too packed to do that today.

Looking around, I see that they are holding the crowd mid-hub whereas on Friday they let the crowd circle the hub. So that explains why it feels more packed in. Although I still think the crowd today is more densely packed in than it was Friday.

I hope they rope drop at 7:45 to thin the crowd out.

Update: RD at 7:50. Let’s get this crowd thinned out for better cell reception!


----------



## Go💛Go

dieumeye said:


> Is there really that much harm to the system if they allow VIP groups in?


No; but it can be detrimental if a VIP group is standing in the RotR FP queue for an hour or more and then gets evacuated. Disney doesn’t want to make amends or provide VIP guest recovery-appeasement. 

By utilizing BGs for VIPs, they have to adjust accordingly just as all the other park guests.


----------



## ironband74

For those about to rise:


----------



## franandaj

Go💛Go said:


> No; but it can be detrimental if a VIP group is standing in the RotR FP queue for an hour or more and then gets evacuated.



I'm curious why this is detrimental. Just asking.


----------



## Skyegirl1999

NeedhelpLol said:


> Im flying over to DL from Australia early next week - when i booked months ago to come i had no idea it would
> be such a lottery if i could ride or not - i just assumed there would be long wait times in line but was prepared
> to get up super early - i wish they had of let us know months ago that it would be so hard to ride - i only have 3 days
> at DL and the first day i arrive after 10am so no chance to even try for a boarding group that day
> plus ill be getting a pre paid sim card for my
> mobile phone when i arrive so i don't even know if ill have good coverage and will probably have to rely on the wi-fi .....
> im a super Star Wars fan so i will be so disappointed if i don't get on but im going to give it my best shot for the two
> early mornings that i am there - wish me luck


You have three day tickets with a MM, right? If you’re willing to kill your MM to ensure you have a chance to ride, I’d go right to a Buzz FP machine and wait there for an hour, so you’re the first person to pull a physical BG.

Obviously that’s a massive “waste” of your MM, but if your trip was for ROTR, it’s probably worth it to you?


----------



## montreid

Hmm.  would be interested to see if once a VIP group gets a BG if the time and # can be modified got those 1-11 groups


----------



## DGsAtBLT

Go💛Go said:


> No; but it can be detrimental if a VIP group is standing in the RotR FP queue for an hour or more and then gets evacuated. Disney doesn’t want to make amends or provide VIP guest recovery-appeasement.
> 
> By utilizing BGs for VIPs, they have to adjust accordingly just as all the other park guests.



I too was wondering if the number of VIP groups really would make a big impact.

Not wanting to mess with it from a guest recovery perspective makes a lot more sense. I wonder if that’s it.


----------



## StarGirl11

BGs are gone. Was playing along from home looks like they were gone sometime between 8:01 and 8:02. Backups start at 80


----------



## NateD1226

Good luck to anyone trying to ride it today. I am worried that with it being a holiday, the extreme amount of downtime yesterday, and half of the effects still not working is going to lead to today being a rough day.


----------



## SOCALMouseMommy

I tried to follow along from home today and it didn’t go well. I had to quit the app and reload. Worried about my chances for tomorrow.


----------



## montreid

Yeah; interested in how high they put the backup groups.  I bet they limited those even to minimize disappointment.


----------



## ironband74

Playing along at home, I couldn't get the button to light up until they were on backup groups about a minute in.  

And backup groups were gone by 8:03.

Not surprising with the holiday.

Tomorrow will be very interesting.

Boarding groups 80 and above are backup today.


----------



## ironband74

NateD1226 said:


> Good luck to anyone trying to ride it today. I am worried that with it being a holiday, the extreme amount of downtime yesterday, and half of the effects still not working is going to lead to today being a rough day.


No spoilers...but where did you hear half the effects are still not working?


----------



## FakeLocke

Got group 16. Sitting by the rivers of America. Verizon WiFi hotspot, launched app at 7:55 hit find out more right at 8.


----------



## franandaj

DGsAtBLT said:


> I too was wondering if the number of VIP groups really would make a big impact.



Depending on the time of year it really could. During the months of December and January VIP tours were completely booked on the weekends. At least for Club 33 members. Someone I know was trying to book a tour and every weekend was at capacity. That's a lot of tours!


----------



## NateD1226

ironband74 said:


> No spoilers...but where did you hear half the effects are still not working?


Yesterday certain AA's were malfunctioning and music and dialogue wasn't being played at certain times


----------



## dina444444

ironband74 said:


> No spoilers...but where did you hear half the effects are still not working?


When I road Saturday morning I didn’t notice any non working effects.


----------



## ironband74

I'm more curious to see when they start calling boarding groups.  That will tell us more about how the overnight went.


----------



## queso2992

ironband74 said:


> Playing along at home, I couldn't get the button to light up until they were on backup groups about a minute in.
> 
> And backup groups were gone by 8:03.
> 
> Not surprising with the holiday.
> 
> Tomorrow will be very interesting.
> 
> Boarding groups 80 and above are backup today.


Same thing happened to me. I couldn't get in until I restarted the app and by then they were already on backup groups.


----------



## DLgal

I played along at home too. My app immediately lit up red and I was able to click through to the page selecting my group. Then, got the message that boarding groups were gone for the day. Got the first message at 8:00:20 (I had a stopwatch going on my tablet next to me). Backed out and tried a few more times, each time was able to click on Join a Boarding group just fine. Unlike yesterday in the park. I was on my home wifi (I get NO cell signal in my home). 

Gonna try again tomorrow with my kids. I think I want to try scanning in early enough to go hang at Starbucks near WOD. Use the wifi there. Seems the best option.


----------



## Go💛Go

franandaj said:


> I'm curious why this is detrimental. Just asking.


Because VIP groups pay by the hour and they expect super quick ride access via the FP lines. RotR can’t guarantee that right now so each VIP group needs a BG.


----------



## CaliforniaGirl09

I was in twice this morning from home before backups. Thankfully it recognized my tickets this time. Backed out after select group page


----------



## montreid

ironband74 said:


> I'm more curious to see when they start calling boarding groups.  That will tell us more about how the overnight went.


I'm still of the opinion that 1-11 and the late starts are reserved for those VIPs and others.   No reports of folk exiting the ride during that time so brings me to think they are brought in the back way like those being evacuated ---just in reverse.


----------



## dieumeye

Wow!! Didn’t get a group today (it’s OK because I rode earlier this weekend).

At 8am I couldn’t get the Join button to turn red. Restarting app caused the button to turn red. Clicked it. Got the Backup BG notification. Made my party and got the dreaded “something went wrong”. Tried again but “something went wrong”. Third time “something went wrong” And then BGs and backups were full!!

For comparison, earlier this weekend the button turned right away and I got a BG without any issues.

For the curious: I’ve got an iPhone XS with AT&T. And both days I was standing at the entrance to Frontierland.

I’m a fan of the BG process because I think it’s the best solution under the circumstances. Obviously it is disappointing to someone to not get a BG, but I can see how the tech issues add an extra level of frustration that could sour the experience more than it otherwise would.

I mean, effectively I had zero chance this AM because “something went wrong”. For me it’s OK because I’ll just go about my day as usual, but for anyone coming just for this ride who won’t be able to visit again soon, I would definitely advise holding off until things settle down.

Curious how tomorrow will go once the weekend is over. I’ll probably try again next weekend.

Very happy for those who did get a BG! Enjoy!!


----------



## montreid

CaliforniaGirl09 said:


> I was in twice this morning from home before backups. Thankfully it recognized my tickets this time. Backed out after select group page


Yeah, getting used to the process with daily exercises.  Helped out again this AM and  needed two additional clicks with party not in park  (intentional) -  resulted in BG58.   Seconds matter at this time.

We'll be there with you next weekend but still off-site since VGC not coming through


----------



## dieumeye

montreid said:


> I'm still of the opinion that 1-11 and the late starts are reserved for those VIPs and others.   No reports of folk exiting the ride during that time so brings me to think they are brought in the back way like those being evacuated ---just in reverse.


Maybe there are super secret celebrity VIPs that are being given a ride in the morning, but I saw two different regular VIP groups on main street this morning trying for a boarding group same way as everyone else.

So if those early boarding groups are being reserved for someone, it’s not VIP tours.


----------



## CaliforniaGirl09

montreid said:


> Yeah, getting used to the process with daily exercises.  Helped out again this AM and  needed two additional clicks with party not in park  (intentional) -  resulted in BG58.   Seconds matter at this time.
> 
> We'll be there with you next weekend but still off-site since VGC not coming through


Congrats on at least getting a regular boarding group! Hopefully we will both be lucky exit weekend. All my ticketed people will be with me so hopefully no extra clicks.


----------



## DLgal

montreid said:


> I'm still of the opinion that 1-11 and the late starts are reserved for those VIPs and others.   No reports of folk exiting the ride during that time so brings me to think they are brought in the back way like those being evacuated ---just in reverse.



If I had to guess, 1-11 are held for "guest recovery" purposes. Guest Relations at City Hall has the ability to give out BG for people who provide a compelling sob story. A FB AP group I belong to has members who have already posted their stories of "pixie dust." I've seen 2 such stories already. I also happen to believe these groups can return at ANY time during the day, not just at the beginning.


----------



## montreid

dieumeye said:


> Wow!! Didn’t get a group today (it’s OK because I rode earlier this weekend).
> 
> At 8am I couldn’t get the Join button to turn red. Restarting app caused the button to turn red. Clicked it. Got the Backup BG notification. Made my party and got the dreaded “something went wrong”. Tried again but “something went wrong”. Third time “something And then BGs and backups were full!!
> 
> For comparison, earlier this weekend the button turned right away and I got a BG without any issues.
> 
> For the curious: I’ve got an iPhone XS with AT&T. And both days I was standing at the entrance to Frontierland.
> 
> I’m a fan of the BG process because I think it’s the best solution under the circumstances. Obviously it is disappointing to someone to not get a BG, but I can see how the tech issues add an extra level of frustration that could sour the experience more than it otherwise would.
> 
> I mean, effectively I had zero chance this AM because “something went wrong”. For me it’s OK because I’ll just go about my day as usual, but for anyone coming just for this ride who won’t be able to visit again soon, I would definitely advise holding off until things settle down.
> 
> Curious how tomorrow will go once the weekend is over. I’ll probably try again next weekend.
> 
> Very happy for those who did get a BG! Enjoy!!


This is the challenge of BG going in 1 minute.    My hope is with lower crowds AND increased capacity after week 1 of shakedown; the time will increase to a reasonable 5-10minutes for regular.  Then it gives a fighting chance despite tech glitches on the app.

If not and stays the gone in 60 sec mode - I would advocate for a simple virtual lottery to further reduce crowds and improve planning experience until capacity increase to the 5minute time.


----------



## Avery's mom

Tried again this morning, and got BG #25. Once again, my daughter's iPhone 10S (Verizon network) got us in - on Main St in front of Houdini's.


----------



## CastAStone

Skyegirl1999 said:


> You have three day tickets with a MM, right? If you’re willing to kill your MM to ensure you have a chance to ride, I’d go right to a Buzz FP machine and wait there for an hour, so you’re the first person to pull a physical BG.
> 
> Obviously that’s a massive “waste” of your MM, but if your trip was for ROTR, it’s probably worth it to you?


This is a very, very good idea, for those who have the opportunity.


----------



## DLgal

montreid said:


> This is the challenge of BG going in 1 minute.    My hope is with lower crowds AND increased capacity after week 1 of shakedown; the time will increase to a reasonable 5-10minutes for regular.  Then it gives a fighting chance despite tech glitches on the app.
> 
> If not and stays the gone in 60 sec mode - I would advocate for a simple virtual lottery to further reduce crowds and improve planning experience until capacity increase to the 5minute time.



I don't know why they didn't just do this from the beginning. Have an option on the app to "click for your chance to be entered into the boarding group lottery" once you scan into the park. Have it be a popup notification. Then, people who are interested can do that, and once the park opens, you get another popup letting you know if you "won" or not. It seems that would be a much smaller burden on their system and will allow for people to truly have a fair shot. Provide kiosks in the entrance plaza for people without the app.


----------



## ironband74

I guess the thing that bothers me at the moment is that there are multiple ways to get to a boarding pass button, and they are inconsistent as to when they go active.  Some people have to back out of the app.  Some people don't.  For some people pulling down on the my status page seems to work (didn't for me).  For others going back and forth between status and find out more seems to work (didn't for me).  Opening the app after the appropriate time seems to work for most, but costs precious seconds.  I have no problem with the system...but the user interface bothers me a little.


----------



## CastAStone

DLgal said:


> I don't know why they didn't just do this from the beginning. Have an option on the app to "click for your chance to be entered into the boarding group lottery" once you scan into the park. Have it be a popup notification. Then, people who are interested can do that, and once the park opens, you get another popup letting you know if you "won" or not. It seems that would be a much smaller burden on their system and will allow for people to truly have a fair shot.


This is also a very good idea for anyone at TPO who may come across this thread.

They clearly just lazily repurposed the Maxpass code for this, your idea would force them to do some actual programming, but it is a much better idea.


----------



## ironband74

CastAStone said:


> This is a very, very good idea, for those who have the opportunity.


Am I correct in assuming that this is the old school "put one ticket in, BG pops out, put another ticket in, BG pops out, rinse and repeat" type kiosk?  And if so, does it keep subsequent tickets in the same boarding group?  My one concern here would be that the first ticket gets BG 17, second ticket gets BG 28, third ticket gets BG 76, and fourth ticket gets 118.  I have to believe that Disney had the foresight to prevent such a scenario...but...not sure what magic they use to do so.


----------



## njchris

Got on boarding group 29.  I waited near the shooting g range where it was not packed.


----------



## CastAStone

After four days it certainly seems like Verizon is working somewhat more quickly than the other networks.

But getting the button to turn red is clearly the bigger issue, and seems independent of both carriers and phone type.


----------



## montreid

CastAStone said:


> This is also a very good idea for anyone at TPO who may come across this thread.
> 
> They clearly just lazily repurposed the Maxpass code for this, your idea would force them to do some actual programming, but it is a much better idea.


Yeah reused existing code.  

Anything new will require coding; testing; fielding -- all fraught with potential pitfalls.  

That's why I believe execs will maintain this for at least next 2 weeks to gauge response to the lower non-holiday crowds and weekday crowds while gaining capacity on the ride side.

If BGs last a few minutes -  they won't pull the trigger for new process -- I know I wouldn't.


----------



## Vysecity

I didn't get a group today. Is there a way to delete people linked to my account? I have 9 people and 5 weren't in the park. Unclicking them takes a lot of time which is why I think I missed out. Wife forgot to unclick one and that killed our chances too


----------



## montreid

CastAStone said:


> After four days it certainly seems like Verizon is working somewhat more quickly than the other networks.
> 
> But getting the button to turn red is clearly the bigger issue, and seems independent of both carriers and phone type.


Cache possibly?


----------



## CastAStone

njchris said:


> Got on birding group 29.  I waited near the shooting g range where it was not packed.


Birding groups at the shooting range I think is a different facility


----------



## EmJ

DLgal said:


> I don't know why they didn't just do this from the beginning. Have an option on the app to "click for your chance to be entered into the boarding group lottery" once you scan into the park. Have it be a popup notification. Then, people who are interested can do that, and once the park opens, you get another popup letting you know if you "won" or not. It seems that would be a much smaller burden on their system and will allow for people to truly have a fair shot. Provide kiosks in the entrance plaza for people without the app.


This is the best and perhaps only suggestion I’ve seen so far that has the possibility of improving the system without causing other issues, like people arriving at 2 am or massive standby lines. We’ll see; if it stays crazy, maybe they’ll move to something like this.


----------



## DLgal

montreid said:


> Cache possibly?



I cleared my app cache yesterday while I was waiting for 8am.


----------



## Evita_W

JPTexan82 said:


> The way around it legally, back up boarding group.


No, because you can still only get one boarding group per day. Technically violates the rule.


----------



## Skyegirl1999

CastAStone said:


> This is a very, very good idea, for those who have the opportunity.


I believe @dieumeye suggested it earlier in the thread - since reports are that a couple of people are getting through each kiosk, it seems like the closest to a “sure thing” that someone could get.


----------



## Skyegirl1999

Vysecity said:


> I didn't get a group today. Is there a way to delete people linked to my account? I have 9 people and 5 weren't in the park. Unclicking them takes a lot of time which is why I think I missed out. Wife forgot to unclick one and that killed our chances too


Yeah, go into your tickets and delete them.  I deleted my husband on Friday because he wasn’t with us.


----------



## Skyegirl1999

EmJ said:


> This is the best and perhaps only suggestion I’ve seen so far that has the possibility of improving the system without causing other issues, like people arriving at 2 am or massive standby lines. We’ll see; if it stays crazy, maybe they’ll move to something like this.


They do a lottery at one of the Asian parks.  This system wasn’t really intended to be a lottery.


----------



## IsleofDisney

Vysecity said:


> I didn't get a group today. Is there a way to delete people linked to my account? I have 9 people and 5 weren't in the park. Unclicking them takes a lot of time which is why I think I missed out. Wife forgot to unclick one and that killed our chances too



Yes, there should be a button to delete the ticket/passport. Go to Tickets & Passes under your account info menu. You might have to scroll down to see the button to unlink the ticket.


----------



## CaliforniaGirl09

montreid said:


> This is the challenge of BG going in 1 minute.    My hope is with lower crowds AND increased capacity after week 1 of shakedown; the time will increase to a reasonable 5-10minutes for regular.  Then it gives a fighting chance despite tech glitches on the app.
> 
> If not and stays the gone in 60 sec mode - I would advocate for a simple virtual lottery to further reduce crowds and improve planning experience until capacity increase to the 5minute time.


I agree with this. i followed the WDW thread for over a month and this gone in seconds for four days in a row never happened there. They had a couple days around the holidays that were quick, but not like this. They will have to do something if it keeps up. IT seems to be more of an issue here, too, which IMO is unacceptable. 



CastAStone said:


> After four days it certainly seems like Verizon is working somewhat more quickly than the other networks.


Which is ironic given the brought to you by ATT message I see every time I open the app, LOL!


----------



## njchris

CastAStone said:


> Birding groups at the shooting range I think is a different facility


Hahaha I just noticed my typo.


----------



## katyringo

CaliforniaGirl09 said:


> I agree with this. i followed the WDW thread for over a month and this gone in seconds for four days in a row never happened there. They had a couple days around the holidays that were quick, but not like this. They will have to do something if it keeps up. IT seems to be more of an issue here, too, which IMO is unacceptable.
> 
> 
> Which is ironic given the brought to you by ATT message I see every time I open the app, LOL!



I think this critique I can agree with.  I think the difference is the park hopping situation at disneyland. A lot less people buy non hopper tickets at DL. So now naturally everyone and their mom are going to start the day at Disneyland park to try for a boarding group. If I go to Disneyland for 5 days I’m gonna try for that ride every single day. If I go to world for 10 days, but I’m only planning HS for 2, then I’m only trying twice.


----------



## dina444444

Ride has started to load. Group 10 is the first group of the day. 

What time did the turn stiles open this morning?


----------



## cm123

FakeLocke said:


> Got group 16. Sitting by the rivers of America. Verizon WiFi hotspot, launched app at 7:55 hit find out more right at 8.


ios or android?


----------



## socaldisneylover

How are those of you trying at home finding out what Boarding Group you're placed in?  I get the page saying that the person(Me) is not in the park.  Do I need to have my box unchecked on the prior screen that asks about who is in the party?


----------



## sammybk

You aren't able to actually pull a boarding group from home.  You can simply practice the process of clicking through and attempting to join.  And it appears the ride is already open for the day calling groups 10 - 19 just before 9am.


----------



## CaliforniaGirl09

socaldisneylover said:


> How are those of you trying at home finding out what Boarding Group you're placed in?  I get the page saying that the person(Me) is not in the park.  Do I need to have my box unchecked on the prior screen that asks about who is in the party?


Playing at home you can't get an actual boarding group as you have to be tapped into the park to be eligible to ride. We are "getting in" only up to a point and then backing out. But it's helpful to learn the process and see what can go wrong. The other day while playing from home the app wasn't recognizing my loaded Aps and I was getting an error message.


----------



## dieumeye

A few more notes from this morning:

Shortly after 8am, there was a solid line at City Hall that was growing. I assume most complaints are about the BG process but haven’t heard what, if anything, is being done by guest services.

There was a small trickle of people exiting DL shortly after 8am. I heard a least 2 different groups complaining amongst themselves about not getting a BG. I wonder if this is a subset of local APs who just came over to try for a BG. Of course, maybe some of the people did get a BG and were just going to breakfast or to do something else for awhile.

Outside the Harbor gate there was still a solid stream of people walking into the park. Either they don’t care about RotR or don’t know they had to be there at 8am. But I’d find it hard to believe that all those people had no idea.


----------



## ckb_nc

katyringo said:


> I think this critique I can agree with.  I think the difference is the park hopping situation at disneyland. A lot less people buy non hopper tickets at DL. So now naturally everyone and their mom are going to start the day at Disneyland park to try for a boarding group. If I go to Disneyland for 5 days I’m gonna try for that ride every single day. If I go to world for 10 days, but I’m only planning HS for 2, then I’m only trying twice.


Exactly - plus it's a holiday weekend with a good number of APs in town. Very curious to see what happens in say two weeks on a Tuesday.


----------



## Vysecity

Skyegirl1999 said:


> Yeah, go into your tickets and delete them.  I deleted my husband on Friday because he wasn’t with us.


I'm not given the option to delete them though


----------



## Benjl1993

dieumeye said:


> A few more notes from this morning:
> 
> Shortly after 8am, there was a solid line at City Hall that was growing. I assume most complaints are about the BG process but haven’t heard what, if anything, is being done by guest services.
> 
> There was a small trickle of people exiting DL shortly after 8am. I heard a least 2 different groups complaining amongst themselves about not getting a BG. I wonder if this is a subset of local APs who just came over to try for a BG. Of course, maybe some of the people did get a BG and were just going to breakfast or to do something else for awhile.
> 
> Outside the Harbor gate there was still a solid stream of people walking into the park. Either they don’t care about RotR or don’t know they had to be there at 8am. But I’d find it hard to believe that all those people had no idea.



I could believe it, Disney are advertising this massive new attraction, with no real mention of the insane process needed to ride it right now. Unless you frequent these boards, follow theme park twitter or go looking for the info from themselves, which let's be honest the vast majority of the general public won't, then you wouldn't really be aware of the madness.


----------



## CastAStone

Vysecity said:


> I'm not given the option to delete them though


Try it from the Disneyland mobile site.


----------



## Lesley Wake

DLgal said:


> I don't know why they didn't just do this from the beginning. Have an option on the app to "click for your chance to be entered into the boarding group lottery" once you scan into the park. Have it be a popup notification. Then, people who are interested can do that, and once the park opens, you get another popup letting you know if you "won" or not. It seems that would be a much smaller burden on their system and will allow for people to truly have a fair shot. Provide kiosks in the entrance plaza for people without the app.





Skyegirl1999 said:


> They do a lottery at one of the Asian parks.  This system wasn’t really intended to be a lottery.


Tokyo has a show lottery. You either go to a kiosk or on the app, scan in all your groups tickets, select the show and time, and cross your fingers! You can try for each show once per day. And honestly it is extremely frustrating! I had 7 park days; luckily I won the lottery for 3 shows, but there was one I didn’t get to see at all, and I never won the lottery for the parade/harbor show viewing areas. I have a friend who lives there, visits every day, and maybe wins once a month. I would never want that system to come to the US parks. 

Yes, this BG system is currently frustrating, but it’s also the first weekend! I want to see how it goes during the week and in later weekends this winter!


----------



## mafpi

Hi all. Thanks for all the advice here. When they let us in at 7:50. We walked to the entrance of SR. Had four phones here on att and my sister at home on WiFi. They were all logged into my account. My son got in on his iPhone 11. Group 29. Walked into line and got off SR by 8:20


----------



## brightlined

DLgal said:


> I don't know why they didn't just do this from the beginning.


I'm gently taking exception to this one sentence.

In development, you have to code based on prediction, and I don't think anybody thought it would be this bad, even four days ago. This is the worst-case scenario. Even the six weeks at DHS didn't predict that this would be necessary.

If BGs are still available at 8:15am, you don't really need a lottery. And the FP system is already (comparatively) robust system - I can understand why they did it this way. (If someone thought that DL would only need to use BGs for a month - why would coding a different system be necessary?)

The lottery is a good idea, especially if it turns out that it remains like this for the near future (especially on weekends). If I were an IT manager, I would be staring at the numbers for the upcoming week and weekend and making the call next Monday to code out the lottery system on the chance that it remains this bad into the spring and summer.

But if this is only going to happen this weekend, it's certainly understandable that they didn't do it that way. It's a lot easier to make that prediction after the situation has already happened.


----------



## Mathmagicland

Several here are reporting waiting at spots past the usual pre-ROTR ropes, ie within Frontierland. I am wondering how much longer the morning crowds will warrant opening the entire park before the posted time, where people would only be able to try from the hub or along Main Street.


----------



## crystal1313

Mathmagicland said:


> Several here are reporting waiting at spots past the usual pre-ROTR ropes, ie within Frontierland. I am wondering how much longer the morning crowds will warrant opening the entire park before the posted time, where people would only be able to try from the hub or along Main Street.


I am wondering the same thing....


----------



## DLgal

brightlined said:


> I'm gently taking exception to this one sentence.
> 
> In development, you have to code based on prediction, and I don't think anybody thought it would be this bad, even four days ago. This is the worst-case scenario. Even the six weeks at DHS didn't predict that this would be necessary.
> 
> If BGs are still available at 8:15am, you don't really need a lottery. And the FP system is already (comparatively) robust system - I can understand why they did it this way. (If someone thought that DL would only need to use BGs for a month - why would coding a different system be necessary?)
> 
> The lottery is a good idea, especially if it turns out that it remains like this for the near future (especially on weekends). If I were an IT manager, I would be staring at the numbers for the upcoming week and weekend and making the call next Monday to code out the lottery system on the chance that it remains this bad into the spring and summer.
> 
> But if this is only going to happen this weekend, it's certainly understandable that they didn't do it that way. It's a lot easier to make that prediction after the situation has already happened.



I could counter that argument by referencing what happened when Disneyland did the SWGE preview "lottery" in May and what a mess that ended up being. Remember how the system basically crashed while people tried feverishly to get in over and over again? That was a good test of the demand for a system that would grant people "exclusive" access. 

This is the same thing, essentially. They should have looked at what happened back in May and extrapolated out that if they intended to do a similar thing for this ride, it would be problematic. The least they could have done was boost the in park wifi coverage so that there aren't low signal or dead areas anywhere in the park. They didn't even do that.


----------



## Ferrellcon

I was very dissapointed that only 81 groups were called and it opened really late yesterday. The ride broke down at least 3 times then stopped calling groups at 830. It was a bad day to even try. I should have known better. I heard over 140 groups got in at Hollywood Studios yesterday. I am glad that they got things worked out. I hope Disneyland can follow their example. Im an AP so i will just try again in a couple months. If i lived closer i would try everyday before work.


----------



## dieumeye

Benjl1993 said:


> I could believe it, Disney are advertising this massive new attraction, with no real mention of the insane process needed to ride it right now. Unless you frequent these boards, follow theme park twitter or go looking for the info from themselves, which let's be honest the vast majority of the general public won't, then you wouldn't really be aware of the madness.


I don’t buy the argument that there’s something bad about advertising the new ride even though it’s hard to actually ride.

Every popular thing is advertised when it opens and there is always an understanding that it may be hard to experience.

Popular movie? It’ll be crowded so get tickets in advance because you shouldn’t expect to walk up and get in.

Trendy new restaurant? It’ll be crowded so make a reservation because you can’t expect to walk up and get right in, they might even sell out of their signature item before regular closing time.

Hot new holiday toy? Better research when and where it’s available because it’ll sell out so you can’t just walk into a store and buy it.

New ride? It’ll be crowded so look into what it takes to ride because you can’t expect to walk up and get in. This has been true since at least the 1980s.

I mean, there’s enough issues for people who DO know what to do. Anyone who wanders in late and says “I didn’t know!” really has no one to blame but themselves.


----------



## FakeLocke

cm123 said:


> ios or android?


Android. Got in line at 9 and off the attraction at 9:25. The detail and scope of the attraction is just amazing!


----------



## Ferrellcon

I wonder if the ride will be open during Disneyland After Dark events. 

I am also hoping for AP special access after the park closes in the future.  Maybe in a year or so they will.


----------



## socaldisneylover

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.


----------



## socaldisneylover

Ferrellcon said:


> I wonder if the ride will be open during Disneyland After Dark events.
> 
> I am also hoping for AP special access after the park closes in the future.  Maybe in a year or so they will.


They stated that it won't.


----------



## Ferrellcon

socaldisneylover said:


> They stated that it won't.


  Oh ok. Thanks for the info.


----------



## ThreeMountains

Got to the park at 7:15 or so. Got into Tomorrowland right at rope drop. Walked into space mountain and booked boarding group 40 while on the intro part of the ride.


----------



## bwvBound

socaldisneylover said:


> 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.


Except that ... during a rather long wait, guests will require both _hydrators_ (drinking fountains) and _refreshers_ (restrooms/WC).  Unlike FoP at DAK, neither are offered in DL's RotR queue.  So, absent infrastructure for bodily functions, the park might have to develop a "bathroom pass" system and staff to administer such a system.  Costs ...??


----------



## brightlined

socaldisneylover said:


> 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.


The big problem with that is what we've already talked about - they're able to use the BGs to manage the maintenance and downtimes. If they know they're not going to get to the later BGs, they can send people away. (And that's especially true knowing that they're trying to close ROTR a couple of hours early for nightly maintenance.)

With the standby possibility - say they distribute 40 BGs at 8am and then the line starts. If there's a breakdown midday, it'd be possible for people to stand in a multi-hour line _for the entire day_ with no promises of getting to ride - which isn't how Disney really does lines. People would be irate. You've basically wasted their entire day.

A lot of the idea spitballing in this thread has really been focused on _this specific problem_, meaning how things have gone this weekend. But, in any case, it's probably worth seeing how things go as we get into the more normal weekday schedule.


----------



## Jkpark

Does anyone have experience these first few days with a larger group? We are a group of 10 coming out next weekend and I think we all want to have each others' tickets linked and we all want to try at once for our group of 10, correct?  I would hate us all to do it separately and some get to ride and some don't, but I don't have a sense of whether there is any downside to trying for a larger group at once? 

Anxiously awaiting to see what happens the next few days when weekend/holiday crowds are gone.


----------



## MithrilMaiden

Didn't get it today, either. The lines in Tomorrowlabd got mobbed by people who can run a lot faster than I can, so I tried getting better reception in Frontierland like I was advised, but I still lost cell service. Looks like I'm gonna have to wait until next year.

I also just cancelled my autopay for my ATT service. This is the last straw with them, and I'm switching to T-Mobile. Honestly, I should have switched ages ago when they said they can't get my roaming service in Europe, even for an extra fee, because I'm tired of using prepaid sims for data and not getting to text home.


----------



## Skyegirl1999

dina444444 said:


> Ride has started to load. Group 10 is the first group of the day.
> 
> What time did the turn stiles open this morning?


I think @dieumeye reported this, but I can’t find the massage.


----------



## socaldisneylover

Up to Group 32 at 10:30 AM.


----------



## JWelch62

Jkpark said:


> Does anyone have experience these first few days with a larger group? We are a group of 10 coming out next weekend and I think we all want to have each others' tickets linked and we all want to try at once for our group of 10, correct?  I would hate us all to do it separately and some get to ride and some don't, but I don't have a sense of whether there is any downside to trying for a larger group at once?
> 
> Anxiously awaiting to see what happens the next few days when weekend/holiday crowds are gone.


I have heard that linking tix to multiple accounts can result in all tickets getting unlinked. Others have suggested linking all the tix to ONE account, and having multiple people logged into that account. A poster a few (20ish) posts ago mentioned doing this with their son and getting BPs on the son's phone.


----------



## vharris2828

thanks for everyone’s suggestions on here! We got boarding group 35. Most stressful two minutes of my life waiting for the clock to hit 8


----------



## Mar Mar Binks

So an extra tip from today is to remove anyone from your party who won’t be in the park.  At the last minute I had 2 people not join and those extra seconds removing them from the boarding group cost time.  We still got group 58 but only because someone outside the park was helping using my account.
Verizon cell reception right inside the gate was still great today.


----------



## Jkpark

When multiple people are trying from one account - what message do the others get once that first person is successful? Assuming we spread out and/or have someone trying at home - will we know that someone else in our group was successful when we are unable to get one?


----------



## ironband74

Jkpark said:


> When multiple people are trying from one account - what message do the others get once that first person is successful? Assuming we spread out and/or have someone trying at home - will we know that someone else in our group was successful when we are unable to get one?


I believe it is something akin to "You are already in a boarding group"


----------



## Avery's mom

ironband74 said:


> I believe it is something akin to "You are already in a boarding group"


Exactly this!


----------



## Etonduf

DLgal said:


> The least they could have done was boost the in park wifi coverage so that there aren't low signal or dead areas anywhere in the park. They didn't even do that.



Your last point is very true. My WiFi experiences in DLR and DCA have always been abysmal. They seem to be "all in" on making mobile devices part of the in-park experience (app with wait times, maxpass, the play app, etc), so there's really no excuse for not beefing up WiFi signal and capacity in every corner of the resort.


----------



## Tinkerbell19672

Staying at GCH later this week.  Wondering what the best plan is for days where EMH is DCA but want to try to get BG for ROTR. Should we forego DCA and go straight to DL? Also, if we go through DCA security for hotel guests and go straight to DL, will that be a problem? I read a while ago that some people got stopped at DL turnstiles because it looked fishy they tried to get in so soon after DCA. Not sure if we should chance that or not. TIA!


----------



## Zerzura

CaliforniaGirl09 said:


> Playing at home you can't get an actual boarding group as you have to be tapped into the park to be eligible to ride. We are "getting in" only up to a point and then backing out. But it's helpful to learn the process and see what can go wrong. The other day while playing from home the app wasn't recognizing my loaded Aps and I was getting an error message.


If people playing at home are actually getting a boarding group number screen, wouldn’t that mean that their account is grabbing those numbers, even if they end up not completing the reservation? I wonder if playing at home is artificially making the BG seem to go faster in the first minute.


----------



## LilyJC

The only person grabbing boarding passes at home (@montreid) is using @Mar Mar Binks Disney account to help them grab a BG. He’s(?) not part of the party, but is helping her(?) party who are all scanned into DL. **Just clarifying this as there is no way to get a BG for parties not checked into DL.


----------



## Zerzura

LilyJC said:


> The only person grabbing boarding passes at home (@montreid) is using @Mar Mar Binks Disney account to help them grab a BG. He’s(?) not part of the party, but is helping her(?) party who are all scanned into DL. **Just clarifying this as there is no way to get a BG for parties not checked into DL.


I mean, the people people just practicing, that are not scanned into the park and are at home.


----------



## TikiTikiFan

Zerzura said:


> I mean, the people people just practicing, that are not scanned into the park and are at home.



I wonder if this is contributing to the app crashes? Although I’m sure it’s pretty insignificant compared to the thousands in the park actually scanned in and trying. Hoping they get those app bugs squared away if they’re going to be relying on this long term. Thankfully, we won’t be coming again until summer and I’m assuming by then it’ll be a while other scenario especially with Marvel Land open...  I wonder if they’ll do this for the Spider Man ride?


----------



## dieumeye

TikiTikiFan said:


> I wonder if this is contributing to the app crashes? Although I’m sure it’s pretty insignificant compared to the thousands in the park actually scanned in and trying. Hoping they get those app bugs squared away if they’re going to be relying on this long term. Thankfully, we won’t be coming again until summer and I’m assuming by then it’ll be a while other scenario especially with Marvel Land open...  I wonder if they’ll do this for the Spider Man ride?


Just speculating, but considering the scope of the attractions, I bet that the Spider-Man ride will see a pattern a lot more like MF:SR so BGs won’t be necessary.


----------



## TikiTikiFan

dieumeye said:


> Just speculating, but considering the scope of the attractions, I bet that the Spider-Man ride will see a pattern a lot more like MF:SR so BGs won’t be necessary.



Good point, if anything might help divide the crush of people between the parks this summer either way. I’m really hoping they can switch to FastPass by summer but I suppose if the demand remains wouldn’t be much different than the current system anyways?

I don’t see casual tourists doing well with the boarding group complexities because let’s face it, look at how many people visit without even knowing how to use FastPass..


----------



## GoldeneyezCA

ironband74 said:


> Am I correct in assuming that this is the old school "put one ticket in, BG pops out, put another ticket in, BG pops out, rinse and repeat" type kiosk?  And if so, does it keep subsequent tickets in the same boarding group?  My one concern here would be that the first ticket gets BG 17, second ticket gets BG 28, third ticket gets BG 76, and fourth ticket gets 118.  I have to believe that Disney had the foresight to prevent such a scenario...but...not sure what magic they use to do so.



We didn’t end up using the kiosk yesterday because my husband got a BG in the app right before his turn.  He was 2nd or 3rd in line.  But the CM’s were making announcements about ways to link your tickets somehow so that people wouldn’t end up in different BG’s.  I was preparing my two phones, though, and didn’t catch the details.  The guy in front of my husband successfully scanned 8 tickets in the kiosk in less than a minute and got a BG for his family, but he was really moving!  Every CM we saw at rope drop, and on the way to the kiosk, told us the app was the best bet.


----------



## Ionan89

montreid said:


> I'm still of the opinion that 1-11 and the late starts are reserved for those VIPs and others.   No reports of folk exiting the ride during that time so brings me to think they are brought in the back way like those being evacuated ---just in reverse.


The only VIPs that ever get taken through backstage areas are higher profile VIPs (like high profile celebrities and such) to minimize fan intervention and increase mobility. All other regular folk (and lower level celebrities) with VIP tour guides are not taken through any backstage entrances or paths.


----------



## dieumeye

TikiTikiFan said:


> Good point, if anything might help divide the crush of people between the parks this summer either way. I’m really hoping they can switch to FastPass by summer but I suppose if the demand remains wouldn’t be much different than the current system anyways?
> 
> I don’t see casual tourists doing well with the boarding group complexities because let’s face it, look at how many people visit without even knowing how to use FastPass..


I think once the boarding groups last for an even short reasonable amount of time, like 15 minutes, that’ll mean that most everyone in the park at open will get a BG, even with tech issues. So there will be a lot fewer complaints. But it all depends on ride capacity getting up.


----------



## LilyJC

Zerzura said:


> I mean, the people people just practicing, that are not scanned into the park and are at home.



People practicing at home are not able to get a boarding group. Once you hit the red button, you must select your party. If you select people not scanned into the park it will tell you they are not in the park, and you are unable to proceed with getting a BG.

I’m not the most techy person, but I’d have to guess everyone playing along at home has to put pressure on an already sketchy system. Hoping for an update that will help remedy all these glitches!


----------



## Susie63

TikiTikiFan said:


> Good point, if anything might help divide the crush of people between the parks this summer either way. I’m really hoping they can switch to FastPass by summer but I suppose if the demand remains wouldn’t be much different than the current system anyways?
> 
> I don’t see casual tourists doing well with the boarding group complexities because let’s face it, look at how many people visit without even knowing how to use FastPass..


This^^^^^^ My sister and her family are heading to the parks tomorrow for their first Disney trip just to ride ROTR I have spent the last two days trying to keep her in the loop to try to help her score a boarding group. She didn't even know about fp's.


----------



## ironband74

dieumeye said:


> Just speculating, but considering the scope of the attractions, I bet that the Spider-Man ride will see a pattern a lot more like MF:SR so BGs won’t be necessary.


Yeah, I don't see Avengers Campus having the same draw as Galaxy's Edge.  The phase 2 attraction may warrant some special treatment, but that phase 1 attraction sounds a lot like Midway Mania.  I'm sure it'll be busy, but not like this.


----------



## TikiTikiFan

Susie63 said:


> This^^^^^^ My sister and her family are heading to the parks tomorrow for their first Disney trip just to ride ROTR I have spent the last two days trying to keep her in the loop to try to help her score a boarding group. She didn't even know about fp's.



A lady I work with planned this once in a lifetime trip and when she got back and was talking about it, FastPass got brought up and she was like ‘Oh woops, we forgot about those!’ My head about exploded.


----------



## hiroMYhero

montreid said:


> I'm still of the opinion that 1-11 and the late starts are reserved for those VIPs and others.   No reports of folk exiting the ride during that time so brings me to think they are brought in the back way like those being evacuated ---just in reverse.


This does occur at WDW’s RotR. Travel agency groups have bought out the first hour or so and had charter buses pick them up from resorts to deliver them to the backstage entrance. After those early morning guests were cleared from RotR, then regular BGs began loading.


----------



## ThreeMountains

Currently in line. Had BG 40. They announced a few minutes ago that the ride is shut down at the moment. Does anyone know if I leave can I come back using my boarding group pass later or was this a one shot deal to use it?

I ask because I’m only here today (fly out tomorrow) and can’t afford to wait two hours if it takes that long for them to get back up and running. Too much other stuff to see.
Thanks for any input.


----------



## NeedhelpLol

Version 6 said:


> Which carrier are you with in Australia? I'm pretty sure all the major carriers now let you roam for $5 a day making pre paid sims pretty pointless. I used that for my current trip and was able to ride.


I’m with Telstra I’ll look into it thanks


----------



## Ferrellcon

I figured it broke down. The boarding numbers hint at that. The left number keeps going down and the right number stays whenever this happens.


----------



## NeedhelpLol

Skyegirl1999 said:


> You have three day tickets with a MM, right? If you’re willing to kill your MM to ensure you have a chance to ride, I’d go right to a Buzz FP machine and wait there for an hour, so you’re the first person to pull a physical BG.
> 
> Obviously that’s a massive “waste” of your MM, but if your trip was for ROTR, it’s probably worth it to you?


Yes I do have MM one day that’s a great idea I’ll try to give it a go and be first in line at a machine  thank you


----------



## TikiTikiFan

ThreeMountains said:


> Currently in line. Had BG 40. They announced a few minutes ago that the ride is shut down at the moment. Does anyone know if I leave can I come back using my boarding group pass later or was this a one shot deal to use it?



From what I saw reading along is that some people weren’t able to come back and use them and some were. I could be wrong but sounds risky to leave the line as you might not be able to get back in.


----------



## Mommy to Kayla

Following along as we check into GCH on Thursday. Super nervous about this trip.


----------



## NeedhelpLol

BecAus said:


> Telstra is $10/day - but that’s what I use when I’m at DL.
> I’m ‘tech challenged’ so I just find it a lot easier to do that, I can live with $10/day, I think it’s pretty reasonable.
> 
> to the two (Aussie) previous posters:
> I wish you both the best of luck, hopefully you’ll get on with no issues - fingers will be crossed for you!


Thank you  I’m with Telstra also I’ll look until it


----------



## njchris

I got on line around 10:15-10:30.  Boarding group 29.   My jaw was dropped the whole time.  I hope everyone gets to experience this.


----------



## Jaina

We are going to be there Friday and Saturday. May the force be with us! We have iphones and Verizon, and I "played along" this morning to see the process. It seemed like they were gone by 8:01. Is there a specific place that's good Verizon coverage, or should we just try using our phone and make sure everything's loading quickly there before 8 AM hits?


----------



## HydroGuy

ironband74 said:


> Yeah, and they called the later boarding groups at an accelerated rate.  Sounds like they are loading up the queue, hoping to clear it by 10, and getting to work on making sure today's issues don't repeat.
> 
> While I understand the sentiments of some of those who are dissatisfied, as an engineer who works on complex systems, I see nothing out of the ordinary here.  Disney could have played it safe and given us an attraction that would have high reliability and fewer moving parts...and a lesser experience.  With Galaxy's edge Disney has declared that playing it safe is not their mission.  They are trying to do the impossible.  And, as it happens, doing the impossible means pushing boundaries and taking risks and accepting some down-time.  The technical aspects will improve over time.  3 days here is not enough to determine anything resembling a trend.  And even with 6 weeks of data in Florida, we're just starting to see what might be an improvement trend.
> 
> Early adopters always pay the price for being on the bleeding edge of innovation.  And that's what the folks that are riding this now, at release, are.  They are the early adopters.  They exchange reliability for the opportunity to be the first users.  Software these days is never released bug free.  The first commercial users are essentially the Beta Testers.  You can think of the cast member preview as the alpha/smoke test, and the first year or so of regular riders as Beta.  Bugs will be reported and fixed.  Some bug fixes create or expose additional problems.  Shortcomings in some of the mechanical systems will be discovered and redesigned to be more robust.  And over the next year you'll see the up-time improve until it levels off at something close to the expected capacity.
> 
> Now, the people-angle issues we are seeing I expect will correct a lot sooner. If the ride is down for an hour and you are held captive in the queue under threat of losing your BG, that's a problem I expect will be solved quickly. So please bring that up to Guest Services and name names, not to punish, but to help those CMs get the training they need to deliver a Disney experience.
> 
> Honestly, the people who built the land love it far too much to allow it to languish or be mediocre in any way. If all this is too much for you, skip it and wait a year or so. I would be willing to wager that reliability and throughput will improve.


Loved this, as a fellow engineer (mechanical) and software developer.


----------



## montreid

hiroMYhero said:


> This does occur at WDW’s RotR. Travel agency groups have bought out the first hour or so and had charter buses pick them up from resorts to deliver them to the backstage entrance. After those early morning guests were cleared from RotR, then regular BGs began loading.


This.   I'm sure some companies are capable of doing this and simply do not advertise it.   Wouldn't be surprised if NAMM had an arrangement today.


----------



## montreid

Zerzura said:


> I mean, the people people just practicing, that are not scanned into the park and are at home.


I'm sure there's a lot of people practicing.   I did with WDW for a few weeks and again for DLR until had friend there this weekend.


----------



## PixieT78

I wish I could practice - I can't even log into the app!

Also just a thanks to everyone for keeping the thread updated!  Anxiously awaiting my time to go


----------



## HydroGuy

SirBill said:


> I thought ROTR was much better than Smugglers Run, and vastly better than the Flight of Passage ride.
> 
> As an anecdote to how good I thought it was, I went to the opening of ROTR at Disney World, spent three days riding the ride every single day. Then even though I had not planned to originally, I decided after a few weeks it would be great to come out for the opening of ROTR in DisneyLand so I booked travel early January to come down. and rode ROTR this Friday and Saturday...
> 
> Going forward, my wife and I for the first time ever bought an annual pass for DL and will come out several times this year, where I'll try to get a BG every day I am here.
> 
> When I go to Disney World it would be my number one priority ride such that I'd plan the first morning at Hollywood Studios just to be sure I get as many chances as possible at getting to ride ROTR while there.  I've seen other YouTube channels agree it's the #1 ride at WDW now, including Disney Food Blog.
> 
> To me ROTR has a lot more re-rideability than Smugglers Run does - I still enjoy it but some trips I don't even try to ride.
> 
> The ride videos people post show you what is going on, but it's nothing like all the little touches that make being in the ride feel so great.


Hmmm, I just wished you liked ROTR a little more...


----------



## Tinkerbell19672

Mommy to Kayla said:


> Following along as we check into GCH on Thursday. Super nervous about this trip.



We check in Thursday too!  Hoping to get on ROTR. Wishing us both luck


----------



## EmJ

Well after an initially good showing this morning, it looks like the ride has been down almost two hours. Any word on what they are doing with the people in line?


----------



## HydroGuy

nutshell said:


> I would add that thousands of people are enjoying this ride every day. Either at DL or DHS. It’s not the “disaster” the haters are pretending it to be.


I would caution about using the word "haters" in the context of this thread. I think some folks have legitimately negative things to say and they have every right to do that. None of us want a bunch of blind Disney cheerleaders here on DIS. I think other folks have forgotten what happened with new rides such as Indy and RSR, as many folks have tried to remind us. I think some folks do not really understand how complex this thing is and have perhaps unreasonable expectations. And then finally I think other folks just want to ride the darn thing and are having trouble and are frustrated, or do not know whether they should come and try now or wait.

I personally agree with the sentiment that Disney has a lot on the line here with ROTR and SWGE and will figure it out - no matter what the cost. And that there are some things you cannot possibly figure out until after you open to the public - and see the problems in real time.


----------



## nutshell

HydroGuy said:


> I would caution about using the word "haters" in the context of this thread. I think some folks have legitimately negative things to say and they have every right to do that. None of us want a bunch of blind Disney cheerleaders here on DIS. I think other folks have forgotten what happened with new rides such as Indy and RSR, as many folks have tried to remind us. I think some folks do not really understand how complex this thing is and have perhaps unreasonable expectations. And then finally I think other folks just want to ride the darn thing and are having trouble and are frustrated, or do not know whether they should come and try now or wait.
> 
> I personally agree with the sentiment that DIsney has a lot on the line here with ROTR and SWGE and will figure it out - no matter what the cost. And that there are some things you cannot possibly figure out until after you open to the public - and see the problems in real time.


Certainly there are legitimate concerns and points raised. But there are those using words like “disaster.”  Such hyperbole is unbecoming.


----------



## HydroGuy

NateD1226 said:


> Yesterday certain AA's were malfunctioning and music and dialogue wasn't being played at certain times


Sorry, but did you just hear about this or did you go on the ride and see it for yourself? I am asking because I have not seen anyone post this kind of thing yet.


----------



## Ferrellcon

Looks like the ride reopened group 43 was called


----------



## EmJ

EmJ said:


> Well after an initially good showing this morning, it looks like the ride has been down almost two hours. Any word on what they are doing with the people in line?


It’s going again!


----------



## ParkHopper1

Tinkerbell19672 said:


> I read a while ago that some people got stopped at DL turnstiles because it looked fishy they tried to get in so soon after DCA. Not sure if we should chance that or not. TIA!



We did this quite a few times over the holidays coming from GCH though DCA to DL with zero issues or delays with everything from AP's, multi day tickets and singe day tickets in our group.


----------



## Malcon10t

montreid said:


> Hmm.  would be interested to see if once a VIP group gets a BG if the time and # can be modified got those 1-11 groups


No.  All guests must sign in and get a BG.  *IF* a VIP group gets a BG, the guide is allowed to ride with them.  However, they will stand in line.  There is no access at all.  Not even for high profile guests!!  (So, Kobe is going to have to stand in line at this time too.)  Any access beyond the BGs they currently have has to have approval of the resort president. 

They will reassess in late Feb to determine how they will work it....  Which tells me they will also reassess in late Feb whether to keep BGs.


----------



## Skyegirl1999

HydroGuy said:


> Sorry, but did you just hear about this or did you go on the ride and see it for yourself? I am asking because I have not seen anyone post this kind of thing yet.


So, after riding on Friday, I now have been viewing “spoiler” videos, and I’m pretty darn sure that one thing I’ve seen in other videos wasn’t functioning when we rode.  However, there’s SO MUCH going on that I couldn’t absolutely swear to that, and I also definitely didn’t realize I was missing anything.

ETA: Oh, there was also an animatronic that was motionless.  Noted it, but again, didn’t really detract from the experience.


----------



## vickiea

HydroGuy said:


> I personally agree with the sentiment that DIsney has a lot on the line here with ROTR and SWGE and will figure it out - no matter what the cost. And that there are some things you cannot possibly figure out until after you open to the public - and see the problems in real time.



I agree. Sometimes you just can't imagine the things that users (riders) will do that can cause problems to your system (ride). You can only test for what your imagination allows, but people come up with unique and different ways to do (break) things every time.   Enjoy the ride when you do get the chance to ride it everyone.


----------



## Malcon10t

hiroMYhero said:


> This does occur at WDW’s RotR. Travel agency groups have bought out the first hour or so and had charter buses pick them up from resorts to deliver them to the backstage entrance. After those early morning guests were cleared from RotR, then regular BGs began loading.


This isn't happening at DLR.  I am checking sources to see if this is happening at WDW.  I have previously been told "No Access" period at either park.  Ms. Campbell has to personally approve any special access to the ride.


----------



## EmJ

vickiea said:


> I agree. Sometimes you just can't imagine the things that users (riders) will do that can cause problems to your system (ride). You can only test for what your imagination allows, but people come up with unique and different ways to do (break) things every time.   Enjoy the ride when you do get the chance to ride it everyone.


Disney engineer: Should we test for if an adult deliberately ignores our specific directions, whips their phone out mid-ride, loses control of it at the *exact right moment* for it to fall under the moving ride vehicle and be crushed, causing the whole system to go down?

Other Disney engineers: Lol, good one, no one would be that dumb.

Passenger on Day 3 of operations: Hold my beer!


----------



## Zerzura

LilyJC said:


> People practicing at home are not able to get a boarding group. Once you hit the red button, you must select your party. If you select people not scanned into the park it will tell you they are not in the park, and you are unable to proceed with getting a BG.



That is what I thought, but then it sounded like they were able to see offered BG numbers. Maybe I misunderstood. I’m sure it is not a huge amount of people. I’m just curious.


----------



## CastAStone

HydroGuy said:


> Sorry, but did you just hear about this or did you go on the ride and see it for yourself? I am asking because I have not seen anyone post this kind of thing yet.


Tom Bricker (@WDWFigment) had it on his blog today.


----------



## Skyegirl1999

EmJ said:


> Disney engineer: Should we test for if an adult deliberately ignores our specific directions, whips their phone out mid-ride, loses control of it at the *exact right moment* for it to fall under the moving ride vehicle and be crushed, causing the whole system to go down?
> 
> Other Disney engineers: Lol, good one, no one would be that dumb.
> 
> Passenger on Day 3 of operations: Hold my beer!


Ohhhhh, they 1000% know people are that dumb.

You should HEAR some of the things guests do.  Dropping a phone mid-ride doesn’t even ding on the “dumb”scale.

Unrelated: it’s interesting watching the reaction to BGs play out on social media.  A lot of very pro-Disney IGs have tried multiple days without being able to ride.  I’m feeling especially bad for the ones with kids!  It’s not actually possible to “hide” from your kid that you’re trying for a BG since you have to be there so early and have to be glued to your phone and they make announcements and everyone’s reacting... 

Obviously this *can’t* happen for many logistical reasons, but I wish they could experiment with different ride options.  They could never do it because it would confuse the heck out of everyone, but the data nerd in me would love to see them do one week with a lottery, one week with FPs, one week with standby, combos of things, etc.  I bet it kills some of them that there’s no way to “test” for the best system!


----------



## Mar Mar Binks

Jaina said:


> We are going to be there Friday and Saturday. May the force be with us! We have iphones and Verizon, and I "played along" this morning to see the process. It seemed like they were gone by 8:01. Is there a specific place that's good Verizon coverage, or should we just try using our phone and make sure everything's loading quickly there before 8 AM hits?


Near the ticket gates just after entering  had consistently good verizon service both days we were there.  Everyone around me got boarding groups.


----------



## MommaofW&N

dieumeye said:


> Just speculating, but considering the scope of the attractions, I bet that the Spider-Man ride will see a pattern a lot more like MF:SR so BGs won’t be necessary.


What does SR stand for? TIA!


----------



## EmJ

MommaofW&N said:


> What does SR stand for? TIA!


MFSR or MF:SR is Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run


----------



## LilyJC

Skyegirl1999 said:


> Unrelated: it’s interesting watching the reaction to BGs play out on social media. A lot of very pro-Disney IGs have tried multiple days without being able to ride. I’m feeling especially bad for the ones with kids!



Agree! Sad for Magical Kinda Mama this morning trying to ride with her son!


----------



## PHXscuba

MommaofW&N said:


> What does SR stand for? TIA!



I think SR is short for Millenium Falcon: Smugglers Run in that post. Just as Disney likes to make up long ride names, DISers like to shorten them to unspecific acronyms. SR can also sometimes refer to Single Rider in a different context.


----------



## jfk4

I stayed at the GCH over the weekend.  I didn’t try doing both DCA EMH and ROTR.  Frankly trying to do both is tough.  You need to be inside Disneyland at opening if you’re going to have any chance.   If you’re willing to risk it you could conceivably do one or two attractions at DCA before heading over, but it isn’t clear whether Disney is going to consistently open the park early, and you could easily get caught waiting to get in the gate if you blow the timing.  

I had good success by getting to the gates half an hour early.   I don’t think getting there any earlier really helps.

I managed to get good Boarding passes by doing the following:

 If Disneyland has EMH get to the gates half an hour early.  Ride whatever you want but make sure you are off any ride by 7:55.   Find a quiet location that has good cellular and WiFi connectivity (you want to have both maxed out).  I found that the area near The Matterhorn’s FastPass dispensers is good.  If you’re near the front of the park the steps of the train station are good too.  Try and stay out of crowds.  Make sure your phone is connected to Disneyland’s guest network.

Make sure that Disneyland app knows you are in the park by booking a FastPass (assuming you have MaxPass).

Some claim that you should restart your phone.  It probably doesn’t hurt but do it far enough ahead that it is completely up before the park opens.  

Two minutes before opening start the Disneyland app but don’t do anything else. You want to use the clock on your phone to determine opening time. It should be synchronized to network time. Don’t depend on your watch unless you know it is exactly synchronized with your phone. Have the app scrolled to the “Find out more” but don’t press it.

At the exact second your phones clock rolls from :59 to :00 press the “Find out more” button, then press the “Join boarding group” button. Proceed as quickly as you can through group selection (you’ll need to have your party set up ahead of time).
I can’t make any guarantees but I got groups 9 and 15 following this procedure.   I think the important parts are having good connectivity and jumping in immediately at opening, but I could also just be lucky.


----------



## MommaofW&N

T


EmJ said:


> MFSR or MF:SR is Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run


Thank you!


----------



## Shadowrado

Good Morning. I wanted to clear up a few things for you all. We were at DLR on Sunday 1/19 and we were a VIP TOUR group with a celebrity client. Our tour started at 7AM at the Grand Californian Hotel. From the day our client confirmed with Disney Special Activities the date of the tour they made it 100% clear that ROTR was NOT a ride that we could use for special access. They told us we would have to arrive early and use a boarding group process for a chance to ride the ride. We arrived at the Grand Californian at 7am, met our lovely guide who confirmed they ahve no extra access to walk ANYONE into RoTR for at elast the first 3 months.  There were 8 of us and our guide and our clients mother is in a wheelchair. She said she would love to help us, but if they even take people to the ride without boarding passes they can be disciplined. We headed over to DLR. She escorted us through the turnstiles and we all added each others tickets into the disneyland app. She explained the process thoroughly for all of us. There were 8 of us in our group plus our tour guide. We waited with our guide near the Jolly Holiday Bakery at at 8am we had to use the process everyone else did. We were extremely nervous and it was so weird to ahve to do this but we did it.  We managed to get boarding group 73. Our day was spent traversing the park and enjoying the services provided. We started to stress when the ride kept going down and our guide kept telling us that we should make it but it depends on the rides reliability.

The tid bit that sticks out most that noone on here has mentioned is that the ride needs a minimum of 8 hours of downtime every might to reset and that it generally will need to close between 10 and 11 with boarding groups stopping at around 9 each night. Our group as called at 752pm with a return by 852pm. We were inside the haunted mansion when our group was called and we went over to the ride as soon as we excited. As we went through critter country down by hungry bear our guide stopped to speak to a Guest Servjces Team Member. The line for the ride was all the way down near the entrance to the Galaxys Edge entrance. We used DAS entrance/fast pass entrance for the ride as our clients mother is in a wheelchair. We had all of our tickets scanned and boarding passes verified before they would allow us to enter. We got the the first preshow in about 5 minutes.



Spoiler



The ride is absolutely stunning. I cannot even tell you how many thoughts I have. My jaw was on the floor and I will need to ride about 15 more times to see everything. Our clients mother's wheel chair was taken when we loaded the R5 vehicle and it was waiting for us as we got off the ride where LT Beck is. Our guide told us she had noticed some things that time that she had not seen before so that gives me more excitement for further rides.



So I guess the take aways from all of this are that even though we had VIP tour we had to do the BG process just like everyone else, that the ride needs to go down for 8 hours min for maintenance and reset and that noone gets special access. Oh our guide also said that the boarding group numbers begin at random numbers. There is no super secret back entrance and there is no recovery numbers. Its dependent on the algorithm and the rides expected start time!


----------



## hiroMYhero

Malcon10t said:


> This isn't happening at DLR.  I am checking sources to see if this is happening at WDW.  I have previously been told "No Access" period at either park.  Ms. Campbell has to personally approve any special access to the ride.


Josh D’Amaro must have been approving WDW SWGE CMs riding RotR prior to BGs being loaded...the only chance they had to ride it. Also, Neil Patrick Harris had VIP access - no one saw his group enter the ride but they were seen exiting on a couple of different days - when he was a Candlelight Narrator.


----------



## Skyegirl1999

Shadowrado said:


> Good Morning. I wanted to clear up a few things for you all. We were at DLR on Sunday 1/19 and we were a VIP TOUR group with a celebrity client. Our tour started at 7AM at the Grand Californian Hotel. From the day our client confirmed with Disney Special Activities the date of the tour they made it 100% clear that ROTR was NOT a ride that we could use for special access. They told us we would have to arrive early and use a boarding group process for a chance to ride the ride. We arrived at the Grand Californian at 7am, met our lovely guide who confirmed they ahve no extra access to walk ANYONE into RoTR for at elast the first 3 months.  There were 8 of us and our guide and our clients mother is in a wheelchair. She said she would love to help us, but if they even take people to the ride without boarding passes they can be disciplined. We headed over to DLR. She escorted us through the turnstiles and we all added each others tickets into the disneyland app. She explained the process thoroughly for all of us. There were 8 of us in our group plus our tour guide. We waited with our guide near the Jolly Holiday Bakery at at 8am we had to use the process everyone else did. We were extremely nervous and it was so weird to ahve to do this but we did it.  We managed to get boarding group 73. Our day was spent traversing the park and enjoying the services provided. We started to stress when the ride kept going down and our guide kept telling us that we should make it but it depends on the rides reliability.
> 
> The tid bit that sticks out most that noone on here has mentioned is that the ride needs a minimum of 8 hours of downtime every might to reset and that it generally will need to close between 10 and 11 with boarding groups stopping at around 9 each night. Our group as called at 752pm with a return by 852pm. We were inside the haunted mansion when our group was called and we went over to the ride as soon as we excited. As we went through critter country down by hungry bear our guide stopped to speak to a Guest Servjces Team Member. The line for the ride was all the way down near the entrance to the Galaxys Edge entrance. We used DAS entrance/fast pass entrance for the ride as our clients mother is in a wheelchair. We had all of our tickets scanned and boarding passes verified before they would allow us to enter. We got the the first preshow in about 5 minutes.
> 
> 
> 
> Spoiler
> 
> 
> 
> The ride is absolutely stunning. I cannot even tell you how many thoughts I have. My jaw was on the floor and I will need to ride about 15 more times to see everything. Our clients mother's wheel chair was taken when we loaded the R5 vehicle and it was waiting for us as we got off the ride where LT Beck is. Our guide told us she had noticed some things that time that she had not seen before so that gives me more excitement for further rides.
> 
> 
> 
> So I guess the take aways from all of this are that even though we had VIP tour we had to do the BG process just like everyone else, that the ride needs to go down for 8 hours min for maintenance and reset and that noone gets special access. Oh our guide also said that the boarding group numbers begin at random numbers. There is no super secret back entrance and there is no recovery numbers. Its dependent on the algorithm and the rides expected start time!


Thank you so much for this information!  And I’m glad you were able to ride!

May I respectfully suggest that you alter or “spoiler” banner the ride details that you mention around the wheelchair information?


----------



## Where'sPiglet?

Edit: I should have quoted what I was referring to, since the post I replied to was merged into this one, and now my post is a bit vague, and I can't figure out how to insert a quote in an edit. 

Well, here's a copy/pasted quote that I believe was the original post of the other thread, by @*Tinkerbell19672. *



> Staying at GCH later this week. Wondering what the best plan is for days where EMH is DCA but want to try to get BG for ROTR. Should we forego DCA and go straight to DL? Also, if we go through DCA security for hotel guests and go straight to DL, will that be a problem? I read a while ago that some people got stopped at DL turnstiles because it looked fishy they tried to get in so soon after DCA. Not sure if we should chance that or not. TIA!



I've been wondering this exact thing. I'm going over spring break, so it's a rough choice to give up that golden hour in the morning at DCA for a chance at ROTR. However, the flip side makes me think it might a better chance on a non-MM morning at Disneyland Park.

I am clearly overthinking this, and it's complicated by me switching resorts my first day. I have one night booked on my arrival day before switching to VGC. I'm booked at PPH so I can take advantage of an easy switch and also the DCA early entry on a Monday, but if I'm planning to skip the early entry, I should just stay on Harbor... viscous cycle of decisions...


----------



## ThreeMountains

It shut down for a little over an hour and a half right after I scanned in and lined up with boarding group 40 today. Once it opened, I made it through and rode it.  Not my favorite ride ever but definitely a fun experience and highly detailed. It was an ambitious endeavor to design, create, and implement this ride and, I think overall, they hit the mark.


----------



## brightlined

ThreeMountains said:


> It shut down for a little over an hour and a half right after I scanned in and lined up with boarding group 40 today. Once it opened, I made it through and rode it.  Not my favorite ride ever but definitely a fun experience and highly detailed. It was an ambitious endeavor to design, create, and implement this ride and, I think overall, they hit the mark.


Really glad you made it through - hope you get to ride everything you were hoping to during the rest of your day!


----------



## twodogs

We are flying home today, and I wanted to regather my thoughts about the last 2 days.  Some of my posts yesterday from the line “jail” on ROTR were dictated into my phone and came out a little jumbled (or maybe my mind was going by that point!!)!

We were fortunate to get good BGs both Saturday and Sunday (14 and 27).  After doing this process twice, we figured out that the first day we got it with an iphone X on Verizon, by the Nemo Subs.  Second day we got it on an iPhone 7 on park Wifi near the Buzz gift shop.  So for people from outside the US, there is hope on the Wifi but you need to be in a good location (thanks @WonkaKid for the advice on this location!).  Try to get away from people as much as you can.  We had 6 phones going simultaneously by 4 people, and as you can see, the oldest phone on Wifi was the winner yesterday, so you never know.  One caveat was my DH on an iPhone 11 on AT&T never got the button to go red either day, even with full signal and away from crowds (standing with DD who got in on Verizon on day 1).

On Saturday, the ride experience was flawless, BGs worked amazingly well.  

Yesterday, we entered BG 27 and we found out later, the ride was ALREADY DOWN when they let us in line.  About 50 people after we scanned in, and then they closed the line.  How I wish we had stopped for a churro on the way and not gotten in that line!!!  We were in line for 2 hours and 40 minutes.  Never once did a CM come through.  No snacks, no water like reported in WDW.  Many walked back out of the line and asked the CMs that scan you in “what should we do”.  Stay in line or lose your BG for the day was the answer for the entire almost 3 hours.  They did let people out to get food or have a bathroom break.  They kept announcing overhead that all “missions were suspended” for the moment due to First Order activity, and if you had questions, ask a CM.  Well, the CM were saying we had to stay.  At 2 hours, cheers went up and we thought the ride was up.  It was not or went right down.  At 2 hours 30, cheers again, and we eventually made our way to enter the ride, but then evacuated.  ONLY then, were we given a FP to return later.

I completely understand the tech, and that it will go down and that is not avoidable with this type of ride.  What is appalling and unacceptable to me is leaving guests without any option other than to abandon their only chance to ride this for the day (and for us, the rest of the trip) or stand in a line for almost 3 hours without any information.  I understand one hour.  Beyond that, give people a FP and clear the line.  You are not increasing the number of people that can ride by doing this.  You are just pushing them later and not trapping them.  I will be writing an email, as they need a better procedure.  We wasted 3 hours of our trip and were exhausted from just standing in the cold all that time (And we are healthy and fit, and our kids are teens so we don’t have health issues or little kids like many in the line did).

We were watching to see that the ride was ”reliably” up based on progressing through BGs for a while, then went back to try again.  Honestly, I was afraid to get in the line and risk another 3 hours of waiting.  I asked the CM when we got to the FP entrance if the ride was really up, and he said yes.  We walked through the FP line (no one else in it) and rode successfully at around 2pm (I think).  I think everything was working the same as Saturday, so I am not sure if anything was broken for our ride.  We saw other families later in the day who had been in line with us, tried to re-ride and got evacuated again and eventually rode but waited in a long FP line when they returned) 

At around 830, we walked by the line and it was enormous!  They had apparently rapidly called back all the regular BGs (and surely some with FPs from earlier in the day).  It would have taken hours to get through the line, by my estimation.

All in all, it was a great ride, and we were very lucky (and prepared with our 6 phones! LOL) to get early BGs both days that we tried.  We had a mixture of experiences on the two days, and the second day was unacceptable only because of the way they chose to handle being trapped in line for almost 3 hours.  That is an easy fix on their part and I hope that they will have a better system for those types of ride down times (clear the line earlier and issue FPs), as they seem to be unavoidable with this technology. 

I hope all who want to ride get to ride, but I know that the numbers won’t be good for that for a long time or ever really.  Once they get the ride running at capacity and have less downtime’s too, then they will be able to offer more BGs and more people will win the 8am lottery.

I still feel strongly that BGs are the way to go with this ride for now, as SB would be a complete nightmare.  

Last little tip, if you have old phones without cell service, why not load up the app and give it a whirl on the WiFi?  It actually worked for us yesterday, much to my surprise.  More phones equals more chances, I believe!!  MTFBWY!!!

Thanks to all on here and the WDW boards for all of the great help (and listening and sympathizing with me from the “jail” line yesterday!!!)!


----------



## jfk4

Mar Mar Binks said:


> Near the ticket gates just after entering  had consistently good verizon service both days we were there.  Everyone around me got boarding groups.



Yup.  I was camped out on the train station steps with my Verizon iPhone X.  Boarding group 15.


----------



## Abbey1

LilyJC said:


> Agree! Sad for Magical Kinda Mama this morning trying to ride with her son!


Two of the Disneyland blogger accounts I follow on Instagram (Magical Kinda Mama and Mr. Cheezy Pop) have both ended up riding thanks to a little “magic” even though they didn’t end up with a guaranteed boarding group. MKM was able to ride with her son today and Mr. Cheezy Pop ended up riding with Rebecca Campbell (DLR president) on opening day after getting a back-up group. It makes me think they are trying to avoid the bad PR by ensuring the more visible Disney bloggers are able to ride even without a guaranteed boarding group. No shade at all, just an observation!


----------



## HydroGuy

socaldisneylover said:


> 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.


LOTS of posts here in this thread and I myself have not read them all yet...   ... just sayin' though that I "threw this out there" last night as well. I think it has merit. 



HydroGuy said:


> I agree that BGs are the way to go (for DL at least) until they get the ride operating reliably. For many reasons including the ability to close it early for maintenance.
> 
> Once DL has ROTR more reliable, I would say a middle road that might address all sides of the disagreement here about BG vs. SB lines is to have both - like FP. So all those lucky ones who get BGs in the morning are set, and if you don't get one, well there is the (3-6 hour?) SB line option - which rewards the early arrivers. Of course, that is sort of like just having FP, so maybe they will switch on FP for ROTR instead of BGs, although MaxPass at DLR allows you to get FPs before park opening while BGs do not.


----------



## Erin M

ckb_nc said:


> Exactly - plus it's a holiday weekend with a good number of APs in town. Very curious to see what happens in say two weeks on a Tuesday.



I’ll be there! I’ll let you know! We will try for our first on that Monday, but will try again on Tuesday. 

I’ve been reading along for this entire thread and my group is going to practice tomorrow when we’re all together at work. We all have different phones and carriers so it’ll be interesting to see what happens. 

Thank you to everyone who has been updating. Those of us anticipating our trips really appreciate it.


----------



## Skyegirl1999

Abbey1 said:


> Two of the Disneyland blogger accounts I follow on Instagram (Magical Kinda Mama and Mr. Cheezy Pop) have both ended up riding thanks to a little “magic” even though they didn’t end up with a guaranteed boarding group. MKM was able to ride with her son today and Mr. Cheezy Pop ended up riding with Rebecca Campbell (DLR president) on opening day after getting a back-up group. It makes me think they are trying to avoid the bad PR by ensuring the more visible Disney bloggers are able to ride even without a guaranteed boarding group. No shade at all, just an observation!


It’s definitely possible.  But also, an influencer I’m friends with was able to ride Friday because someone she knew let them use their BG when they left early.  So she might have looked like she got a Disney “in” from the outside, but really she just has nice friends.  I wouldn’t be at all surprised if someone who’d already ridden offered MKM their BG because people love her and her son is cute - shoot, I’d probably have offered today if I’d been there and scored a BG!


----------



## HydroGuy

nutshell said:


> Certainly there are legitimate concerns and points raised. But there are those using words like “disaster.”  Such hyperbole is unbecoming.


Totally agree - the hyperbole and ignoring of history (i.e., looking at Disneyland's past with rose colored glasses) are not helpful to anyone and generate more heat than light. 

For the most part I am finding this thread fairly civil - but wish we could get that up to 100% civil.


----------



## HydroGuy

MommaofW&N said:


> What does SR stand for? TIA!


I almost asked this myself as I was stumped (and I am the author of the "official DIS DLR abbreviations" thread in the stickies! ) After some thought I figured it out lol.


----------



## katyringo

Skyegirl1999 said:


> Ohhhhh, they 1000% know people are that dumb.
> 
> You should HEAR some of the things guests do.  Dropping a phone mid-ride doesn’t even ding on the “dumb”scale.
> 
> Unrelated: it’s interesting watching the reaction to BGs play out on social media.  A lot of very pro-Disney IGs have tried multiple days without being able to ride.  I’m feeling especially bad for the ones with kids!  It’s not actually possible to “hide” from your kid that you’re trying for a BG since you have to be there so early and have to be glued to your phone and they make announcements and everyone’s reacting...
> 
> Obviously this *can’t* happen for many logistical reasons, but I wish they could experiment with different ride options.  They could never do it because it would confuse the heck out of everyone, but the data nerd in me would love to see them do one week with a lottery, one week with FPs, one week with standby, combos of things, etc.  I bet it kills some of them that there’s no way to “test” for the best system!



im usually not synical but one Instagram I follow who got a late boarding pass today magically got on this afternoon with her son... hopefully it was just some amazingly random pixie dust


----------



## nursemelis374

Skyegirl1999 said:


> It’s definitely possible.  But also, an influencer I’m friends with was able to ride Friday because someone she knew let them use their BG when they left early.  So she might have looked like she got a Disney “in” from the outside, but really she just has nice friends.  I wouldn’t be at all surprised if someone who’d already ridden offered MKM their BG because people love her and her son is cute - shoot, I’d probably have offered today if I’d been there and scored a BG!


I saw that MKM got to ride and two other non-influencers I know both got to ride early. One said they went up with friends that had an earlier boarding group and they let them go. The other one didn’t say.


----------



## Abbey1

Skyegirl1999 said:


> It’s definitely possible.  But also, an influencer I’m friends with was able to ride Friday because someone she knew let them use their BG when they left early.  So she might have looked like she got a Disney “in” from the outside, but really she just has nice friends.  I wouldn’t be at all surprised if someone who’d already ridden offered MKM their BG because people love her and her son is cute - shoot, I’d probably have offered today if I’d been there and scored a BG!


I could definitely see that happening too. I love following MKM and I was so glad she was able to ride with her kiddo today. I’m just thinking Disney would want to avoid having a lot of visible influencers and bloggers sharing their disappointing experiences with the boarding groups.


----------



## Sorcerermikey75

twodogs said:


> We are flying home today, and I wanted to regather my thoughts about the last 2 days.  Some of my posts yesterday from the line “jail” on ROTR were dictated into my phone and came out a little jumbled (or maybe my mind was going by that point!!)!
> 
> We were fortunate to get good BGs both Saturday and Sunday (14 and 27).  After doing this process twice, we figured out that the first day we got it with an iphone X on Verizon, by the Nemo Subs.  Second day we got it on an iPhone 7 on park Wifi near the Buzz gift shop.  So for people from outside the US, there is hope on the Wifi but you need to be in a good location (thanks @WonkaKid for the advice on this location!).  Try to get away from people as much as you can.  We had 6 phones going simultaneously by 4 people, and as you can see, the oldest phone on Wifi was the winner yesterday, so you never know.  One caveat was my DH on an iPhone 11 on AT&T never got the button to go red either day, even with full signal and away from crowds (standing with DD who got in on Verizon on day 1).
> 
> On Saturday, the ride experience was flawless, BGs worked amazingly well.
> 
> Yesterday, we entered BG 27 and we found out later, the ride was ALREADY DOWN when they let us in line.  About 50 people after we scanned in, and then they closed the line.  How I wish we had stopped for a churro on the way and not gotten in that line!!!  We were in line for 2 hours and 40 minutes.  Never once did a CM come through.  No snacks, no water like reported in WDW.  Many walked back out of the line and asked the CMs that scan you in “what should we do”.  Stay in line or lose your BG for the day was the answer for the entire almost 3 hours.  They did let people out to get food or have a bathroom break.  They kept announcing overhead that all “missions were suspended” for the moment due to First Order activity, and if you had questions, ask a CM.  Well, the CM were saying we had to stay.  At 2 hours, cheers went up and we thought the ride was up.  It was not or went right down.  At 2 hours 30, cheers again, and we eventually made our way to enter the ride, but then evacuated.  ONLY then, were we given a FP to return later.
> 
> I completely understand the tech, and that it will go down and that is not avoidable with this type of ride.  What is appalling and unacceptable to me is leaving guests without any option other than to abandon their only chance to ride this for the day (and for us, the rest of the trip) or stand in a line for almost 3 hours without any information.  I understand one hour.  Beyond that, give people a FP and clear the line.  You are not increasing the number of people that can ride by doing this.  You are just pushing them later and not trapping them.  I will be writing an email, as they need a better procedure.  We wasted 3 hours of our trip and were exhausted from just standing in the cold all that time (And we are healthy and fit, and our kids are teens so we don’t have health issues or little kids like many in the line did).
> 
> We were watching to see that the ride was ”reliably” up based on progressing through BGs for a while, then went back to try again.  Honestly, I was afraid to get in the line and risk another 3 hours of waiting.  I asked the CM when we got to the FP entrance if the ride was really up, and he said yes.  We walked through the FP line (no one else in it) and rode successfully at around 2pm (I think).  I think everything was working the same as Saturday, so I am not sure if anything was broken for our ride.  We saw other families later in the day who had been in line with us, tried to re-ride and got evacuated again and eventually rode but waited in a long FP line when they returned)
> 
> At around 830, we walked by the line and it was enormous!  They had apparently rapidly called back all the regular BGs (and surely some with FPs from earlier in the day).  It would have taken hours to get through the line, by my estimation.
> 
> All in all, it was a great ride, and we were very lucky (and prepared with our 6 phones! LOL) to get early BGs both days that we tried.  We had a mixture of experiences on the two days, and the second day was unacceptable only because of the way they chose to handle being trapped in line for almost 3 hours.  That is an easy fix on their part and I hope that they will have a better system for those types of ride down times (clear the line earlier and issue FPs), as they seem to be unavoidable with this technology.
> 
> I hope all who want to ride get to ride, but I know that the numbers won’t be good for that for a long time or ever really.  Once they get the ride running at capacity and have less downtime’s too, then they will be able to offer more BGs and more people will win the 8am lottery.
> 
> I still feel strongly that BGs are the way to go with this ride for now, as SB would be a complete nightmare.
> 
> Last little tip, if you have old phones without cell service, why not load up the app and give it a whirl on the WiFi?  It actually worked for us yesterday, much to my surprise.  More phones equals more chances, I believe!!  MTFBWY!!!
> 
> Thanks to all on here and the WDW boards for all of the great help (and listening and sympathizing with me from the “jail” line yesterday!!!)!



Thank you for the information.  We tried yesterday and unfortunately we got BG 120 in our group of 6 with 5 iPhones on Tmobile and Verizon near the flagpole. Can I ask if you used multiple Disney accounts and scanned all the passes in all the accounts or logged all phones into the same account? A couple of us got the “something went wrong” message and we aren’t sure if it’s because we were logged on to different accounts. We are planning our strategy for next time!


----------



## VandVsmama

Shadowrado said:


> Good Morning. I wanted to clear up a few things for you all. We were at DLR on Sunday 1/19 and we were a VIP TOUR group with a celebrity client. Our tour started at 7AM at the Grand Californian Hotel. From the day our client confirmed with Disney Special Activities the date of the tour they made it 100% clear that ROTR was NOT a ride that we could use for special access. They told us we would have to arrive early and use a boarding group process for a chance to ride the ride. We arrived at the Grand Californian at 7am, met our lovely guide who confirmed they ahve no extra access to walk ANYONE into RoTR for at elast the first 3 months.  There were 8 of us and our guide and our clients mother is in a wheelchair. She said she would love to help us, but if they even take people to the ride without boarding passes they can be disciplined. We headed over to DLR. She escorted us through the turnstiles and we all added each others tickets into the disneyland app. She explained the process thoroughly for all of us. There were 8 of us in our group plus our tour guide. We waited with our guide near the Jolly Holiday Bakery at at 8am we had to use the process everyone else did. We were extremely nervous and it was so weird to ahve to do this but we did it.  We managed to get boarding group 73. Our day was spent traversing the park and enjoying the services provided. We started to stress when the ride kept going down and our guide kept telling us that we should make it but it depends on the rides reliability.
> 
> The tid bit that sticks out most that noone on here has mentioned is that the ride needs a minimum of 8 hours of downtime every might to reset and that it generally will need to close between 10 and 11 with boarding groups stopping at around 9 each night. Our group as called at 752pm with a return by 852pm. We were inside the haunted mansion when our group was called and we went over to the ride as soon as we excited. As we went through critter country down by hungry bear our guide stopped to speak to a Guest Servjces Team Member. The line for the ride was all the way down near the entrance to the Galaxys Edge entrance. We used DAS entrance/fast pass entrance for the ride as our clients mother is in a wheelchair. We had all of our tickets scanned and boarding passes verified before they would allow us to enter. We got the the first preshow in about 5 minutes.
> 
> The ride is absolutely stunning. I cannot even tell you how many thoughts I have. My jaw was on the floor and I will need to ride about 15 more times to see everything. Our clients mother's wheel chair was taken when we loaded the R5 vehicle and it was waiting for us as we got off the ride where LT Beck is. Our guide told us she had noticed some things that time that she had not seen before so that gives me more excitement for further rides.
> 
> So I guess the take aways from all of this are that even though we had VIP tour we had to do the BG process just like everyone else, that the ride needs to go down for 8 hours min for maintenance and reset and that noone gets special access. Oh our guide also said that the boarding group numbers begin at random numbers. There is no super secret back entrance and there is no recovery numbers. Its dependent on the algorithm and the rides expected start time!



That's helpful information!  Thanks for posting it to share with us!


----------



## NateD1226

Here is a little graph for anyone wondering how the 4 days are comparing to each other. 1/18 still the best day for this ride but the ride is doing amazing right now. There was a little downtime but it didn't affect the boarding groups like it did yesterday.



Source:
https://www.thrill-data.com/


----------



## HydroGuy

I just want to give another shout out to everyone posting their ROTR experiences - some of you in great detail. And to the OP Dina @dina444444  who rode ROTR herself at DL on Saturday before her trip to WDW where she is now! And she has been posting updates to this thread from WDW which goes beyond the call of duty! Thanks everyone!


----------



## dina444444

HydroGuy said:


> I just want to give another shout out to everyone posting their ROTR experiences - some of you in great detail. And to the OP Dina @dina444444  who rode ROTR herself at DL on Saturday before her trip to WDW where she is now! And she has been posting updates to this thread from WDW which goes beyond the call of duty! Thanks everyone!


Riding again at wdw tomorrow and Wednesday at least. Have 3 more days after that but may go for backups and roll the dice.


----------



## HydroGuy

dina444444 said:


> Riding again at wdw tomorrow and Wednesday at least. Have 3 more days after that but may go for backups and roll the dice.


Some people have it rough!


----------



## Tinkerbell19672

jfk4 said:


> I stayed at the GCH over the weekend.  I didn’t try doing both DCA EMH and ROTR.  Frankly trying to do both is tough.  You need to be inside Disneyland at opening if you’re going to have any chance.   If you’re willing to risk it you could conceivably do one or two attractions at DCA before heading over, but it isn’t clear whether Disney is going to consistently open the park early, and you could easily get caught waiting to get in the gate if you blow the timing.
> 
> I had good success by getting to the gates half an hour early.   I don’t think getting there any earlier really helps.
> 
> I managed to get good Boarding passes by doing the following:
> 
> If Disneyland has EMH get to the gates half an hour early.  Ride whatever you want but make sure you are off any ride by 7:55.   Find a quiet location that has good cellular and WiFi connectivity (you want to have both maxed out).  I found that the area near The Matterhorn’s FastPass dispensers is good.  If you’re near the front of the park the steps of the train station are good too.  Try and stay out of crowds.  Make sure your phone is connected to Disneyland’s guest network.
> 
> Make sure that Disneyland app knows you are in the park by booking a FastPass (assuming you have MaxPass).
> 
> Some claim that you should restart your phone.  It probably doesn’t hurt but do it far enough ahead that it is completely up before the park opens.
> 
> Two minutes before opening start the Disneyland app but don’t do anything else. You want to use the clock on your phone to determine opening time. It should be synchronized to network time. Don’t depend on your watch unless you know it is exactly synchronized with your phone. Have the app scrolled to the “Find out more” but don’t press it.
> 
> At the exact second your phones clock rolls from :59 to :00 press the “Find out more” button, then press the “Join boarding group” button. Proceed as quickly as you can through group selection (you’ll need to have your party set up ahead of time).
> I can’t make any guarantees but I got groups 9 and 15 following this procedure.   I think the important parts are having good connectivity and jumping in immediately at opening, but I could also just be lucky.



Thank you SO much!  WDYM about party set up ahead of time? We have APs (not local) and they’re already on our phone. Is that what you mean? We will get a maxpass first too. We only have 2 morning to try this and it seems stressful


----------



## Amunet

Jaina said:


> We are going to be there Friday and Saturday. May the force be with us! We have iphones and Verizon, and I "played along" this morning to see the process. It seemed like they were gone by 8:01. Is there a specific place that's good Verizon coverage, or should we just try using our phone and make sure everything's loading quickly there before 8 AM hits?


Hey, we will be there Thursday and Friday! We are hoping to snag a BG on Thursday and just enjoy the park in Friday (then DCA on Saturday).


----------



## Ferrellcon

It broke down again


----------



## Ferrellcon

Its at 72 groups still a better day than yesterday. There is still about 3 hours till they close.


----------



## heathpack

CastAStone said:


> This is a very, very good idea, for those who have the opportunity.



We will have EMH next Sat, might actually do this too


----------



## laugard

Thanks so much to everyone who's been posting as it was a great help reading everyone's experiences and questions before trying ourselves yesterday . I tried to add some info while at the park, but also had to keep it short, so just thought I'd mention a few items:

I was using an older Galaxy S7 and my partner a brand new iPhone 11, both on Verizon. As others have noted, we got great service in the area right past the gates. It never occurred to us to even go farther, but that may be because we didn't even get in until 7:51 so just wanted to get ready. Our tickets are linked and we were both signed in to my account.

I got BG 74 on my Android, which based on the previous two days, I figured was pretty safe as we were a regular, not backup group. Of course, anyone who's been reading this thread knows yesterday was a big headache with major delays due to the ride being down. I'd originally guessed we might be called around 4 or 5 p.m., but once the ride kept continually stopping and staying that way, it became figuring out how long we could wait it out (We hadn't originally planned to stay super late, especially once we pulled 75), and then even whether we'd be called at all. We thankfully got on, but didn't get called until just before 8 p.m.

One key thing - no matter what, don't rely on one point of information. At one point while the boarding groups were stuck for a long time on 64, we went to get a Dole Whip. On the way back, we passed one of the message boards that shows status of the ride. It had a message saying that no new boarding groups would be called for the ride that day. At the same time, I noticed when I checked the app, where it normally shows Current Land Status and the boarding groups, it no longer said Current Land Status" or Open and only showed the group numbers (same ones from before we went to Tiki). This was different from when the ride was down throughout the day, as the Current Land Status heading still displayed, just without the word Open. This of course worried us, as we thought maybe they decided to call it early, based on knowing there'd been glitches all day, and needing to get through the current groups and all the folks waiting in the return line. Luckily this didn't end up being the case (the cast members we asked said not to give up as the plan was to go past 64 as long as the ride continued to run), but that message board really had us expecting to get bad news once we got back to the ride.

Truthfully, the whole process was definitely stressful, but I know that's in large part because we were in a group where it could've gone either way. (The last group called Sunday was 81.) So it did make it difficult later on to just try and enjoy the park as if not for getting the RotR group, we wouldn't have stayed so late. It was also hard getting jazzed to try and grab later evening fast passes because we just didn't know how things would go with our number being right on the line. But I'm not complaining as we chose to stay (stubbornness and not knowing if we'd want to try this again anytime soon.) If not for the crazy delays and waiting it out trying to figure out whether we should stay or leave, it would've been fine. Waiting for 8 a.m. to hit was also a stressful feeling, but at least that part is quick and I don't have a better recommendation for the process, so other than waking up ridiculously early, it wasn't too bad. (It's funny how quiet it gets all around right at 7:59 a.m. though.) So having said all that...

Yes, it was totally worth it!!! My partner is not a Star Wars (hasn't seen any of the recent trilogy) and I like SW but am not a super fan and we were both completely blown away. I was just repeatedly going ohmygod throughout, and the first thing we both said after it was over was, "I have to ride it again."


----------



## JWelch62

Tinkerbell19672 said:


> Thank you SO much!  WDYM about party set up ahead of time? We have APs (not local) and they’re already on our phone. Is that what you mean? We will get a maxpass first too. We only have 2 morning to try this and it seems stressful



If you haven't already (but it sounds like you have), make sure to scan and link your party's tickets into your Disneyland app on your phone. Also, make sure that you don't have any other tickets linked to your phone. (a family member who isn't with you, for example) If you have any tickets for folks who aren't in the park with you then you will have to take the time to remove them from the group before you can get a boarding group.


----------



## Sith

Anybody have any experience getting BG using AT&T? It seems the majority here either have Verizon or Tmobile.


----------



## Vysecity

So regarding being unable to delete annual passes linked to my account I figured out the reason is probably because at first I put I was the owner/responsible for passes. I uploaded same passes to wife's account and she had delete pass option. Next time we will just delete people who aren't there and save ourselves 2+ seconds which are vital right now.


----------



## Robert Huss

Sith said:


> Anybody have any experience getting BG using AT&T? It seems the majority here either have Verizon or Tmobile.



no good for me on AT&T with iPhone 6S and I had full bars.  Had to go back twice from Main Page to “Learn More” page and the buttons were grey every time.  On my 3rd try the buttons turned red and I got group 76 this morning.

Seems they are stuck at 72 so crossing my fingers they will get it fixed.


----------



## DLgal

Sith said:


> Anybody have any experience getting BG using AT&T? It seems the majority here either have Verizon or Tmobile.



This seems to be the case, which is embarrassing considering AT&T is the park's official mobile carrier.


----------



## Mathmagicland

laugard said:


> (It's funny how quiet it gets all around right at 7:59 a.m. though.)


It get quiet on this thread also, between maybe 7:57 and 8:03


----------



## MithrilMaiden

Sith said:


> Anybody have any experience getting BG using AT&T? It seems the majority here either have Verizon or Tmobile.


I have AT&T. Failed me three days in a row, and I'm heading home tomorrow without riding. I was going to make the trek to Disney World next year, so I'm putting it off until then.


----------



## Ferrellcon

Its back group 73 was called


----------



## VandVsmama

I'm on Sprint.  Has anybody had luck on that carrier?  Just curious for our trip in March.


----------



## aebeauregard

You guys have me extra nervous now with the bad talk about AT&T.  We will be there next week.  There isn't much I can do about it I guess. It would be nice to hear a couple success stories to put me at ease.  

Would you guys suggest husband and I split up a little to be in different parts of the park when trying?


----------



## Theok029

Sith said:


> Anybody have any experience getting BG using AT&T? It seems the majority here either have Verizon or Tmobile.



I am on ATT and had full bars, went on Saturday, Sunday, and today. I had BG 5, BG 30, and BG 80 respectively.


----------



## Djio123

First Post: Wanted to provide report on our recent trip.

Living in CA, but tested the WDW app in Dec and was able to get the “Join Boarding Group” to light up each time (woke up at 4 AM).   I was able to get the Join Board Group to light up while traveling to Anaheim on Jan 17.
I have a Samsung Galaxy S10, DW has iPhone 7 and DS has iPhone 8.  Carrier *ATT*
DW signed into my Dis account, DS had his own account, but all linked.

Jan 18, *Early Morning*, long lines on left side entrances, but lines on the right side entrances for EM, shorter.  Not sure if communicated to everyone by CM. CM told me while in the longer line.  EM gates opened around 7:30, the rest on the left side were getting ready to open.    CM stopped people who did not have EM (show hotel key or ticket) from going into Tomorrowland near Plaza Inn.   Many people in line at Buzz Lightyear FP for manual BG.

We all used 5G (not wifi), Sat in front of Space Mountain. At 8 am, I never got my Join Boarding Group to light up. Refreshed between My Status page to Boarding status.  Did not use refresh/pull down on Boarding Status page. Very Frustrating!  DS: Same.   DW:  never played with the app but she tried refreshing between “Find Out More” to “My Status” page.  Started to click at 8:00 am on the phone. Had to refresh a couple of times.  Got BD 68.  Called in around 4:00 pm, crowded. 

Jan 19:  All on 5G, stood on Mainstreet near Carnation Café.  I could not get Join Boarding Group to light up.  DS:  same.  DW after a few refreshes, got BG 103 Backup.   ROR was down for a long time.  At 5 pm, message sent on phone that they would not be able to accommodate us.   Message disappears after clicking it.  Saw another post that BD 124 backup was notified around 1pm. 

Jan 20:  All on 5G, different approach. Scanned into the park, and then *Departed *and sat in the* esplanade* near the Harbor Blvd side ticket booths, almost under the monorail tracks.  DS started to press the “Find Out More” a few seconds after 8 AM.  Got BG 14.  Did not have to refresh.  Called in around 9:05 AM.

Thank you again for all the information on the board.  We were prepared to face the challenge of getting a BG.  I never expected the BG and backup BGs to be gone in minutes.   At 7:58 AM, almost everyone in the park were on their phone waiting to try to get a BG, Interesting sight.  At 8:00 AM, you could start hearing cheers and groans.  Definitely a new Disney Experience.


----------



## twodogs

Sorcerermikey75 said:


> Thank you for the information.  We tried yesterday and unfortunately we got BG 120 in our group of 6 with 5 iPhones on Tmobile and Verizon near the flagpole. Can I ask if you used multiple Disney accounts and scanned all the passes in all the accounts or logged all phones into the same account? A couple of us got the “something went wrong” message and we aren’t sure if it’s because we were logged on to different accounts. We are planning our strategy for next time!


We were logged into my account on all 6 phones.  None of us got the something went wrong, but we did get, “you can’t join a boarding group because you are already in a boarding group” once one person secured the group.  Since we had physically split up (2 by the Nemo subs and 2 by the Buzz gift shop), we could not tell when one person secured the BG.  That message gave us hope but we had to call the other group the first day and get the confirmation!  When my DD got it the second day, she was standing with me and she got the screen showing the BG number, and I had not even hit confirm on my 2 phones (slow mom fingers yesterday!).


----------



## twodogs

Theok029 said:


> I am on ATT and had full bars, went on Saturday, Sunday, and today. I had BG 5, BG 30, and BG 80 respectively.


We had 6 phones going at the same time both Saturday and Sunday.  Three on Verizon cell, 2 on park WiFi (no cell service on the phones), one on AT&T.  The AT&T phone was the newest phone, an iPhone 11.  The Verizons were iPhone X’s.  The WiFi phones were an iPhone X and an iPhone 7.  AT&T phone had full bars both days, away from crowds, and never got the red button. Either day!!!  My DH was so mad.  We got group 14 on Saturday on the iPhone XR on Verizon by the Subs.  We got group 27 on Sunday on the iPhone 7 on WiFi by the Buzz gift shop.  So I don’t know if AT&T is any good or not, but for us, it was terrible!


----------



## hiroMYhero

Djio123 said:


> All on 5G, different approach.


Thanks for reporting! I was hoping someone would report finding success in the Esplanade! There is hope for AT&T.


----------



## Lewdannie

Lots of folk reporting that it works having multiple phones logged into the same account.
What about 2 phones logged into different accounts but with tickets for both persons loaded into each?


----------



## Mathmagicland

Djio123 said:


> Jan 20: All on 5G, different approach. Scanned into the park, and then *Departed *and sat in the* esplanade* near the Harbor Blvd side ticket booths, almost under the monorail tracks. DS started to press the “Find Out More” a few seconds after 8 AM. Got BG 14. Did not have to refresh. Called in around 9:05 AM.


Thanks for this info - this is actually the approach I’ve been considering using when I’m there later this week.


----------



## Gaugersaurus

Lewdannie said:


> Lots of folk reporting that it works having multiple phones logged into the same account.
> What about 2 phones logged into different accounts but with tickets for both persons loaded into each?


This is the situation with me and DGF and we didn’t have any issue getting a BG on the 17th


----------



## CastAStone

dina444444 said:


> Chart updates are going to be sporadic till next Saturday since I'll be in WDW this week.


Doing an update/recreation now. Will post after we're clearly done for the day.


----------



## twodogs

aebeauregard said:


> You guys have me extra nervous now with the bad talk about AT&T.  We will be there next week.  There isn't much I can do about it I guess. It would be nice to hear a couple success stories to put me at ease.
> 
> Would you guys suggest husband and I split up a little to be in different parts of the park when trying?


We struggled with the 1/6 phones we had on AT&T, which didn’t get the Red button either day (but maybe would have eventually but we got a BG on other phones faster).  I know others have posted bad luck with AT&T but one posted success.  I would consider splitting up in the parks from each other, just to hedge your bets.  My DH had full bars by the Nemo Subs and didn’t have luck on AT&T, so I think you may want to try different locations.


----------



## dina444444

CastAStone said:


> Doing an update/recreation now. Will post after we're clearly done for the day.


Sent you a PM.


----------



## dina444444

Up to group 85. They are calling backups today.


----------



## Ferrellcon

Tonight was better it went past 80 the backups are being called.


----------



## njchris

Lewdannie said:


> Lots of folk reporting that it works having multiple phones logged into the same account.
> What about 2 phones logged into different accounts but with tickets for both persons loaded into each?


 That's what I was trying this morning with my phone and my friend's phone.  T-mobile (Mint mobile but they use t-mobile).   If you try on 2 different accounts with the same tickets in each, once you get a BG on one, the other will just say you are already in a boarding group.  It goes by your tickets, not your account.

Also, I tested my speed and it was bad up front. So when they let people into the lands, I found a less populated area near the shooting gallery and it worked fine.  I would assume if I stayed where it was slower, then it would have reduced my chances.

It was a bit on the emotional side hearing everyone that got BGs cheering.


----------



## CaliforniaGirl09

twodogs said:


> We are flying home today, and I wanted to regather my thoughts about the last 2 days.  Some of my posts yesterday from the line “jail” on ROTR were dictated into my phone and came out a little jumbled (or maybe my mind was going by that point!!)!
> 
> We were fortunate to get good BGs both Saturday and Sunday (14 and 27).  After doing this process twice, we figured out that the first day we got it with an iphone X on Verizon, by the Nemo Subs.  Second day we got it on an iPhone 7 on park Wifi near the Buzz gift shop.  So for people from outside the US, there is hope on the Wifi but you need to be in a good location (thanks @WonkaKid for the advice on this location!).  Try to get away from people as much as you can.  We had 6 phones going simultaneously by 4 people, and as you can see, the oldest phone on Wifi was the winner yesterday, so you never know.  One caveat was my DH on an iPhone 11 on AT&T never got the button to go red either day, even with full signal and away from crowds (standing with DD who got in on Verizon on day 1).
> 
> On Saturday, the ride experience was flawless, BGs worked amazingly well.
> 
> Yesterday, we entered BG 27 and we found out later, the ride was ALREADY DOWN when they let us in line.  About 50 people after we scanned in, and then they closed the line.  How I wish we had stopped for a churro on the way and not gotten in that line!!!  We were in line for 2 hours and 40 minutes.  Never once did a CM come through.  No snacks, no water like reported in WDW.  Many walked back out of the line and asked the CMs that scan you in “what should we do”.  Stay in line or lose your BG for the day was the answer for the entire almost 3 hours.  They did let people out to get food or have a bathroom break.  They kept announcing overhead that all “missions were suspended” for the moment due to First Order activity, and if you had questions, ask a CM.  Well, the CM were saying we had to stay.  At 2 hours, cheers went up and we thought the ride was up.  It was not or went right down.  At 2 hours 30, cheers again, and we eventually made our way to enter the ride, but then evacuated.  ONLY then, were we given a FP to return later.
> 
> I completely understand the tech, and that it will go down and that is not avoidable with this type of ride.  What is appalling and unacceptable to me is leaving guests without any option other than to abandon their only chance to ride this for the day (and for us, the rest of the trip) or stand in a line for almost 3 hours without any information.  I understand one hour.  Beyond that, give people a FP and clear the line.  You are not increasing the number of people that can ride by doing this.  You are just pushing them later and not trapping them.  I will be writing an email, as they need a better procedure.  We wasted 3 hours of our trip and were exhausted from just standing in the cold all that time (And we are healthy and fit, and our kids are teens so we don’t have health issues or little kids like many in the line did).
> 
> We were watching to see that the ride was ”reliably” up based on progressing through BGs for a while, then went back to try again.  Honestly, I was afraid to get in the line and risk another 3 hours of waiting.  I asked the CM when we got to the FP entrance if the ride was really up, and he said yes.  We walked through the FP line (no one else in it) and rode successfully at around 2pm (I think).  I think everything was working the same as Saturday, so I am not sure if anything was broken for our ride.  We saw other families later in the day who had been in line with us, tried to re-ride and got evacuated again and eventually rode but waited in a long FP line when they returned)
> 
> At around 830, we walked by the line and it was enormous!  They had apparently rapidly called back all the regular BGs (and surely some with FPs from earlier in the day).  It would have taken hours to get through the line, by my estimation.
> 
> All in all, it was a great ride, and we were very lucky (and prepared with our 6 phones! LOL) to get early BGs both days that we tried.  We had a mixture of experiences on the two days, and the second day was unacceptable only because of the way they chose to handle being trapped in line for almost 3 hours.  That is an easy fix on their part and I hope that they will have a better system for those types of ride down times (clear the line earlier and issue FPs), as they seem to be unavoidable with this technology.
> 
> I hope all who want to ride get to ride, but I know that the numbers won’t be good for that for a long time or ever really.  Once they get the ride running at capacity and have less downtime’s too, then they will be able to offer more BGs and more people will win the 8am lottery.
> 
> I still feel strongly that BGs are the way to go with this ride for now, as SB would be a complete nightmare.
> 
> Last little tip, if you have old phones without cell service, why not load up the app and give it a whirl on the WiFi?  It actually worked for us yesterday, much to my surprise.  More phones equals more chances, I believe!!  MTFBWY!!!
> 
> Thanks to all on here and the WDW boards for all of the great help (and listening and sympathizing with me from the “jail” line yesterday!!!)!





laugard said:


> Thanks so much to everyone who's been posting as it was a great help reading everyone's experiences and questions before trying ourselves yesterday . I tried to add some info while at the park, but also had to keep it short, so just thought I'd mention a few items:
> 
> I was using an older Galaxy S7 and my partner a brand new iPhone 11, both on Verizon. As others have noted, we got great service in the area right past the gates. It never occurred to us to even go farther, but that may be because we didn't even get in until 7:51 so just wanted to get ready. Our tickets are linked and we were both signed in to my account.
> 
> I got BG 74 on my Android, which based on the previous two days, I figured was pretty safe as we were a regular, not backup group. Of course, anyone who's been reading this thread knows yesterday was a big headache with major delays due to the ride being down. I'd originally guessed we might be called around 4 or 5 p.m., but once the ride kept continually stopping and staying that way, it became figuring out how long we could wait it out (We hadn't originally planned to stay super late, especially once we pulled 75), and then even whether we'd be called at all. We thankfully got on, but didn't get called until just before 8 p.m.
> 
> One key thing - no matter what, don't rely on one point of information. At one point while the boarding groups were stuck for a long time on 64, we went to get a Dole Whip. On the way back, we passed one of the message boards that shows status of the ride. It had a message saying that no new boarding groups would be called for the ride that day. At the same time, I noticed when I checked the app, where it normally shows Current Land Status and the boarding groups, it no longer said Current Land Status" or Open and only showed the group numbers (same ones from before we went to Tiki). This was different from when the ride was down throughout the day, as the Current Land Status heading still displayed, just without the word Open. This of course worried us, as we thought maybe they decided to call it early, based on knowing there'd been glitches all day, and needing to get through the current groups and all the folks waiting in the return line. Luckily this didn't end up being the case (the cast members we asked said not to give up as the plan was to go past 64 as long as the ride continued to run), but that message board really had us expecting to get bad news once we got back to the ride.
> 
> Truthfully, the whole process was definitely stressful, but I know that's in large part because we were in a group where it could've gone either way. (The last group called Sunday was 81.) So it did make it difficult later on to just try and enjoy the park as if not for getting the RotR group, we wouldn't have stayed so late. It was also hard getting jazzed to try and grab later evening fast passes because we just didn't know how things would go with our number being right on the line. But I'm not complaining as we chose to stay (stubbornness and not knowing if we'd want to try this again anytime soon.) If not for the crazy delays and waiting it out trying to figure out whether we should stay or leave, it would've been fine. Waiting for 8 a.m. to hit was also a stressful feeling, but at least that part is quick and I don't have a better recommendation for the process, so other than waking up ridiculously early, it wasn't too bad. (It's funny how quiet it gets all around right at 7:59 a.m. though.) So having said all that...
> 
> Yes, it was totally worth it!!! My partner is not a Star Wars (hasn't seen any of the recent trilogy) and I like SW but am not a super fan and we were both completely blown away. I was just repeatedly going ohmygod throughout, and the first thing we both said after it was over was, "I have to ride it again."



Thank you both for posting such detailed reports. Really appreciate! 



Theok029 said:


> I am on ATT and had full bars, went on Saturday, Sunday, and today. I had BG 5, BG 30, and BG 80 respectively.



Yay! I was getting very discouraged by all the negative AT&T DPs. Nice to hear someone has had some success.



Djio123 said:


> Jan 20:  All on 5G, different approach. Scanned into the park, and then *Departed *and sat in the* esplanade* near the Harbor Blvd side ticket booths, almost under the monorail tracks.  DS started to press the “Find Out More” a few seconds after 8 AM.  Got BG 14.  Did not have to refresh.  Called in around 9:05 AM.



Wonderful! Thank yo so much for posting. This was my plan so it's great to hear someone had some success. 



hiroMYhero said:


> Thanks for reporting! I was hoping someone would report finding success in the Esplanade! There is hope for AT&T.





Mathmagicland said:


> Thanks for this info - this is actually the approach I’ve been considering using when I’m there later this week.


Me, too!


----------



## otten

Hopefully by the time we go in March BGs aren't disappearing quite so fast. We'll be on AT&T because that's who Rogers uses for roaming. One member of our party will be on a different network so I guess we'll all try.


----------



## twodogs

I will reiterate something from my (way too long!) post from earlier, just in case some didn’t want to read through all that!!  We had success one of our days on an iPhone 7 on WiFi.  We just brought along these two old phones for the heck of it to try to increase our chances.  Neither has cell service anymore, so we just put them on the WiFi.  Both got through really quickly, and out of the 6 phones we all did simultaneously, one day the WiFi phone was the winner and got BG 27 (on Saturday).  You do need to log into the WiFi ahead of 8am, making sure you get through the “agree to the terms and conditions” screen and locking in on the WiFi. 

*So if you have old phones, bring them and ride the WiFi.  It can’t hurt!!!!*
**you may want to give the job of operating 2 phones at the same time under all that pressure to a teenager in your group (as we did) because they clearly have the fastest fingers in the universe!


----------



## Theok029

I posted my first day Jan 18 experience before (BG 5 for a group of 6, just me on my ATT IPhone 11 Pro Max hanging out near the Frontierland entrance at the hub to the right, there’s a tree).

We went with a different group on Jan 19, doing the same and got BG 30 for five people.The ride was up and down all day and we got called around 2? I can’t quite remember, but we were out around 3 pm. One in my group had an ECV, no DAS, and he had to drive it all the way through until boarding the ride vehicles where he had to transfer. The ECV was waiting at the off load area.

For our last day, Jan 20, I tried the same spot but just for two of us, and the join boarding group button did not highlight at 8 so I quickly closed and reloaded the app and somehow got 80 after the cheering started. I didn’t expect to get anything.

The random lottery algorithm is real, folks.


----------



## handyl03

Lewdannie said:


> Lots of folk reporting that it works having multiple phones logged into the same account.
> What about 2 phones logged into different accounts but with tickets for both persons loaded into each?


We had 4 phones all logged in to my Disney account and my husbands phone showing a clock with the seconds. We all opened the Disney app as soon as we got into the parK and left it open. I think watching the seconds turn to 7:59:59 and hitting the learn more button right at the change to 8:00 helped us (boarding group 21 yesterday) I also made sure that the tickets of people not with us were deleted from my account prior. When the select group screen popped up all 5 of us were already checked green so we just had to hit the button to confirm. If you have to unclick people or you forget and someone in your account is not in the park it will cost you valuable seconds trying to fix it. You could end up in a back up group or with no boarding group if you have to go back to unclick. We didn’t even attempt to get a boarding group again today. It was a long process yesterday with all of the breakdowns. We felt lucky to have gotten to experience the ride once (actually one and a half times since we were taken of due to breakdown) it really is like nothing else. We were on T-mobile iPhone 8 using our network not wi-fi. Great reception on the benches in front of Disneyland railroad surrounded by many other people. Hearing the cheers at 8am as people in the huge crowd secured their BGs was a really cool experience too. Reminded me of that scene in the old Willy Wonka movie when the lady in the peanut factory finds the golden ticket


----------



## vharris2828

I’m hopping on to just give our experience with rider switch because there wasn’t a ton out there about it for us before and we almost hit a wall with it today. We pulled bg 35, got called and went to tell them first thing we needed a rider switch. They scanned us in no problem I went on with my two older kids. But right after we rode the ride broke down, so my husband couldn’t go right away.  They told us to just come back once the numbers started going again to get him on and that they would honor the rider swap (it had a time on it, like 11-1230.) for some reason I grabbed a screen shot of it just in case And we left. So we saw numbers going again and I realized as we headed back the rider swap pass was gone and no longer showing in the app!!! Luckily I had taken a screenshot to show them the dated rider swap. I honestly don’t think they would have let my husband on had we not had proof of that. So just FYI. Screen shot things lol with this ride until it’s going smoother. And clarify things multiple times to make sure everyone is on the same page. We had one person almost say no but then a few other cms who we had talked with beforehand who knew what was going on. Also I do not see how they could have a full blown stand by line. As much as the random lottery sucks for some. With how often it is breaking down it would be such a disaster!!


----------



## nutshell

Has anyone used Sprint to successfully nab a BP?


----------



## dina444444

Up to group 96


----------



## handyl03

Shadowrado said:


> Good Morning. I wanted to clear up a few things for you all. We were at DLR on Sunday 1/19 and we were a VIP TOUR group with a celebrity client. Our tour started at 7AM at the Grand Californian Hotel. From the day our client confirmed with Disney Special Activities the date of the tour they made it 100% clear that ROTR was NOT a ride that we could use for special access. They told us we would have to arrive early and use a boarding group process for a chance to ride the ride. We arrived at the Grand Californian at 7am, met our lovely guide who confirmed they ahve no extra access to walk ANYONE into RoTR for at elast the first 3 months.  There were 8 of us and our guide and our clients mother is in a wheelchair. She said she would love to help us, but if they even take people to the ride without boarding passes they can be disciplined. We headed over to DLR. She escorted us through the turnstiles and we all added each others tickets into the disneyland app. She explained the process thoroughly for all of us. There were 8 of us in our group plus our tour guide. We waited with our guide near the Jolly Holiday Bakery at at 8am we had to use the process everyone else did. We were extremely nervous and it was so weird to ahve to do this but we did it.  We managed to get boarding group 73. Our day was spent traversing the park and enjoying the services provided. We started to stress when the ride kept going down and our guide kept telling us that we should make it but it depends on the rides reliability.
> 
> The tid bit that sticks out most that noone on here has mentioned is that the ride needs a minimum of 8 hours of downtime every might to reset and that it generally will need to close between 10 and 11 with boarding groups stopping at around 9 each night. Our group as called at 752pm with a return by 852pm. We were inside the haunted mansion when our group was called and we went over to the ride as soon as we excited. As we went through critter country down by hungry bear our guide stopped to speak to a Guest Servjces Team Member. The line for the ride was all the way down near the entrance to the Galaxys Edge entrance. We used DAS entrance/fast pass entrance for the ride as our clients mother is in a wheelchair. We had all of our tickets scanned and boarding passes verified before they would allow us to enter. We got the the first preshow in about 5 minutes.
> 
> The ride is absolutely stunning. I cannot even tell you how many thoughts I have. My jaw was on the floor and I will need to ride about 15 more times to see everything. Our clients mother's wheel chair was taken when we loaded the R5 vehicle and it was waiting for us as we got off the ride where LT Beck is. Our guide told us she had noticed some things that time that she had not seen before so that gives me more excitement for further rides.
> 
> So I guess the take aways from all of this are that even though we had VIP tour we had to do the BG process just like everyone else, that the ride needs to go down for 8 hours min for maintenance and reset and that noone gets special access. Oh our guide also said that the boarding group numbers begin at random numbers. There is no super secret back entrance and there is no recovery numbers. Its dependent on the algorithm and the rides expected start time!


I think your VIP guide may have secured you some major “Pixie Dust” to get you through the fast pass entrance when the regular line was backed up all the way to the Galaxy's Edge entrance. Had you not been VIP that wheelchair would have gone through the regular line. A person on an ECV went through when we boarded so it is definitely accessible.


----------



## vharris2828

nutshell said:


> Has anyone used Sprint to successfully nab a BP?


Yes we used sprint today!


----------



## NateD1226

Update of what is happening right now. The purple line is today:



https://www.thrill-data.com/


----------



## Disney_Cindy

twodogs said:


> I will reiterate something from my (way too long!) post from earlier, just in case some didn’t want to read through all that!!  We had success one of our days on an iPhone 7 on WiFi.  We just brought along these two old phones for the heck of it to try to increase our chances.  Neither has cell service anymore, so we just put them on the WiFi.  Both got through really quickly, and out of the 6 phones we all did simultaneously, one day the WiFi phone was the winner and got BG 27 (on Saturday).  You do need to log into the WiFi ahead of 8am, making sure you get through the “agree to the terms and conditions” screen and locking in on the WiFi.
> 
> *So if you have old phones, bring them and ride the WiFi.  It can’t hurt!!!!*
> **you may want to give the job of operating 2 phones at the same time under all that pressure to a teenager in your group (as we did) because they clearly have the fastest fingers in the universe!


Heading over to DL on the 30th thru the 2nd.  I read your original post and pulled out my teen daughter’s old phone,  last night I was explaining to her how the BG’s work, and told her that she was going to be in charge of operating the dual phones exactly because of those fast fingers!  Hopeful we’ll be successful, we’ll be a party of 5, myself and daughter going with another mom, adult  daughter and a birthday boy turning  4  on our first park day. They’re not quite into Disney like I am, it’s their first trip in maybe 20 years, so after having them download the Disneyland app, and using my login, I’ll also be giving them a “BG training” the night before, maybe have a couple of pretend opening countdown practice drills.  They all probably think I’m somewhat crazy, but know me enough to know that I love to plan and strategize for Disney trips. 
I’ve been following the thread since right before the RotR opening and feel like all the information alone increases our odds of getting a BG. Can’t wait to see if my planned strategy works out, for me this is like a strategic betting, and if we get a BG I’ll feel like I won, if we don’t, I might be a little disappointed, mainly because I hate waking up early and generally never do rope drop, but it definitely won’t ruin our trip, and unlike actual betting there’s no money lost!


----------



## Ferrellcon

Thats it for tonight.105 was the last boarding group for Disneyland. Lets see if weekdays are better.


----------



## jfk4

Tinkerbell19672 said:


> Thank you SO much!  WDYM about party set up ahead of time? We have APs (not local) and they’re already on our phone. Is that what you mean? We will get a maxpass first too. We only have 2 morning to try this and it seems stressful



Truthfully it is a little stressful.   On the other hand, it is kind of fun hearing the shouts of glee as people get boarding groups.    

With regards to the parties, you need to make sure that you have everyone in your party linked to a single account ahead of time.    I think you should also ensure that everyone in the party has passed through the gates.   I'm not sure what happens if someone in your party hasn't entered the park, but even a slight delay could hurt.

Good luck, and have a great time!


----------



## IsleofDisney

Lewdannie said:


> Lots of folk reporting that it works having multiple phones logged into the same account.
> What about 2 phones logged into different accounts but with tickets for both persons loaded into each?



We were successful in getting a BG with 3 phones logged into 3 separate accounts and all tickets linked, if that's what you were inquiring about.


----------



## Aurora0427

jfk4 said:


> I stayed at the GCH over the weekend.  I didn’t try doing both DCA EMH and ROTR.  Frankly trying to do both is tough.  You need to be inside Disneyland at opening if you’re going to have any chance.   If you’re willing to risk it you could conceivably do one or two attractions at DCA before heading over, but it isn’t clear whether Disney is going to consistently open the park early, and you could easily get caught waiting to get in the gate if you blow the timing.
> 
> I had good success by getting to the gates half an hour early.   I don’t think getting there any earlier really helps.
> 
> I managed to get good Boarding passes by doing the following:
> 
> If Disneyland has EMH get to the gates half an hour early.  Ride whatever you want but make sure you are off any ride by 7:55.   Find a quiet location that has good cellular and WiFi connectivity (you want to have both maxed out).  I found that the area near The Matterhorn’s FastPass dispensers is good.  If you’re near the front of the park the steps of the train station are good too.  Try and stay out of crowds.  Make sure your phone is connected to Disneyland’s guest network.
> 
> Make sure that Disneyland app knows you are in the park by booking a FastPass (assuming you have MaxPass).
> 
> Some claim that you should restart your phone.  It probably doesn’t hurt but do it far enough ahead that it is completely up before the park opens.
> 
> Two minutes before opening start the Disneyland app but don’t do anything else. You want to use the clock on your phone to determine opening time. It should be synchronized to network time. Don’t depend on your watch unless you know it is exactly synchronized with your phone. Have the app scrolled to the “Find out more” but don’t press it.
> 
> At the exact second your phones clock rolls from :59 to :00 press the “Find out more” button, then press the “Join boarding group” button. Proceed as quickly as you can through group selection (you’ll need to have your party set up ahead of time).
> I can’t make any guarantees but I got groups 9 and 15 following this procedure.   I think the important parts are having good connectivity and jumping in immediately at opening, but I could also just be lucky.



Thank you! We are going to try and get a BG Sunday morning.... no EMH. Any advice on a spot with good reception since we may not be able to get to the Matterhorn FP area??? Steps by the train station? Also, are you recommending connecting to Disney WiFi?


----------



## theluckyrabbit

HydroGuy said:


> Totally agree - the hyperbole and ignoring of history (i.e., looking at Disneyland's past with rose colored glasses) are not helpful to anyone and generate more heat than light.
> 
> For the most part I am finding this thread fairly civil - but wish we could get that up to 100% civil.


While the frustrations and emotional swings in this thread are understandable, especially with those who were unable to get BGs, you are right that any venting or blind optimism are not really helpful to those trying to follow this thread for real information and answers. However, I have been pretty pleased with all the DISers participating so far, with how this thread is managing to keep balanced and to self correct, and with how everyone is trying to share real information to help each other. Keep up the good work, DISers!
And when we can get to the point when we can get 100% of our threads to be 100% civil? My work will be done and I can retire to Disneyland (and maybe get my hands on a BG)!


----------



## theluckyrabbit

For those who have gotten to ride over the past few days: Have the call back times settled to a consistent 2 hours or are they still varying between 1-3 hours like they did on Day 1?


----------



## emchen

theluckyrabbit said:


> For those who have gotten to ride over the past few days: Have the call back times settled to a consistent 2 hours or are they still varying between 1-3 hours like they did on Day 1?


Any general consensus on when the best time to access the callback window is?  When it opens, somewhere in the middle, towards the end...And why?


----------



## Ferrellcon

theluckyrabbit said:


> For those who have gotten to ride over the past few days: Have the call back times settled to a consistent 2 hours or are they still varying between 1-3 hours like they did on Day 1?


I didn't get to ride but cast members on Sunday said that we had 2 hours to return if our group was called


----------



## theluckyrabbit

@Ferrellcon: Thank you!

Anyone else have a different time to report? I hope the return times have settled into a consistent pattern. That would be one less stress on guests.


----------



## GoldeneyezCA

theluckyrabbit said:


> @Ferrellcon: Thank you!
> 
> Anyone else have a different time to report? I hope the return times have settled into a consistent pattern. That would be one less stress on guests.


We were given 2 hrs on both Sat (BG20) and Sun (BG31).


----------



## Ferrellcon

Disneyland is open from 9 to 9 tomorrow with emh at 8. Good luck to everyone trying to get a BG.


----------



## Mathmagicland

jfk4 said:


> With regards to the parties, you need to make sure that you have everyone in your party linked to a single account ahead of time. I think you should also ensure that everyone in the party has passed through the gates. I'm not sure what happens if someone in your party hasn't entered the park, but even a slight delay could hurt.


From prior posts, I think it will work the same as if trying to secure a FP for someone not scanned in - it would delay the process to remove the person not yet scanned in as a message comes up something like not everyone in the party has entered the park.  The pause to remove the person before being able to join a BG might make the difference between getting a BG or not.


----------



## NeedhelpLol

Due to the fact that i think ill only have wi-fi when i get to DL (im coming over from Australia next week) i have asked my brother to log into my DL app and try to help me get a boarding group when its my day - lol it will be 3am in the morning for him in Sydney time when its 8am in Anaheim - i wonder if it will work?  At least he will be far away from the crowds at the park and using a different cell network lol


----------



## pocketwatches

NeedhelpLol said:


> Due to the fact that i think ill only have wi-fi when i get to DL (im coming over from Australia next week) i have asked my brother to log into my DL app and try to help me get a boarding group when its my day - lol it will be 3am in the morning for him in Sydney time when its 8am in Anaheim - i wonder if it will work?  At least he will be far away from the crowds at the park and using a different cell network lol



Im still wondering how much of an issue we will have next week. If you look at WDW on the less crowded days it can take up to an hour to sell out. The last 3 days has basically been comparing it to the worst it can be. If today sells out in 2 minutes then we have to worry. If it takes 5-10 minutes than it shouldn't be to big of an issue next week.


----------



## pocketwatches

Today is 'magic morning' my understanding is the boarding groups will still not open up until 9 when the park opens. Am i correct? If this is the case sounds like magic mornings might be an easier way to get in with less waiting and lines.


----------



## dina444444

pocketwatches said:


> Today is 'magic morning' my understanding is the boarding groups will still not open up until 9 when the park opens. Am i correct? If this is the case sounds like magic mornings might be an easier way to get in with less waiting and lines.


Yes, boarding groups will start at 9. It was like that Saturday with MM/EMH.


----------



## ckb_nc

GoldeneyezCA said:


> We were given 2 hrs on both Sat (BG20) and Sun (BG31).


2 hours Saturday - can’t remember Friday as we were so excited


----------



## theluckyrabbit

GoldeneyezCA said:


> We were given 2 hrs on both Sat (BG20) and Sun (BG31).





ckb_nc said:


> 2 hours Saturday - can’t remember Friday as we were so excited


Sounds like the varying times on Day 1 might have been due to a glitch. Glad to hear that the return times are consistent now. Much easier for people to remember.


----------



## CastAStone

*THE CHART *(which is technically a table)
**
Dutifully kept up by @dina444444 while on vacation


----------



## theluckyrabbit

CastAStone said:


> *THE CHART *(which is technically a table)
> *View attachment 466945*
> Dutifully kept up by @dina444444 while on vacation


Thank you for this -- to you and dina444444! Can this go on page 1 of this thread, too?


----------



## CastAStone

theluckyrabbit said:


> Thank you for this -- to you and dina444444! Can this go on page 1 of this thread, too?


Are you able to put it there? I don’t have a page 1 post and Dina doesn’t have the right tools on vacation I believe.


----------



## theluckyrabbit

CastAStone said:


> Are you able to put it there? I don’t have a page 1 post and Dina doesn’t have the right tools on vacation I believe.


I will try -- and hope I don't mess anything up!
ETA: I think it worked!


----------



## dina444444

CastAStone said:


> *THE CHART *(which is technically a table)
> *View attachment 466945*
> Dutifully kept up by @dina444444 while on vacation


Thank you!!


----------



## Vysecity

theluckyrabbit said:


> @Ferrellcon: Thank you!
> 
> Anyone else have a different time to report? I hope the return times have settled into a consistent pattern. That would be one less stress on guests.


We were given one hour BG 80 on 1/19. 8:20pm to 9:20pm. last BG that day was 81


----------



## Susie63

I want to know what clock you are all using? I don't see one on the Disneyland app.


----------



## vharris2828

we were given two hours yesterday (bg 35) and went over right when we got called. We ended up having to wait for the other half of our group to go (rider swap) because of a fairly long two hour or so breakdown.


----------



## Varty Yo

Heading to DL mon-fri next week. Coming from canada so will just be running off 4G our carrier here uses ATT down there im not fusing with the wifi. It will be me and my 5 year old trying for BG. Gonna try 1st day to see how it goes. We have 4 mornings to try so best to try and get it out of the way then can relax rest of the trip.

We purposly picked this week to go as it has historically showed the lowest crowds.


----------



## theluckyrabbit

Susie63 said:


> I want to know what clock you are all using? I don't see one on the Disneyland app.


People are using the clock on their phones and on their smart watches. That way they can see to the exact second when to hit the button on the app.


----------



## Varty Yo

So explain the exact process to me so i dont have to read 100 pages lol.

App open to (find out more)
Then click on that right at 8:00
Then (My status) or (join boarding group) which one will turn red?
Do you then select party of 2? (thats my case is just 2 of us) I will have my girls ticket linked into my account as she is under 5.


----------



## Vysecity

I'm curious to see how fast the BG are gone today. I might squeeze a trip next Tuesday with oldest son if we have a better shot at it than we did this weekend.


----------



## Abbey1

I’m keeping my fingers crossed (but not holding my breath) that the BGs will last at least four or five minutes today and tomorrow. We’ll be visiting this Thursday through Saturday and I know I’ll have more hope if they’ve don’t run out quite so quickly.


----------



## ironband74

Varty Yo said:


> So explain the exact process to me so i dont have to read 100 pages lol.
> 
> App open to (find out more)
> Then click on that right at 8:00
> Then (My status) or (join boarding group) which one will turn red?
> Do you then select party of 2? (thats my case is just 2 of us) I will have my girls ticket linked into my account as she is under 5.


1.  Scan your tickets into the app.  It is best if you have only the tickets of the people who will be in the park and joining your boarding group scanned in, since anyone not in the park will need to be de-selected and cost you precious seconds.
2.  There are different approaches, but the one that seems to be consistent is to open the app right at or moment before park open (not always 8AM).  Some folks find that having the app open already at 8 and then clicking find out more works.  Some folks find that the button never illuminates and they have to back out of the app entirely.  Some folks have had luck with refreshing the status page.  Some have not.  
3.  Join Boarding group will hopefully be red.  If it is click it.  If it isn't, don't panic and you can try going back and back in or exiting the app and starting again.
4.  Once you click Join Boarding Group, it will ask you to confirm the people to be in the boarding group.  By default, all tickets scanned into your app will be selected.  If someone is not in the park, you will have to de-select them.  Click "confirm"
5.  You will then get a screen saying what your boarding group is.  You can see your boarding group by going to "My Status"


----------



## Varty Yo

Beautiful thanks ^^^^^^^


----------



## socaldisneylover

While the good news is that there should be less people trying today, the park hours are shorter, which means they will likely release fewer boarding groups overall.


----------



## KPeterso

handyl03 said:


> I think your VIP guide may have secured you some major “Pixie Dust” to get you through the fast pass entrance when the regular line was backed up all the way to the Galaxy's Edge entrance. Had you not been VIP that wheelchair would have gone through the regular line. A person on an ECV went through when we boarded so it is definitely accessible.



Agreed! We had a wheelchair and went through the regular line. It was fully accessible.


----------



## ironband74

socaldisneylover said:


> While the good news is that there should be less people trying today, the park hours are shorter, which means they will likely release fewer boarding groups overall.


That will be the other interesting thing to see.  They've been shutting down the ride by 10PM to allow for overnight maintenance.  It may be that on short park days we see them call boarding groups right up to 9PM since the night is still young and they have plenty of time to do their magic.  Or, we may see that closing it 2 hours before park close is the norm and they stop at 7PM.  We'll find out soon!


----------



## katyringo

nursemelis374 said:


> I saw that MKM got to ride and two other non-influencers I know both got to ride early. One said they went up with friends that had an earlier boarding group and they let them go. The other one didn’t say.



MKM is quite upset on her insta today. I think she got a  lot of flak because she hasn't been transparent on HOW the magic happened yesterday.  I think it rubs people the wrong way when we see these people get to ride multiple times a media preview, opening day, and then magically granted a ride when boarding groups are gone.  Transparency is key.


----------



## Go💛Go

ironband74 said:


> Or, we may see that closing it 2 hours before park close is the norm and they stop at 7PM. We'll find out soon!


That’s been the norm for Studios because of the 2-hour return window. We were in FL for 2 weeks in December and kept track of how late they were pushing through BGs before stopping just in case we had a high number BG. The last BGs were called 2 hours prior to posted park closing.

Fortunately we ended up with BG 35 and were off RotR by 9:30a (6a park opening).


----------



## Mathmagicland

Am I the only one who lost track of the time and day today, and Quickly checked BG status at 8am ?      Oops...


----------



## theluckyrabbit

Is anyone there today for EMH/MM? Anyone lined up early for regular park opening? How are things looking this morning? Compared to this past weekend?


----------



## ironband74

I saw one post on twitter at 7:20AM.  Lines didn't look too bad, though the person had used the hashtag #notsomagicmorning


----------



## ironband74

Just checked Twitter - lines were back to DCA.  Apparently there was also some confusion on the regular entrance lines vs Magic morning and some got changed last minute, angering one tweeter who is freaking out.  A bunch of people seem to still think that BGs are being distributed at 8, not realizing that 9am is the distribution time today.


----------



## aymiewilson

So grateful for the tips and the charts and trip reports! I'll be practicing getting a BG the next 4 days just to see how best to get that Join Boarding Group button illuminated. I'll be in the parks with 2 friends Saturday-Monday. Hoping at least ONE of those days we'll get to ride... if not all three. We're definitely going to try for the coveted BG all 3 days. 
We have Magic Morning into DLP on Saturday because we have 3-day tickets. Or I should say ONE of us does. The other is an AP. So the two of us out of towners can technically get in at 7 am. Any ideas of when our AP friend would be able to come in with us? We may try the trick of scanning everyone into the park for the day, then going out to the Esplanade because at least one of us (me!) has ATT... Also, we were planning to immediately hop to DCA once we get past the whole boarding group selection thing.


----------



## nutshell

Anyone get a Boarding Group? I practiced from home at 8 AM. I was probably 20 seconds late or so logging in, and it said everything was gone by then. I was shocked.


----------



## Abbey1

nutshell said:


> Anyone get a Boarding Group? I practiced from home at 8 AM. I was probably 20 seconds late or so logging in, and it said everything was gone by then. I was shocked.



Boarding Groups aren’t open until 9 AM PST. 28 minutes to go.


----------



## aymiewilson

nutshell said:


> Anyone get a Boarding Group? I practiced from home at 8 AM. I was probably 20 seconds late or so logging in, and it said everything was gone by then. I was shocked.



Are you talking about today, Tuesday? DLP doesn't open for regular park hours until 9 am PST. It's open for EMH/MM, but BGs are distributed until regular park opening.


----------



## nutshell

Got it!


----------



## Skyegirl1999

katyringo said:


> MKM is quite upset on her insta today. I think she got a  lot of flak because she hasn't been transparent on HOW the magic happened yesterday.  I think it rubs people the wrong way when we see these people get to ride multiple times a media preview, opening day, and then magically granted a ride when boarding groups are gone.  Transparency is key.


This is getting OT so I won’t dwell on it too much, but Emily brings a lot of business to Disney.  If they “magic” her onto a ride (which apparently isn’t even what happened), I really don’t have a problem with it.  (Also, she brought her son opening day and they *didn’t* get to ride - yesterday was her second day trying with him and failing.)  

I do understand how people get frustrated and emotions are running high, but attacking a mom online because her five-year-old got to experience a new ride gets ALLLL the eye rolls from me.


----------



## Abbey1

Skyegirl1999 said:


> This is getting OT so I won’t dwell on it too much, but Emily brings a lot of business to Disney.  If they “magic” her onto a ride (which apparently isn’t even what happened), I really don’t have a problem with it.  (Also, she brought her son opening day and they *didn’t* get to ride - yesterday was her second day trying with him and failing.)
> 
> I do understand how people get frustrated and emotions are running high, but attacking a mom online because her five-year-old got to experience a new ride gets ALLLL the eye rolls from me.



I completely agree! I did assume something was done on Disney’s part (which as you said, doesn’t seem to be the case). If someone from Disney had reached out to her, it would have been completely understandable. She has a lot of followers who really love her, and she’s such a positive account to follow.

I am sure every single one of the people saying negative things to her would have taken whatever opportunity to ride they were given, just as she did.


----------



## queso2992

Seems like today lasted a bit longer? I was able to practice several times and still didn't get the "backup group" pop up like I did the first time I tried yesterday.


----------



## IsleofDisney

As of 9:01 a Join Boarding Group is still active on my app as i'm playing at home. 9:02 closed


----------



## Mathmagicland

queso2992 said:


> Seems like today lasted a bit longer? I was able to practice several times and still didn't get the "backup group" pop up like I did the first time I tried yesterday.


I’d agree - same experience here.


----------



## CaliforniaGirl09

Wow, this is not good, you guys. I was hoping things would get better today, but I stayed off from home the first minute and went in right at 9:01. They were already on backup boarding groups!!! I know it's only 5 days, but this is way worse than WDW and I was expecting to see some let up today.


----------



## crystal1313

Mathmagicland said:


> I’d agree - same experience here.


Yes, me too.  I tried for the first time from home just to see the process and was able to see the red button until about 9:01:35.


----------



## Vysecity

Im playing from work...I think I would have gotten some I got a something went wrong message after submitting my party. I also didnt get the boarding button turn red til 9:01


----------



## Kenshin21

Anybody know what the guaranted boarding group number is for today 1/21?


----------



## ironband74

Playing along at home, Regular boarding groups appeared to last until 9:01:20 or so.  My button greyed out by 9:03, but still gave the backup message.  

By 9:05, I have the message saying all BGs are gone, and that BGs over 71 are backups.

It seems that for me, Android user, Galaxy S7, AT&T, the approach of opening the app at opening gives me an active button.


----------



## IsleofDisney

Kenshin21 said:


> Anybody know what the guaranted boarding group number is for today 1/21?



70, back up starts at 71


----------



## Jkpark

I played from home today and got through but by 9:01 (wasn't watching seconds) they were on backup groups. Also - backup groups are now gone. Doesn't seem better than the holiday weekend crowd. 70 is last regular boarding group


----------



## aymiewilson

Same! I got followed along at work with a clock up on one computer screen. Had the app open to just the main screen. Right at 9:00 am I clicked "Find out More" button, and got the red "Join Boarding Group" button on the next screen. Was able to click it and then had to link tickets. I didn't see the pop up message "you are joining a back up boarding group" like I did yesterday, which I take to mean that I would have been able to get a regular BG. I went back out to main app screen and tried again - same thing. Then just for kicks, I restarted the app and around 9:01:30 tried again - no dice. Not even back up group was offered to me. On a side note, it looks like they are starting with BG 1 today and that the ride is boarding right away?


----------



## queso2992

ironband74 said:


> It seems that for me, Android user, Galaxy S7, AT&T, the approach of opening the app at opening gives me an active button.


Same for me. AT&T, Galaxy S10. I have to open the app at the appropriate time to get an active button.


----------



## dina444444

And Disneyland has beaten DHS to open. Group 1 is first group of the day.


----------



## asumom

My son is very lucky. Got group 18 yesterday and group 7 today.


----------



## Skyegirl1999

CaliforniaGirl09 said:


> Wow, this is not good, you guys. I was hoping things would get better today, but I stayed off from home the first minute and went in right at 9:01. They were already on backup boarding groups!!! I know it's only 5 days, but this is way worse than WDW and I was expecting to see some let up today.


I was not expecting them to last longer today.  It’s a 9am opening following a MM, so there are a lot of people in the park when it opens by then even normally.  Then, you’ve got lower hours, so less groups...

If there are 100 people in a boarding group as hypothesized, then 8000 people in the park when it opens will instantly fill 80 BG - that’s not really that many people. *Especially* following a MM... and some people think BGs are closer to 75 people, and if they’re starting with BG 10 or 12 or whatever, then “81” groups is really 69 or whatever...

The math just doesn’t point to it dying down.


----------



## DLgal

Varty Yo said:


> Heading to DL mon-fri next week. Coming from canada so will just be running off 4G our carrier here uses ATT down there im not fusing with the wifi. It will be me and my 5 year old trying for BG. Gonna try 1st day to see how it goes. We have 4 mornings to try so best to try and get it out of the way then can relax rest of the trip.
> 
> We purposly picked this week to go as it has historically showed the lowest crowds.



Some local area schools have off Monday, Jan 27. Just a heads up. Expect Monday to be very busy.


----------



## Jkpark

Also - once it got to backup groups I couldn't actually get one. The button was grey. I restarted the app - no difference. I will need to figure that out by Sunday. My phone did not work (iPhone 8) with having the app already open but sitting on my home screen. The back button didn't help. I had to close the app and open it again - luckily on my home wifi this happened quickly and I could have gotten an actual boarding group. I had DH trying, too. He was sitting on the Find Out More page and once it turned 9 he hit the button and watched the grey turn red to Join a Boarding Group.


----------



## Lvsdisney

DH has quick fingers and got us BG 18! We were sitting at the Red Rose Tavern (with many others). No problems with cell service. We're Verizon.

ETA: lots of cheers from people surrounding us. Seems like an ideal location.


----------



## dina444444

@SOCALMouseMommy did you get a boarding group?


----------



## Mathmagicland

Starting at BG 1 today, thru 70, is the same # of BGs as starting at 12 and going thru 82 like was seen over the weekend...


----------



## CaliforniaGirl09

Skyegirl1999 said:


> I was not expecting them to last longer today.  It’s a 9am opening following a MM, so there are a lot of people in the park when it opens by then even normally.  Then, you’ve got lower hours, so less groups...
> 
> If there are 100 people in a boarding group as hypothesized, then 8000 people in the park when it opens will instantly fill 80 BG - that’s not really that many people. *Especially* following a MM... and some people think BGs are closer to 75 people, and if they’re starting with BG 10 or 12 or whatever, then “81” groups is really 69 or whatever...
> 
> The math just doesn’t point to it dying down.


Super depressing  But you are right. My hope sprang from reading the WDW thread for so long. They never had a stretch like this. It feels as if DL is having a tougher time with the ride tech though. WDW has had some great days where they got through lots of backup groups, DL has really low numbers comparatively. At least it feels that way. I'll have to compare the charts.


----------



## Kenshin21

IsleofDisney said:


> 70, back up starts at 71



thanks. Looks like it’ll be a long day


----------



## Rich M

So somehow over the weekend I missed about 50 pages worth and I just don't have time to go through.  I am wondering how anyones experience was with getting in at the Monorail and being able to join a boarding group.  Do you need to remain in the park to get a BG or once you have scanned in to be in the park are you good to go?  We like to scan in at the monorail and then hit starbucks.  Wondering if this could still work.


----------



## dina444444

Rich M said:


> So somehow over the weekend I missed about 50 pages worth and I just don't have time to go through.  I am wondering how anyones experience was with getting in at the Monorail and being able to join a boarding group.  Do you need to remain in the park to get a BG or once you have scanned in to be in the park are you good to go?  We like to scan in at the monorail and then hit starbucks.  Wondering if this could still work.


You don’t have to stay in the park but the monorail entrance won’t be open in time for you to get a boarding group.


----------



## Candleman

I’m here for my sons 2nd birthday today and didn’t get into the park until 8:50. Didn’t realize the park didn’t open until 9. So it was kind of last minute to think of RotR. 
Reset my wife’s 11 pro. Closed all apps. Had it sitting on the main Disneyland app webpage. Right at 9 I hit find out more, then join boarding group. AT&T.
Got 4 of us in on boarding group 5.


----------



## Kenshin21

This morning the monorail entrance was only for mm/emh


----------



## nursemelis374

Was able to play along from work this morning.  Had the App open to the home page and as soon as my clock turned to 9, I clicked find out more and went to Join a Boarding Group.  Got to the screen allowing me to pick people.  For fun, I closed the app and reloaded and everything was already gone.

Craziness!


----------



## Skyegirl1999

dina444444 said:


> @SOCALMouseMommy did you get a boarding group?


Her son is sick, so they’re going next week instead.


----------



## aymiewilson

Candleman said:


> I’m here for my sons 2nd birthday today and didn’t get into the park until 8:50. Didn’t realize the park didn’t open until 9. So it was kind of last minute to think of RotR.
> Reset my wife’s 11 pro. Closed all apps. Had it sitting on the main Disneyland app webpage. Right at 9 I hit find out more, then join boarding group. AT&T.
> Got 4 of us in on boarding group 5.



Awesome! Where were y'all in the parks when you did this?


----------



## Skyegirl1999

CaliforniaGirl09 said:


> Super depressing  But you are right. My hope sprang from reading the WDW thread for so long. They never had a stretch like this. It feels as if DL is having a tougher time with the ride tech though. WDW has had some great days where they got through lots of backup groups, DL has really low numbers comparatively. At least it feels that way. I'll have to compare the charts.


It’s been pointed out by others, but it’s worth repeating: At WDW, this ride is in HS, which is a smaller and less-popular park.  It’s difficult to park-hop at WDW.  So you are largely just dealing with the people who are planning to spend their day at that park each morning.  If someone’s spending 5 days at WDW, they’re not starting all 5 of those days at HS.

This is very different than DL.  If someone is spending 5 days at DL, they can EASILY start all of them at DL if they want to.  Its simply not that hard to have several thousand people in the park when it opens.


----------



## Candleman

aymiewilson said:


> Awesome! Where were y'all in the parks when you did this?


Right in front of the plaza inn.


----------



## MikeRx

So, we were fortunate enough to ride this weekend, but not without significant delays and *two *evacuations...We had back-up boarding group 95 on Saturday despite 3 phones trying to get a group at 8am. They cleared through the groups fairly well with only one short "reset" throughout the day so we were called about 6:15pm and waited in line for about 30 minutes. We completed a few of the walk through portions and then everything changed. The cast members _in-character _stated that "they had extracted the required information and we were being returned to our home planet with compensation". My heart sank and knew it had shut down...After we arrived back in Batuu, we spoke to a lead and he was able to arrange boarding the next day due to a hard ticket schedule conflict (WOC dessert party). We boarded on Sunday without incident and made it one section further before we were escorted out _again_...this time it was 9:30pm and they were shutting down for the day (hey close before park closing to clear the crowd through and do required maintenance). We were worried that we had missed our opportunity as they do not guarantee that you will ride even if your group is called. The cast members were awesome and they allowed all who were de-boarded (estimated to be around a hundred people that we could see) to wait and they restarted the attraction and finally we experienced the entire ride. They only got to group 81 as this was the 4th closure of the day. So I can say without question the backstage area is pristine and the cast member that helped us went above and beyond to assure we had a great visit. We took the delays as "no ones fault", treated the cast members with respect and they intern took care of us. It is a game changing attraction combining impressively updated elements of many different attractions to render a complete experience. We will be back in February to do it all over again.


----------



## montreid

Wow.   Rain too or not?  Raining down here in SD.     Lower group cutoff at 70 and slightly longer time IS encouraging though.   Let's see how the ride performs.

More concerning though -- WDW HS is still down?  DLR -  Grp 15 already


----------



## jfk4

Aurora0427 said:


> Any advice on a spot with good reception since we may not be able to get to the Matterhorn FP area??? Steps by the train station? Also, are you recommending connecting to Disney WiFi?



I haven't thoroughly scouted Main Street, but I had good luck with the train station about half way up the steps.


----------



## Susie63

Working two phones at home I got a red boarding group on both, Backed out and tapped find out more. Still both  red bg. I managed to get that red bg 4x's before it greyed out.


----------



## ckb_nc

Skyegirl1999 said:


> It’s been pointed out by others, but it’s worth repeating: At WDW, this ride is in HS, which is a smaller and less-popular park.  It’s difficult to park-hop at WDW.  So you are largely just dealing with the people who are planning to spend their day at that park each morning.  If someone’s spending 5 days at WDW, they’re not starting all 5 of those days at HS.
> 
> This is very different than DL.  If someone is spending 5 days at DL, they can EASILY start all of them at DL if they want to.  Its simply not that hard to have several thousand people in the park when it opens.



Disagree...I could easlily head to Hollywood, try for a BG at say 7am with FP+ in hand for the afternoon at AK.  We are in going in March and this one of our plans - ropde drop HS then hop to Epcot in the PM


----------



## JadeDarkstar

i got two red buttons before it grayed out on me.


----------



## sunflare

ckb_nc said:


> Disagree...I could easlily head to Hollywood, try for a BG at say 7am with FP+ in hand for the afternoon at AK.  We are in going in March and this one of our plans - ropde drop HS then hop to Epcot in the PM



While this is true, I think the number of people who get (and use) hoppers daily at WDW may be significantly less than at DLR (unless they're using a package that requires them.) The hours at HS are also a lot earlier, with a lot more involved to get there in the morning and planning the rest of the day for both on-site and off-site guests. I think all of that impacts the number of people that are in the parks at opening.


----------



## asumom

ckb_nc said:


> Disagree...I could easlily head to Hollywood, try for a BG at say 7am with FP+ in hand for the afternoon at AK.  We are in going in March and this one of our plans - ropde drop HS then hop to Epcot in the PM


Yep, we park hop all the time. Last visit it was to rope drop FOP at AK, got off the ride and out of the park at about park opening (we were on the first ride of the day, they opened fop before park opening)


----------



## SOCALMouseMommy

dina444444 said:


> @SOCALMouseMommy did you get a boarding group?


We had to cancel. My son is sick. Current plan is to try again next week. In the meantime, I’m going to keep “playing at home” to get familiar with the process. Today I was able to get a red button from home.


----------



## tlovesdis

We got very lucky this weekend and got to ride it both Saturday and Sunday.  Saturday we had early entry for DL so we went in at 7, rode Star Tours and ate breakfast. Right at 8 we all tried getting in and my friend did and we got BG 29.  I think we got on it about 11.  Sunday we got into DL at 7:45 and sat right near the exit as we were going to go to DCA.  Right at 8 we all tried again and my friend got in and we got BG 15!!!  We figured we would be on pretty early.  The ride didn't start running til about 930 and at 10 broke down for almost 3 hours!  Our group was finally called about 1:15 and halfway through the ride broke down and we were escorted off and got a return FP for the ride.  We got back on it about 2:30 and made it through!  It was so crazy how many people were there trying.  The best part was hearing all the people cheering when they got a BG!  The ride is amazing and I can't wait to go back in March!


----------



## Skyegirl1999

ckb_nc said:


> Disagree...I could easlily head to Hollywood, try for a BG at say 7am with FP+ in hand for the afternoon at AK.  We are in going in March and this one of our plans - ropde drop HS then hop to Epcot in the PM


I’m not saying it’s not possible... but there is a big difference in the ride being at HS versus in Disneyland, and a big difference in how people generally approach park-hopping and organizing “which park each day” at WDW versus DL.  Even if it was in MK at WDW, I’m sure there’d be a different crowd pattern happening... but at DL, where the majority of guests treat DL/DCA as “one big park,” it’s a different scene.


----------



## Jkpark

sunflare said:


> While this is true, I think the number of people who get (and use) hoppers daily at WDW may be significantly less than at DLR (unless they're using a package that requires them.) The hours at HS are also a lot earlier, with a lot more involved to get there in the morning and planning the rest of the day for both on-site and off-site guests. I think all of that impacts the number of people that are in the parks at opening.


You also cannot underestimate the time it takes to park hop at WDW tied with not knowing when your boarding group will be called. I would not risk heading to AK and trying to make it back over and into the parks before my 2 hours were up.  Maybe if I had my own car?


----------



## twodogs

Disney_Cindy said:


> Heading over to DL on the 30th thru the 2nd.  I read your original post and pulled out my teen daughter’s old phone,  last night I was explaining to her how the BG’s work, and told her that she was going to be in charge of operating the dual phones exactly because of those fast fingers!  Hopeful we’ll be successful, we’ll be a party of 5, myself and daughter going with another mom, adult  daughter and a birthday boy turning  4  on our first park day. They’re not quite into Disney like I am, it’s their first trip in maybe 20 years, so after having them download the Disneyland app, and using my login, I’ll also be giving them a “BG training” the night before, maybe have a couple of pretend opening countdown practice drills.  They all probably think I’m somewhat crazy, but know me enough to know that I love to plan and strategize for Disney trips.
> I’ve been following the thread since right before the RotR opening and feel like all the information alone increases our odds of getting a BG. Can’t wait to see if my planned strategy works out, for me this is like a strategic betting, and if we get a BG I’ll feel like I won, if we don’t, I might be a little disappointed, mainly because I hate waking up early and generally never do rope drop, but it definitely won’t ruin our trip, and unlike actual betting there’s no money lost!


You sound like you will be READY!!  Definitely practice going through the screens if you can the day or two before.  Depending on your time zone, you can practice on the WDW app since the screens are identical.  We live in Texas, so it is easier for me to practice on the DLR app since that is 10am for me when it is 8am in California.  Practice makes perfect!!  I got up extra early a few days and took screen shots of the WDW app to show my family what it would look like (I'm sure there are many videos online of this, but I didn't want to risk ride spoilers by watching any of them!).  Have fun!!


----------



## dina444444

SOCALMouseMommy said:


> We had to cancel. My son is sick. Current plan is to try again next week. In the meantime, I’m going to keep “playing at home” to get familiar with the process. Today I was able to get a red button from home.


Bummer, but hopefully next week will be less crowded. We got a red button sitting in D-Luxe burger. Still waiting for ROTR to open at dhs. We have group 44.


----------



## JadeDarkstar

1-23 as of now its better then yesterday


----------



## CableKC

Given all of the glowing reviews, I am disappointed that we couldn't get onto the ride itself.   It's unfortunate, because my 15 year old Son was really irritated that we couldn't get on.

What's worse is that it's unlikely that we will return to DL or DW for the next couple of years ( for various reason ), so I won't be able to ride this for a long time.

I know that "stuff happens" ( especially during opening weekend ), but this is disappointing on so many levels.


----------



## ironband74

On the one hand, boarding passes did appear to last almost 50% longer than they did during the long weekend.

On the other hand, 90 seconds isn't that much better than 60 seconds.

But, we are still in the first week of operations.  I do like that it started at BG 1 today, and despite a much shorter day (12 hour vs 16 hour) they seem confident that they can get 70 groups through.


----------



## EyeOnDisnsey

Boarding groups 1 - 26 that’s more than a quarter of boarding groups in the first two hours of operations! That queue must be insane right now!


----------



## JadeDarkstar

1-27 lol now


----------



## ironband74

Touch wood, but they seem to be rocking it this morning.


----------



## njchris

EyeOnDisnsey said:


> Boarding groups 1 - 26 that’s more than a quarter of boarding groups in the first two hours of operations! That queue must be insane right now!


Considering they started at #1, that's about 12 groups faster than yesterday for the same amount of park open time.


----------



## sammybk

Got BG 15 this morning from the train station on Tmobile. Noticeable lag from clicking the red button to being able to select group.

Line was full but moved well. 40 minutes start of queue to end of ride


----------



## Tylerrog94

Wow, 1-30 now. Already almost 1/2 way through the BG's if they keep this up and are able to open more BG's per day this could really help!


----------



## DisneyDork1969

Well I'm finally back home and some-what rested from my weekend trip...I got to ride ROTR twice, on Friday afternoon and Sunday night...

Thurs night/Fri morning was crazy...got in line at midnight and it was misty raining for 3 hours...lucky I was the 2nd person in line at my gate and I was able to stand under the gate covering and not get too wet as much...with BG 63, we rode ROTR at 4pm (the ride had stopped working 3 times during the day before I got to ride)...on Friday I was waiting outside the ride entrance waiting for the announcement the ride was up and running...when it did, I jumped into line and got on the ride pretty quickly...on Sunday with BG 76, there were more breakdowns...my BG got called at 8:05pm but I was at my Airbnb resting because I did not want to spend all day at the park just waiting for my turn...when I got the notice that it was my group's turn, I notice it said I only had 1 Hour to ride the attraction...I thought we had a 2 hour window??...did this change over the weekend?...so here I am rushing from my Airbnb back to the park to the attraction...I was scanned in line by 8:50pm...but as soon as I entered the 1st room of the attraction, it broke down again!!! We waited about 45mins for the attraction to re-boot....so around 9:50 we were moving in line again....by the time I exited the attraction it was 11pm...so it was over 1.5 hours wait to ride it the 2nd time. I filmed both times I rode ROTR, 1st using a small point-and-shoot hand camera...the 2nd time I used my Note8 phone...I got to see both track views on my rides...so all in all, THIS IS THE GREATEST RIDE ATTRACTION EVER BUILT!!!!


----------



## DisneyDork1969

MikeRx said:


> We boarded on Sunday without incident and made it one section further before we were escorted out _again_...this time it was 9:30pm and they were shutting down for the day (they closed before park closing to clear the crowd through and do required maintenance). We were worried that we had missed our opportunity as they do not guarantee that you will ride even if your group is called. The cast members were awesome and they allowed all who were de-boarded (estimated to be around a hundred people that we could see) to wait and they restarted the attraction and finally we experienced the entire ride. They only got to group 81 as this was the 4th closure of the day.



Yep. I was there on Sunday night. My BG 76 got called at 8:04pm...I got into the line at 8:50pm (I was resting at my Airbnb waiting to be called)...as soon as I entered the 1st waiting room, the ride broke down...I was in the last group of people waiting to ride for the end of the day (a CM was last in line making sure no one else got in line and was closing all the gates to the line queue)...after the ride re-booted I rode with no problems...I exited the ride around 11pm....


----------



## brightlined

One thing to remember about today: it was really the first day that folks who wanted to ride early but didn't want to brave the intensity of an opening holiday weekend (and have flexible-enough schedules) would be giving it a try, so I think it's still a little high for a weekday.

Hopefully, we'll get to two minutes on BGs tomorrow.  

(I think five minutes will be the first big pillar to hit - I'm keeping my fingers crossed that'll happen before I get there in two weeks.)


----------



## aymiewilson

brightlined said:


> One thing to remember about today: it was really the first day that folks who wanted to ride early but didn't want to brave the intensity of an opening holiday weekend (and have flexible-enough schedules) would be giving it a try, so I think it's still a little high for a weekday.
> 
> Hopefully, we'll get to two minutes on BGs tomorrow.
> 
> (I think five minutes will be the first big pillar to hit - I'm keeping my fingers crossed that'll happen before I get there in two weeks.)




Just laughing at the concept of 5 mins before they sell out being a great thing. HAH! Anyway... I just really hope I get to ride at least once this Sat-Mon. Trying to temper my expectations. I haven't watched ANY ride thru vids and have been trying to avoid spoilers. This will be my first visit since SWGE opened, so I still can enjoy MF:SR and Oga's (since that one's now way easier to get a reservation for). I just really wanna do RISE!


----------



## JadeDarkstar

12-33 now


----------



## crystal1313

aymiewilson said:


> Just laughing at the concept of 5 mins before they sell out being a great thing. HAH! Anyway... I just really hope I get to ride at least once this Sat-Mon. Trying to temper my expectations. I haven't watched ANY ride thru vids and have been trying to avoid spoilers. This will be my first visit since SWGE opened, so I still can enjoy MF:SR and Oga's (since that one's now way easier to get a reservation for). I just really wanna do RISE!


I haven't watched any videos either.  I have two friends who work as CMs on ROTR and they highly recommended NOT to watch any video and experience it for yourself first.  So I am holding out!  LOL.  It's hard though because I have major FOMO!  Best of luck to you this weekend!


----------



## aymiewilson

crystal1313 said:


> I haven't watched any videos either.  I have two friends who work as CMs on ROTR and they highly recommended NOT to watch any video and experience it for yourself first.  So I am holding out!  LOL.  It's hard though because I have major FOMO!  Best of luck to you this weekend!



Only thing I know is the little bit I saw in the last episode of The Imagineering Story.


----------



## Jaina

crystal1313 said:


> I haven't watched any videos either.  I have two friends who work as CMs on ROTR and they highly recommended NOT to watch any video and experience it for yourself first.  So I am holding out!  LOL.  It's hard though because I have major FOMO!  Best of luck to you this weekend!


I have stayed away from any videos or descriptions too. Reading ALL the tips and tricks and hoping things work out for us either Friday or Saturday this week!


----------



## lalasmama

Amy thought to bring more likely to get an early-ish boarding group if there's only 1 person? I'll be there next Tuesday, and it's just me.


----------



## Jkpark

aymiewilson said:


> Just laughing at the concept of 5 mins before they sell out being a great thing. HAH! Anyway... I just really hope I get to ride at least once this Sat-Mon. Trying to temper my expectations. I haven't watched ANY ride thru vids and have been trying to avoid spoilers. This will be my first visit since SWGE opened, so I still can enjoy MF:SR and Oga's (since that one's now way easier to get a reservation for). I just really wanna do RISE!



Me, too. I think those of us that frequent these boards for strategies are feeling the same stress knowing we can do all of this planning, and possibly hit a glitch and not get to ride.  I have only done hard ticket parties at DCA over the last year and haven't been to DL itself in 18 months and so I am excited to get back there either way. And hopefully we do get to ride at least one of our days!


----------



## crystal1313

aymiewilson said:


> Only thing I know is the little bit I saw in the last episode of The Imagineering Story.


DH and I were watching that too and as soon as we thought they might show something, we turned it off!  LOL.  



Jaina said:


> I have stayed away from any videos or descriptions too. Reading ALL the tips and tricks and hoping things work out for us either Friday or Saturday this week!


Good luck!


----------



## Erin M

We played along from work today.  Four of my coworkers and I will be there on Feb 1-5.  We had three different carriers and three different phones to try today. Two of us were easily in to get a boarding group. Interesting enough our Verizon phone had low bars and struggled to get in, when it did it went to backups only. Of course, this will all play out differently when we are there, but I am going to force encourage them all practice every day next week in prep. 

This morning's exercise made me feel a little better about timing. In my head, one minute seems so dang fast, but in reality, if my app is up and working I had time to go in, back out and go back in a few times. I just wonder if they will keep up with the 10-15 min early gate opening.  I am trying to remember our trip last February and how early gates were opened. Of course, my brain doesn't retain information like that anymore.  I feel like there were days they were not open all that early, but maybe I'm making that up.


----------



## katyringo

Skyegirl1999 said:


> This is getting OT so I won’t dwell on it too much, but Emily brings a lot of business to Disney.  If they “magic” her onto a ride (which apparently isn’t even what happened), I really don’t have a problem with it.  (Also, she brought her son opening day and they *didn’t* get to ride - yesterday was her second day trying with him and failing.)
> 
> I do understand how people get frustrated and emotions are running high, but attacking a mom online because her five-year-old got to experience a new ride gets ALLLL the eye rolls from me.
> 
> 
> Skyegirl1999 said:
> 
> 
> 
> This is getting OT so I won’t dwell on it too much, but Emily brings a lot of business to Disney.  If they “magic” her onto a ride (which apparently isn’t even what happened), I really don’t have a problem with it.  (Also, she brought her son opening day and they *didn’t* get to ride - yesterday was her second day trying with him and failing.)
> 
> I do understand how people get frustrated and emotions are running high, but attacking a mom online because her five-year-old got to experience a new ride gets ALLLL the eye rolls from me.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Oh 100% not okay to attack someone online. I do not ever think that is okay. And I love MKM and following her.
Click to expand...


----------



## ckb_nc

Jkpark said:


> You also cannot underestimate the time it takes to park hop at WDW tied with not knowing when your boarding group will be called. I would not risk heading to AK and trying to make it back over and into the parks before my 2 hours were up.  Maybe if I had my own car?


Oh I agree - park hopping at WDW is a big hairy deal. I generally allocate 1 hour minimum with my own car even. Epcot to HS is probably the shortest and that is still way more complicated than DL/DCA

As WDW vets, we treat DL/DCA as one park actually. Gaurdians to say Space Mountain is a hike but not unreasonable - bigger hikes in AK or Epcot


----------



## hiroMYhero

lalasmama said:


> Amy thought to bring more likely to get an early-ish boarding group if there's only 1 person? I'll be there next Tuesday, and it's just me.


I used to moderate on the WDW side of the forums so I read every RotR BG post. It seemed like single riders were successful in joining fairly low-numbered BGs.

From your user standpoint: 
Make sure your phone and your DL app are running the latest updates.
Delete any extra people from your DL app.
Close out all windows running in the background on your phone.

In the park, go to a location where you have great cell reception.
You can check the app once you get to the location but then close it until you decide you need to open it...a few seconds before park opening or exactly at park open.

Be aware that even with doing this, a BG system glitch is always a possibility. Stay calm and best of luck to you! I did all these steps and even with a BG system glitch, we joined a fairly early BG.


----------



## montreid

Out in :  60 to 90 sec --  that's a 50% improvement 
-What's impressive is WDW started later and rocking it at BG50 vs 38 for DLR. 
--so throughput capacity really makes an significant impact as we get through the shakedown period.    Shakedown hopefully wont be like IJA....some 25 years later still having downtimes on our beloved ride.


----------



## dina444444

montreid said:


> Out in :  60 to 90 sec --  that's a 50% improvement
> -What's impressive is WDW started later and rocking it at BG50 vs 38 for DLR.
> --so throughput capacity really makes an significant impact as we get through the shakedown period.    Shakedown hopefully wont be like IJA....some 25 years later still having downtimes on our beloved ride.


DHS started with group 15 vs Disneyland’s group 1 but through put will make a difference.


----------



## Tylerrog94

When they start with group 15 what happens to group 1-14? Were they not assigned?


----------



## dina444444

Tylerrog94 said:


> When they start with group 15 what happens to group 1-14? Were they not assigned?


Not assigned.


----------



## montreid

dina444444 said:


> Not assigned.


I maintain my 'conspiracy' theory is they are special people riding at that time.


----------



## supercarrie

I experienced the virtual boarding pass process yesterday, MLK Jr. Day. We left our house at 7:15am (later than planned...toddler mom life!) and arrived at the parking structures at 7:30. Before going through security, I was convinced we would be late, but we exited the tram at 7:53. We entered the park at 7:58. My mom had the SoCal resident ticket and they did NOT take her photo, but did ask for proof of residency, which slowed things down. She has bought this ticket for several years now, and never had a CM actually check at the entrance, since they verify online or at the ticket booth, but I digress. I showed it on my phone, and the CM insisted on seeing my mom's DL - so anyone using these tickets, just be prepared. They did take her photo later in the day, when we hopped over to DCA.

We entered the park at 7:58 and there were hundreds of people milling around the flower beds. I had the app open and we began moving away from the clusters of people. Refreshed the app at 8, my phone was a bit slow, and we got group 44. As others have said, the cheers erupting up and down Main Street was quite the experience. Unfortunately, I saw a number of people in tears, too. I have a Samsung Galaxy S8 on AT&T. 

Seems things ran smoothly yesterday until group 42, when we experienced a lag in any more groups opening up to board for a couple hours. We got on about 2pm.

Once we arrived, we did ask to do the rider swap, which they made a big deal of setting up, but given I returned well in time to experience it and then "swap" with my mom, she just used her normal boarding pass to experience the attraction. We had zero wait to experience it once our group was called.


----------



## matthewthompson87

montreid said:


> I maintain my 'conspiracy' theory is they are special people riding at that time.



I wonder if they’re just cycling/testing the attraction during those boarding groups. Is there any correlation to the time it opens to guests and what number they start with?

No update overnight may result in starting with a low boarding number and early opening time to guests?


----------



## twodogs

I did forget in all my angst over being held captive in the line for almost 3 hours Saturday:  We had an Oga's reservation at 3pm that day.  Once we were freed from the line around 1pm, we were starving (having entered at 10:20am!), so we ate lunch and used a FP for Toy Story and then the ride looked like it was back up and running pretty decently (which I based off of a steady increase in the BG number).  It was nearly 3, and I really wanted to try to ride again at that time with our FP from the earlier mess, as I knew the ride might go down more as the day went on, and that the line would be longer later in the day (based on how they were stacking the line later in the day at WDW, trying to get through all the regular BGs so as not to have to do any guest recovery).  We went to Oga's and checked in (I tried to modify my reservation on my phone to a later time or the next day, but it said I had to call).  I explained what had happened to the CM, and she said she would put it in a "hold" status, and that we could come back anytime later that day and get into Oga's.  It was very nice.  We thankfully rode the ride without an issue around 3pm, and went back to Oga's at 4pm and got in within 5 minutes.  So it does seem they are very understanding if your BG overlaps with your reservation.


----------



## brightlined

matthewthompson87 said:


> I wonder if they’re just cycling/testing the attraction during those boarding groups. Is there any correlation to the time it opens to guests and what number they start with?


Can't speak for WDW, but this weekend, it seemed like the higher BG mornings started late, so it wouldn't be out of the question that they were actually being run. Whether they were test cycles, CMs, or "special guests" is anybody's guess.


----------



## vickiea

Now boarding groups 37-60!

That's a large range of groups at one time. Things must be running well.


----------



## montreid

vickiea said:


> Now boarding groups 37-60!
> 
> That's a large range of groups at one time. Things must be running well.


It's always nice to see a wider spread -- meaning chugging away in getting people in, but two hour notice hasn't lapsed for the earlier BGs
eg:  WDW:  49-76 right now.   27 BG spread!


----------



## EmJ

vickiea said:


> Now boarding groups 37-60!
> 
> That's a large range of groups at one time. Things must be running well.


It looks like an amazing day for the ride https://www.thrill-data.com/waits/attraction/disneyland/starwarsriseoftheresistance/


----------



## justkeepswimmin

jfk4 said:


> I haven't thoroughly scouted Main Street, but I had good luck with the train station about half way up the steps.



We had great success at this location as well, so did several others standing near us.  We have t-mobile.


----------



## Keacooke

Hi.  I've been reading along for a couple of weeks.  We are heading to Disneyland next Tuesday.  When we booked we had no idea this ride would be opening (last minute booking).  All disney hotels were booked (I had wondered why, now I know).  So we will not have early access.  But I believe Magic Kingdom does not have early access available on Wednesdays, so I think we may have a chance to get a boarding group on that day.  

Yesterday I read that some folks were "playing along" at home to practice.  I tried this morning to do that, but the "join boarding group" button was always greyed out.  Was I correct that the button should be available at the 8:00 am pacific time on Tuesdays?  And 9am pacific on Weds?

Thanks for the info everyone is sharing.


----------



## crystal1313

Keacooke said:


> Hi.  I've been reading along for a couple of weeks.  We are heading to Disneyland next Tuesday.  When we booked we had no idea this ride would be opening (last minute booking).  All disney hotels were booked (I had wondered why, now I know).  So we will not have early access.  But I believe Magic Kingdom does not have early access available on Wednesdays, so I think we may have a chance to get a boarding group on that day.
> 
> Yesterday I read that some folks were "playing along" at home to practice.  I tried this morning to do that, but the "join boarding group" button was always greyed out.  Was I correct that the button should be available at the 8:00 am pacific time on Tuesdays?  And 9am pacific on Weds?
> 
> Thanks for the info everyone is sharing.


Today the park opened at 9AM Pacific.  so right at 9, you could play along.


----------



## Erin M

Keacooke said:


> Hi.  I've been reading along for a couple of weeks.  We are heading to Disneyland next Tuesday.  When we booked we had no idea this ride would be opening (last minute booking).  All disney hotels were booked (I had wondered why, now I know).  So we will not have early access.  But I believe Magic Kingdom does not have early access available on Wednesdays, so I think we may have a chance to get a boarding group on that day.
> 
> Yesterday I read that some folks were "playing along" at home to practice.  I tried this morning to do that, but the "join boarding group" button was always greyed out.  Was I correct that the button should be available at the 8:00 am pacific time on Tuesdays?  And 9am pacific on Weds?
> 
> Thanks for the info everyone is sharing.



Out of habit we tried at 8am today, but then realized the park opened at 9am. Whoops!


----------



## StarlitNight05

Erin M said:


> Out of habit we tried at 8am today, but then realized the park opened at 9am. Whoops!


Same here! I was like "whoa they went REALLY fast today!"  Then I realized it didn't open until 9am.


----------



## socaldisneylover

They made it through all 70 guaranteed groups as of 3:15.  Currently on Group 71.


----------



## Ionan89

montreid said:


> I maintain my 'conspiracy' theory is they are special people riding at that time.


Nope. More likely just to allow sufficient amount of time to get the ride up and operational without having guests in the earlier groups expecting immediate boarding and crowding out the entrance.


----------



## Lvsdisney

We were BG18 and were called sometime around 10. We got in line just after 10:30 and exited around 11:20. There was an obvious issue and we were delayed during a section of the experience, about 5-10 minutes. I was crossing fingers it wouldn't break. But we eventually completed the ride! We all loved it. My 6 year old rated it her favorite of the park. I'm glad we got on because I'm not sure the next time we'll be at a Disney park.


----------



## JWelch62

Does anyone know what the highest BG assigned today was? At ~10BGs/hr (73 in 6.5 hrs) we could see 100 today, assuming the ride stays up (I hope I didn't just jinx it).


----------



## Keacooke

crystal1313 said:


> Today the park opened at 9AM Pacific.  so right at 9, you could play along.


Thank you.  So tomorrow (Weds) would it be 8am or 9am?


----------



## Go💛Go

Keacooke said:


> Thank you.  So tomorrow (Weds) would it be 8am or 9am?


On the DL app when you tap on All Hours, tomorrow’s opening is at 9a.


----------



## IsleofDisney

JWelch62 said:


> Does anyone know what the highest BG assigned today was? At ~10BGs/hr (73 in 6.5 hrs) we could see 100 today, assuming the ride stays up (I hope I didn't just jinx it).



They called Back up groups now, anyone catch when that occurred? 

Edit: silly me, I forgot 71 was the start of back up groups. So must have occurred between 3p & 3:20p?


----------



## naoboo

I'll be visiting with my family in the second week of February and I've got some questions. Sorry if these have been answered before. I've been skimming through just a few pages on this topic once a day since the ride opened and am still not sure about a couple of things.

8 out of the 10 people going will be able to go on RotR. If I'm understanding right, I'll be able to add everyone's ticket to my app so we can get a boarding group together. Also, it sounds like tickets aren't locked to one device and a few other adults in my family will be able to add everyone else's tickets to their apps as well. So assuming I've got all of that right, if four of us try to get a BG as soon as they're available, will at least one person get a BG for everyone and the others will get something that says they're already in a BG?

Since 2 of the 10 are too small to ride, I've looked up how rider swap works at RotR specifically, but there's one thing I'm not sure about. If six of us go on the ride and leave two behind, will only those two be allowed on when it's their turn? When I've used it on other attractions in the past, the same number of people have been allowed on the second time even if only one person got swapped out.

I'm the Disney Parks nerd of the family so I've been put in charge of all the plans and I'm starting to stress out just a little bit since I'm used to planning Disney trips for three to four people, not ten. D:


----------



## JWelch62

IsleofDisney said:


> They called Back up groups now, anyone catch when that occurred?


According to thrill-data BG 71 was called around 3:25. (Data is only available in 5 minute increments)


----------



## Ferrellcon

Disneyland made it to 86 before 5pm disneyworld hit 108 around 5pm Pacific time and apparently it started later than Disneyland.


----------



## dina444444

Ferrellcon said:


> Disneyland made it to 86 before 5pm disneyworld hit 108 around 5pm Pacific time and apparently it started later than Disneyland.


DHS’s ROTR opened at 2pm today (7 hour delay).


----------



## Ferrellcon

dina444444 said:


> DHS’s ROTR opened at 2pm today (7 hour delay).


Really? Wow that is a huge delay. I am surprised that they got through so many groups. I wonder what their secret is.


----------



## CastAStone

With 86 groups called so far, Disneyland is guaranteed to do better than the current-record 7.1 BG/Hour for the park.

DHS is typically doing about 11.


----------



## SOCALMouseMommy

dina444444 said:


> DHS’s ROTR opened at 2pm today (7 hour delay).


Whoa.


----------



## Ferrellcon

My main question right now is will Disneyland stop calling boarding numbers at 7 since they like to close early for maintenance?


----------



## Ferrellcon

CastAStone said:


> With 86 groups called so far, Disneyland is guaranteed to do better than the current-record 7.1 BG/Hour for the park.
> 
> DHS is typically doing about 11.


I hope disneyland can make that record soon.


----------



## SOCALMouseMommy

Keacooke said:


> Hi.  I've been reading along for a couple of weeks.  We are heading to Disneyland next Tuesday.  When we booked we had no idea this ride would be opening (last minute booking).  All disney hotels were booked (I had wondered why, now I know).  So we will not have early access.  But I believe Magic Kingdom does not have early access available on Wednesdays, so I think we may have a chance to get a boarding group on that day.
> 
> Yesterday I read that some folks were "playing along" at home to practice.  I tried this morning to do that, but the "join boarding group" button was always greyed out.  Was I correct that the button should be available at the 8:00 am pacific time on Tuesdays?  And 9am pacific on Weds?
> 
> Thanks for the info everyone is sharing.


Maybe hotels booked for the Disney After Dark 80s Night event at DL on 1/29?

Will you have park hoppers? You just have to be scanned into DL prior to regular open to try for a boarding group. The magic morning folks shouldn’t (in theory) have any advantage over you since it’s in effect a lottery. Just make sure you head over to DL well before park opening. Like an hour at least (maybe 90 minutes if you’re driving in and parking).


----------



## gottalovepluto

Jkpark said:


> You also cannot underestimate the time it takes to park hop at WDW tied with not knowing when your boarding group will be called. I would not risk heading to AK and trying to make it back over and into the parks before my 2 hours were up.  Maybe if I had my own car?


I would be ok with it if I was willing to pay for a rideshare/Minnie Van between those two parks.


----------



## gottalovepluto

I’m confused about playing along at home. I thought you had to be in the park to get a boarding pass?


----------



## Malcon10t

Ferrellcon said:


> My main question right now is will Disneyland stop calling boarding numbers at 7 since they like to close early for maintenance?


I seriously doubt it will go down that early.  They stop at 9 because the ride needs to go down at 10p to get all the maintenance and patches done by morning.  It will speed up eventually.  But if the park closes at 9, I suspect they will just make sure no one joins after 845 or so to make it.


----------



## Malcon10t

gottalovepluto said:


> I’m confused about playing along at home. I thought you had to be in the park to get a boarding pass?


You do, but you can check in on the app to see if you can get close or if it closes before you even can choose a group.


----------



## Ferrellcon

Looks like Disneylands version broke down. Its stuck on 86 DHS seems to be done for the day they called 108 groups. Not bad for a 7 hour delay.


----------



## Keacooke

Thank you!   I hadn’t realized the early entry folks didn’t have a significant advantage.



SOCALMouseMommy said:


> Maybe hotels booked for the Disney After Dark 80s Night event at DL on 1/29?
> 
> Will you have park hoppers? You just have to be scanned into DL prior to regular open to try for a boarding group. The magic morning folks shouldn’t (in theory) have any advantage over you since it’s in effect a lottery. Just make sure you head over to DL well before park opening. Like an hour at least (maybe 90 minutes if you’re driving in and parking).


----------



## nutz2notz

Just checked and the Disneyland app shows boarding groups 84 - 90.


----------



## Ferrellcon

Its seems to only be doing 6 boarding groups at a time now. Its now at 86-92


----------



## montreid

Malcon10t said:


> I seriously doubt it will go down that early.  They stop at 9 because the ride needs to go down at 10p to get all the maintenance and patches done by morning.  It will speed up eventually.  But if the park closes at 9, I suspect they will just make sure no one joins after 845 or so to make it.


Is there an article or blog about this?  Haven't heard about the innerworkings of this process.  The common thought was closing 2 hours because BGs are given 2 hours to report back.


----------



## amfunsize

Now the app says groups 87-98


----------



## dina444444

Ferrellcon said:


> Really? Wow that is a huge delay. I am surprised that they got through so many groups. I wonder what their secret is.


They are loading almost 2 times as many people an hour.


----------



## Sith

Erin M said:


> I just wonder if they will keep up with the 10-15 min early gate opening.


I'm guessing they will keep opening gates early as long as the boarding group process stays the way it is. That way everybody can be scanned in and able to try for a BG as soon as they are available. Otherwise people would start showing up in the esplanade at 4am everyday like they were at DHS, and I don't think Disney wants that.

Plus, not opening turnstiles until BG's are available has the potential for some pretty angry guests. People are already upset when they don't get a BG, but can you imagine how upset they would be if the reason they didn't get one was because the guests in front of them were taking too long having their picture taken etc.?


----------



## montreid

Well the 2 hour report back theory is out the window.   Up to BG 102 and keeps going.   
Interested to know if the people called now get 2 hours or not on their reminder


----------



## dina444444

montreid said:


> Well the 2 hour report back theory is out the window.   Up to BG 102 and keeps going.
> Interested to know if the people called now get 2 hours or not on their reminder


They’ve been doing 1 hour to return in the evening.


----------



## nutshell

At 104 now


----------



## Ferrellcon

dina444444 said:


> They are loading almost 2 times as many people an hour.


How do they accomplish this? Are there less people in boarding groups in DHS or do they have a better system?


----------



## ironband74

Ferrellcon said:


> How do they accomplish this? Are there less people in boarding groups in DHS or do they have a better system?


The attractions are essentially identical.  However, there are learning curves in play, as well as efficiencies that may take time to get optimized.

If you want to pop over to the spoiler thread, we're talking a bit about capacity.  It's hard to do so without spoiling certain aspects of the attraction.


----------



## Lewdannie

Practice makes perfect


----------



## Varty Yo

How do you remove person from the app? i have my 3 family memebers E ticket scanned into my phone but only 2 of us will be going for a BG i dont want to waste a second having to unselect a person right at 8am. Is it possible to remove from the DL app then add back in after going for a BG?


----------



## Mathmagicland

I am seeing they are up to BG 111


----------



## ironband74

It would appear that at 8pm we're done for the day at BG 111.  All in all a good day for the attraction with only one extended period of downtime.  As many boarding groups processed as Saturday when hours were longer.


----------



## Vysecity

Varty Yo said:


> How do you remove person from the app? i have my 3 family memebers E ticket scanned into my phone but only 2 of us will be going for a BG i dont want to waste a second having to unselect a person right at 8am. Is it possible to remove from the DL app then add back in after going for a BG?



I found out I couldn't delete passes I put myself as being the owner/ responsible for. Had wife open an account and I added  the same tickets to her account and she was able to delete them right there on the Disneyland app


----------



## Varty Yo

Vysecity said:


> I found out I couldn't delete passes I put myself as being the owner/ responsible for. Had wife open an account and I added  the same tickets to her account and she was able to delete them right there on the Disneyland app



Ok so she just got the app then scanned her E ticket bar code then it said it was linked to another account then just deleted the one on yours?


----------



## Ferrellcon

Yep 111 was the last boarding call. Not a bad day considering the shorter hours. Lets see if they improve even more throughout the week.


----------



## theluckyrabbit

SOCALMouseMommy said:


> We had to cancel. My son is sick. Current plan is to try again next week. In the meantime, I’m going to keep “playing at home” to get familiar with the process. Today I was able to get a red button from home.


Oh, no! Hope the birthday boy feels better soon! Maybe this is a sort of blessing in disguise? You get more time to practice on the app and it allows more time for things to (hopefully!) calm down in the park.



DisneyDork1969 said:


> ...my BG got called at 8:05pm but I was at my Airbnb resting because I did not want to spend all day at the park just waiting for my turn...when I got the notice that it was my group's turn, I notice it said I only had 1 Hour to ride the attraction...I thought we had a 2 hour window??...did this change over the weekend?...so here I am rushing from my Airbnb back to the park to the attraction...


How far away were you when you got the notification? People have been wondering how far away they can be and still know when their BG is called.



aymiewilson said:


> Only thing I know is the little bit I saw in the last episode of The Imagineering Story.


We haven't even seen that yet because I don't want to see any spoilers!



Jaina said:


> I have stayed away from any videos or descriptions too. Reading ALL the tips and tricks and hoping things work out for us either Friday or Saturday this week!


So looking forward to reading about your experience with this! Good luck!



hiroMYhero said:


> ...
> Close out all windows running in the background on your phone....


Silly, non-techie question: How do I know if I've done this on an iPhone? The obvious windows are easy to close, but how can I know if there is something possibly still running that I don't see?



supercarrie said:


> ... My mom had the SoCal resident ticket and they did NOT take her photo, but did ask for proof of residency, which slowed things down. She has bought this ticket for several years now, and never had a CM actually check at the entrance, since they verify online or at the ticket booth, but I digress. I showed it on my phone, and the CM insisted on seeing my mom's DL - *so anyone using these tickets, just be prepared*. They did take her photo later in the day, when we hopped over to DCA...


Very good warning for those using then SoCal Resident Promo Tickets! For those using the promo tickets, have your ID ready at the turnstiles!


----------



## ZCarroll

Varty Yo said:


> Ok so she just got the app then scanned her E ticket bar code then it said it was linked to another account then just deleted the one on yours?



I'm not the person you are asking however I have a similar situation where I cannot delete the other tickets and according to the CMs I talked to it could only be done over the phone with Disneyland tech support... found this out due to an issue we were having with my family not getting photopass or discounts with their APs.  However on my husband's Disneyland account he was able to delete linked tickets. That is not an option on my account.


----------



## corgi_monster

I just got home from a quick trip to DL and thought I'd share  our experience with obtaining a a Boarding Group on Saturday, January 18. 

- We checked into the DL hotel at about 5:30am and was told that the system doesn't "come up" until 6am so he couldn't attach a credit card to our room.  He asked if it was ok if he wrote down our credit card # on a notepad so that he could add it to our room at 6am.  We said ok and received our room keys. 

- No line at security

- Got to esplanade at about 6:15 and we were about 15th in line for EMH.  The line for regular entry was halfway between the monorail beam and CA adventure.

- Gates opened a little before 7am.  Not sure if everyone was let in or just EMH/MM people, but I *think* it was everyone.  EMH/MM people were being directed towards Fantasyland where cast members checked our room key.  Not sure how they handled MM guests.

- At about 7:40am we joined about 150-200 people waiting to get into SWGE at the Fantasyland gate.  A cast member was posted at the gate and asking everyone if they knew about the Boarding Group procedure.  Speedtests on T-Mobile were clocking in around 30-40 mbps.  Verizon hotspot was clocking in at about 4-6mbps.  Disney Wifi was about the same as T-Mobile.  Speeds are constantly changing so this info won't be valid at any other moment in time - the point is that you should keep checking your Internet speed. 

- 7:55am-ish Cast members opened the gate and everyone walked over to MFSR.  We continued to run speed tests as we walked.  T-mobile was clocking in anywhere from 40-100mpbs right outside the entrance to MFSR.  We got into the que but stopped just before entering the building, speed test still clocking in at just under 100mbps. 

7:59:50am - People are counting down in unison . . . gotta love Disney fans!

8:00am - Husband secured boarding group 51 using an iphone Xr.  My iphone 7 took FOREVER to load the app. I have no idea what BG I would have gotten, but I feel like it would have been a backup group even though I did everything "right".  

Misc. Notes: 

- The woman next to me had a LIGHTING fast phone.  I'm pretty sure I clicked on my app before she did and hers loaded in a fraction of a second.  I could see her clicking through the boarding group process as I stared at the Disney blue screen of death.  She got Boarding Group 10.  I didn't get a chance to ask her what model phone she was using, but judging from the large size and how thin it was I'm guessing it is a new or new-ish model. 

- I think the time it takes for your phone to load the app is more important than how quickly you click.  To better your odds, I would suggest shutting down and restarting your phone around 7:40am.  Turn off anything running in the background and try to free up your phone processor as much as possible.

- There are apps that will show you where the cell phone towers are located.  If you're getting really bad reception and speeds, it may help if you maneuver to an area that's covered by a different tower.  I'm not sure if that's how the whole cell phone connectivity thing works, but I don't think it could hurt either. 

- Cast members scanned bar codes for EVERY single person entering the ride and being VERY strict.  Two cast members looked at our boarding passes before we could enter the que and a third castmember scanned our passes once we were in line.  There was a group of 8-10 people in front of me and all but one had a boarding group. They were arguing with a cast member saying the woman person had a boarding group in the morning but it somehow disappeared from her phone.   We took about 5 minutes to take pics, scan our boarding passes, etc. and the group was still arguing with the cast member when we entered the building.  I have no idea what the end result was. 

- I overheard A LOT of cast members explaining the BG throughout the day, and not just in GE.

- Overall, I felt the crowds were very light for a Saturday.  The MaxPass system went down for about 30 minutes that morning, but we were able to secure FP+ for everything we wanted, including TSMM, Guardians, Indy, Thunder Mountain, etc.  At about 8:30pm there were only about 10 people total at Pacific Wharf Cafe and absolutely no lines at the other eateries.  The line for blue milk and green milk seemed to be 2-5 people deep whenever we walked by.  We walked up to Main Street 10 minutes before Mix Magic began and got a great view.  It was a wonderful contrast to our January 2019 trip to WDW during "slow" season!

- And finally, PRACTICE!  Make sure your BG party is formed and you are all linked.  People were scanning their ticket bar codes a few seconds after 8am and I was like


----------



## theluckyrabbit

corgi_monster said:


> ...
> - Cast members scanned bar codes for EVERY single person entering the ride and being VERY strict.  Two cast members looked at our boarding passes before we could enter the que and a third castmember scanned our passes once we were in line.  There was a group of 8-10 people in front of me and all but one had a boarding group. They were arguing with a cast member saying the woman person had a boarding group in the morning but it somehow disappeared from her phone.   We took about 5 minutes to take pics, scan our boarding passes, etc. and the group was still arguing with the cast member when we entered the building.  I have no idea what the end result was...


Thank you for the detailed report! Good reminder about the woman who said her BG disappeared from her phone. Someone earlier in this thread mentioned being saved by having a screenshot of their boarding pass when the original did indeed disappear for who knows what reason. So, if you do get a BG, take a screen shot or a photo as a backup to prove that you really have it! After all the trouble you have to go through to get it, the last thing you want is to lose it!


----------



## B3rlingirl

theluckyrabbit said:


> Thank you for the detailed report! Good reminder about the woman who said her BG disappeared from her phone. Someone earlier in this thread mentioned being saved by having a screenshot of their boarding pass when the original did indeed disappear for who knows what reason. So, if you do get a BG, take a screen shot or a photo as a backup to prove that you really have it! After all the trouble you have to go through to get it, the last thing you want is to lose it!


Yes, taking screenshots is a smart thing to do... I actually take a screenshot of every FP I get. It doesn’t take long and might save you some trouble. If it’s important I would always do a screenshot just in case. Just like taking the photo of your park ticket... better safe than sorry...

I love the thread and yesterday was the first day I was able to play along from home (I had to restart my iPhone to be able to click the “join boarding group” button...but I got through once before backups) though I hope boarding passes will be easier to obtain around thanksgiving (if I’ll be able to make a vacation).
It’s still fun to try it out and playing with the phone in the afternoon isn’t that sacrificing like at night like the Australians have to do...


----------



## Lewdannie

B3rlingirl said:


> like at night like the Australians have to do...


not night ... 3AM!
Inhuman


----------



## theluckyrabbit

B3rlingirl said:


> ... I love the thread and yesterday was the first day I was able to play along from home (I had to restart my iPhone to be able to click the “join boarding group” button...but I got through once before backups)...
> It’s still fun to try it out and playing with the phone in the afternoon isn’t that sacrificing like at night like the Australians have to do...


I love that DISers around the world are playing along from home!


----------



## theluckyrabbit

Lewdannie said:


> not night ... 3AM!
> Inhuman


It's pretty inhuman for those of us on PT who also are up at 3 AM! What is wrong with us?!


----------



## CastAStone

*The Chart*
Shoutout again to @dina444444 who did literally all of the work on this


----------



## CastAStone

CastAStone said:


> *The Chart*
> Shoutout again to @dina444444 who did literally all of the work on this
> View attachment 467161


Yesterday was by far the best day that the DL ROTR has had, both in terms of uptime but I think honestly more importantly in terms of throughput - when it was running, the BGs/hour were higher than the BGs/hour when it was running on other days.

Still a long way to go to catch up to WDW's speeds (or the supposed OHRC, which if I am understanding everything correctly would be something like 17 BGs/hour) but yesterday was a big improvement!


----------



## shannon006

I’ve read through many pages on this thread but didn’t see this question, so forgive me if this is repetitive. On a EMH day at DCA, if you have already scanned in your park hopper ticket, can you still attempt to join a BG if you are in DCA, or do you have to be in DL to do this ?


----------



## dukeybootie

Nothing new to add besides another data point. Got BG 1 (!) yesterday with the following:

-Waited by steps to train stop where I was getting full strength cell signals
-Google Pixel 2 XL (Android) on Verizon

I had to set up a new DL app account in order to delete linked APs so I didn't waste time unlinking people. For some unclear reason I also didn't have the "Delete" option using my original account.


----------



## CastAStone

shannon006 said:


> I’ve read through many pages on this thread but didn’t see this question, so forgive me if this is repetitive. On a EMH day at DCA, if you have already scanned in your park hopper ticket, can you still attempt to join a BG if you are in DCA, or do you have to be in DL to do this ?


No one has tested this to my knowledge but the consensus here is that DCA will not suffice, you HAVE to scan into DL.


----------



## Mathmagicland

shannon006 said:


> I’ve read through many pages on this thread but didn’t see this question, so forgive me if this is repetitive. On a EMH day at DCA, if you have already scanned in your park hopper ticket, can you still attempt to join a BG if you are in DCA, or do you have to be in DL to do this ?


Someone tested this over the weekend - you have to be scanned into DL to try for a BG.  Only scanned into DCA did not work. 

 No one has yet tried scanning in to DL and then into DCA, to see if it works with any scan or if DL has to be the latest Scan,  I plan to test this on Sunday if no one else has done so before then.


----------



## Etonduf

Mathmagicland said:


> Someone tested this over the weekend - you have to be scanned into DL to try for a BG.  Only scanned into DCA did not work.
> 
> No one has yet tried scanning in to DL and then into DCA, to see if it works with any scan or if DL has to be the latest Scan,  I plan to test this on Sunday if no one else has done so before then.



Yes, that would be a great data point: does scanning into DCA *after* scanning into DLR negate your status for getting a BG? I'm really curious to know but don't blame anyone who doesn't want to be the guinea pig and risk losing their shot.


----------



## Mathmagicland

Etonduf said:


> Yes, that would be a great data point: does scanning into DCA *after* scanning into DLR negate your status for getting a BG? I'm really curious to know but don't blame anyone who doesn't want to be the guinea pig and risk losing their shot.


I’m staying at GC, and Sunday will be my third day there, plus I am AP, so it is not quite as much of a risk for me to test.  And I’ll have MM to DCA to be able to use that entrance & bypass any longer DCA lines. I’m also curious!


----------



## Malcon10t

theluckyrabbit said:


> How far away were you when you got the notification? People have been wondering how far away they can be and still know when their BG is called.


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




> Silly, non-techie question: How do I know if I've done this on an iPhone? The obvious windows are easy to close, but how can I know if there is something possibly still running that I don't see?


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.


----------



## Susie63

I have a question. If you use the fp? machine does it give you a boarding group for everyone in your party or is it a single bg like a fp.


----------



## BigOHawk

Great info in thread, thanks! Will be there in mid March, hopefully crowds, ride reliability, etc improve so we can have a good shot to ride this! So, if the published opening time is say, 9 a.m. (No MM or EMH hours), does DL ever open or begin riding rides at say 8:50 similar to WDW? This would certainly impact your timing with the app and RotR.
Also, what app or setting do you use for your clock on phone to show the "seconds" as well so I can time this appropriately? I'm thinking having the app open, tickets linked and hitting "Find Out More" exactly at 9 a.m. should give me a good chance, I have Verizon and a Galaxy phone so will avoid WIFI and large crowds that day. TIA...


----------



## Susie63

Also, when is the best time to return for your bg. At the start or at the end of your return time?


----------



## wench

Wow, I didn’t check the boards for few days & this forum went from 36 pages to 109.  So, I’m not reading all of that, but here are my ROTR experiences if it helps anyone.  Friday the 17th, we got BG 71 & were called up somewhere around 5:00 or 5:15.  

On Saturday the 18th we got BG 17, but I can’t remember exactly what time we were called.  I know we got in the queue about 9:20ish.  So, I think it was about 9:00, or maybe a few minutes earlier.  

Lastly, on Sunday the 19th we were BG 14.  We were called up right about 9:35.  It took us a bit of time to get over there as we were at breakfast.  When we arrived the ride was down.  Being that it was day 3 we had sore feet & had already accomplished most of what we wanted in the parks.  As such, we decided to sit on the wall across from the ride & wait for it to reopen, as did several other guests.  There was a very loud, rather rude CM who kept yelling at everyone to leave.  Saying the ride would be down upwards of an hour or two & we had to go do other things.  The repeated use of the words “had to” pushed all my buttons in the wrong way & ensured there was no chance that I was leaving that wall until I could queue up.  At one point after screaming to the crowd in general he walked right over to me & asked if I had heard what he said.  I simply replied yes & went back to what I was doing.  Having screamed in front of us 30 times or so at this point we had obviously heard him & simply chose to stay.  As did everyone else on the wall.

I didn’t keep track of the time, but I think it was about an hour & a half until the ride came back up.  We got in the queue & had almost made it to the first show area when it broke down again.  Everyone immediately sat down on the benches & floor & they let us wait.  At some point they handed out free chips & water to everyone.  It was probably about an hour wait & then the ride came back up.

As to getting a BG in the 1st place, my best advice is this.  A few minutes before 8:00, force your app closed & restart it.  Then despite all temptations, just wait on the home page.  The instant the time on your phone changes to 8:00, click the “find out more” button & then the “join boarding group”.  

Good luck everyone!


----------



## BigOHawk

BigOHawk said:


> Great info in thread, thanks! Will be there in mid March, hopefully crowds, ride reliability, etc improve so we can have a good shot to ride this! So, if the published opening time is say, 9 a.m. (No MM or EMH hours), does DL ever open or begin riding rides at say 8:50 similar to WDW? This would certainly impact your timing with the app and RotR.
> Also, what app or setting do you use for your clock on phone to show the "seconds" as well so I can time this appropriately? I'm thinking having the app open, tickets linked and hitting "Find Out More" exactly at 9 a.m. should give me a good chance, I have Verizon and a Galaxy phone so will avoid WIFI and large crowds that day. TIA...


I found the option for seconds...if it helps anyone else with Samsung and/or Galaxy it is a "single" tap on the clock on the 2nd lock screen to display seconds, thanks!


----------



## Mathmagicland

Susie63 said:


> I have a question. If you use the fp? machine does it give you a boarding group for everyone in your party or is it a single bg like a fp.


ISomeone commented earlier they saw a guy scan 8 tickets in the machine in less than a minute and get BGs for all of them. So appears to be single, as the BG is tied to an activated ticket.


----------



## hiroMYhero

theluckyrabbit said:


> Silly, non-techie question: How do I know if I've done this on an iPhone? The obvious windows are easy to close, but how can I know if there is something possibly still running that I don't see?


In addition to ‘swiping out’ any apps that you have opened, you can also turn off ‘Background App Refresh’ in Settings for apps where you don’t need the app constantly updating. 

Example: I have the MLB app to purchase game tickets but because it isn’t baseball season, I have ‘Background App Refresh’ turned off. Same for the WDW app - we just completed our ‘last’ visit so I don’t need to check it. 

It may seem excessive but because CM DD was blocked out of Studios, we only had 1 day using gifted Comp tickets to ride RotR...and we did!


----------



## bwvBound

corgi_monster said:


> 8:00am - Husband secured boarding group 51 using an iphone Xr.  My iphone 7 took FOREVER to load the app. I have no idea what BG I would have gotten, but I feel like it would have been a backup group even though I did everything "right".


FWIW, I got BG 41 for party of 2 on Saturday, 1/18, on an iPhone 6S on T-Mo.  My husband's iPhone 8, on AT&T, stalled out with a comm error.  We were located off Main Street near First Aid.  

Yes, yes, yes! to all your notes on rebooting the phone, closing apps and turning off any thing "not needed."  Pare down any unnecessary distractions for the poor phone and let it do its work!


----------



## Gaugersaurus

Varty Yo said:


> How do you remove person from the app? i have my 3 family memebers E ticket scanned into my phone but only 2 of us will be going for a BG i dont want to waste a second having to unselect a person right at 8am. Is it possible to remove from the DL app then add back in after going for a BG?



If you're the ticket "owner" (person responsible for the tickets) you cannot delete them from the app but guest services can remove/make them able to be deleted. If you're not the "owner" you should have a delete ticket option in the My Tickets section of the DLR app. If all 3 people will be in the park it wouldn't hurt to just book a BG for all 3. If not you can scan the tickets for those who will be in the park onto a different Disneyland account.


----------



## bwvBound

dukeybootie said:


> Nothing new to add besides another data point. Got BG 1 (!) yesterday


I hope you took a screen capture of that great score.  Might want to print it, frame it and hang it proudly among your Disney collections.  Well done!


----------



## Susie63

Mathmagicland said:


> ISomeone commented earlier they saw a guy scan 8 tickets in the machine in less than a minute and get BGs for all of them. So appears to be single, as the BG is tied to an activated ticket.


I wonder if were all the same bg as it seems so random. Maybe the machines have sequential bg's.


----------



## ckb_nc

corgi_monster said:


> I just got home from a quick trip to DL and thought I'd share  our experience with obtaining a a Boarding Group on Saturday, January 18.
> 
> - We checked into the DL hotel at about 5:30am and was told that the system doesn't "come up" until 6am so he couldn't attach a credit card to our room.  He asked if it was ok if he wrote down our credit card # on a notepad so that he could add it to our room at 6am.  We said ok and received our room keys.
> 
> - No line at security
> 
> - Got to esplanade at about 6:15 and we were about 15th in line for EMH.  The line for regular entry was halfway between the monorail beam and CA adventure.
> 
> - Gates opened a little before 7am.  Not sure if everyone was let in or just EMH/MM people, but I *think* it was everyone.  EMH/MM people were being directed towards Fantasyland where cast members checked our room key.  Not sure how they handled MM guests.
> 
> - At about 7:40am we joined about 150-200 people waiting to get into SWGE at the Fantasyland gate.  A cast member was posted at the gate and asking everyone if they knew about the Boarding Group procedure.  Speedtests on T-Mobile were clocking in around 30-40 mbps.  Verizon hotspot was clocking in at about 4-6mbps.  Disney Wifi was about the same as T-Mobile.  Speeds are constantly changing so this info won't be valid at any other moment in time - the point is that you should keep checking your Internet speed.
> 
> - 7:55am-ish Cast members opened the gate and everyone walked over to MFSR.  We continued to run speed tests as we walked.  T-mobile was clocking in anywhere from 40-100mpbs right outside the entrance to MFSR.  We got into the que but stopped just before entering the building, speed test still clocking in at just under 100mbps.
> 
> 7:59:50am - People are counting down in unison . . . gotta love Disney fans!
> 
> 8:00am - Husband secured boarding group 51 using an iphone Xr.  My iphone 7 took FOREVER to load the app. I have no idea what BG I would have gotten, but I feel like it would have been a backup group even though I did everything "right".
> 
> Misc. Notes:
> 
> - The woman next to me had a LIGHTING fast phone.  I'm pretty sure I clicked on my app before she did and hers loaded in a fraction of a second.  I could see her clicking through the boarding group process as I stared at the Disney blue screen of death.  She got Boarding Group 10.  I didn't get a chance to ask her what model phone she was using, but judging from the large size and how thin it was I'm guessing it is a new or new-ish model.
> 
> - I think the time it takes for your phone to load the app is more important than how quickly you click.  To better your odds, I would suggest shutting down and restarting your phone around 7:40am.  Turn off anything running in the background and try to free up your phone processor as much as possible.
> 
> - There are apps that will show you where the cell phone towers are located.  If you're getting really bad reception and speeds, it may help if you maneuver to an area that's covered by a different tower.  I'm not sure if that's how the whole cell phone connectivity thing works, but I don't think it could hurt either.
> 
> - Cast members scanned bar codes for EVERY single person entering the ride and being VERY strict.  Two cast members looked at our boarding passes before we could enter the que and a third castmember scanned our passes once we were in line.  There was a group of 8-10 people in front of me and all but one had a boarding group. They were arguing with a cast member saying the woman person had a boarding group in the morning but it somehow disappeared from her phone.   We took about 5 minutes to take pics, scan our boarding passes, etc. and the group was still arguing with the cast member when we entered the building.  I have no idea what the end result was.
> 
> - I overheard A LOT of cast members explaining the BG throughout the day, and not just in GE.
> 
> - Overall, I felt the crowds were very light for a Saturday.  The MaxPass system went down for about 30 minutes that morning, but we were able to secure FP+ for everything we wanted, including TSMM, Guardians, Indy, Thunder Mountain, etc.  At about 8:30pm there were only about 10 people total at Pacific Wharf Cafe and absolutely no lines at the other eateries.  The line for blue milk and green milk seemed to be 2-5 people deep whenever we walked by.  We walked up to Main Street 10 minutes before Mix Magic began and got a great view.  It was a wonderful contrast to our January 2019 trip to WDW during "slow" season!
> 
> - And finally, PRACTICE!  Make sure your BG party is formed and you are all linked.  People were scanning their ticket bar codes a few seconds after 8am and I was like


 We hit TSMM right after getting out BG and Pixar Pier was completely empty as the crowd was in CarsLand.


----------



## Skyegirl1999

Susie63 said:


> Also, when is the best time to return for your bg. At the start or at the end of your return time?


I mean, I’d go as soon as you can get there - we went at the start of our return time, and an hour later, the ride broke down... I was glad we’d gone before that!


----------



## cuteinnocent

I have friends' annual passes in my account which I cannot delete. They said they need to call in to get removed from my account - their pass info controls which accounts they are linked to. Ugh!


----------



## SOCALMouseMommy

cuteinnocent said:


> I have friends' annual passes in my account which I cannot delete. They said they need to call in to get removed from my account - their pass info controls which accounts they are linked to. Ugh!


Weird, I deleted my linked friends with no issues!


----------



## ironband74

Good luck to anyone in the park trying for a BG today.  May the force be with you!


----------



## Benjl1993

Playing at home in the UK, I got several attempts at a BG today before getting the backup notice at about 45 seconds in.


----------



## katyringo

Benjl1993 said:


> Playing at home in the UK, I got several attempts at a BG today before getting the backup notice at about 45 seconds in.


 Me too.
I did however have to restart the app. My bottom doesn’t turn red from the find out more button


----------



## aymiewilson

For those keeping track, I played along at home today. Had the nice orange "Join Boarding Group" button available and it wasn't until 9:01:23 that I click it and got the "you are joining a back up boarding group" option.


----------



## Cherryb

Regular boarding groups gone at 9:01. I still get the backups.


----------



## Benjl1993

Showing as boarding group 1 already. Interesting


----------



## BigOHawk

If you play along at home, how can you tell if would've gotten a regular or backup BG? Does the verbiage on the page look different or blank vs. the text on the app that says "we are sorry, but all have been distributed for today..only backup groups, etc, etc."


----------



## Pickles2000

Back up groups still available at 9:06 and they already have started boarding. Good sign!


----------



## Eighty8Keys

Mathmagicland said:


> Someone tested this over the weekend - you have to be scanned into DL to try for a BG.  Only scanned into DCA did not work.
> 
> No one has yet tried scanning in to DL and then into DCA, to see if it works with any scan or if DL has to be the latest Scan,  I plan to test this on Sunday if no one else has done so before then.


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.


----------



## EyeOnDisnsey

WOAH 6 mins of Backup and counting - I said WOAAAH out loud when we got to 8:04!


----------



## Jenis

BigOHawk said:


> If you play along at home, how can you tell if would've gotten a regular or backup BG? Does the verbiage on the page look different or blank vs. the text on the app that says "we are sorry, but all have been distributed for today..only backup groups, etc, etc."


 You get a pop up telling you


----------



## aymiewilson

BigOHawk said:


> If you play along at home, how can you tell if would've gotten a regular or backup BG? Does the verbiage on the page look different or blank vs. the text on the app that says "we are sorry, but all have been distributed for today..only backup groups, etc, etc."


When you click "Join Boarding Group" you will get a little pop up telling you that you're joining a backup boarding group. If you don't get a pop up, then you're in a regular BG.


----------



## aymiewilson

EyeOnDisnsey said:


> WOAH 6 mins of Backup and counting - I said WOAAAH out loud when we got to 8:04!


 
9 mins of backup and counting!


----------



## BigOHawk

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?


----------



## Arianabtd

Played along at home today! I'm visiting next week and have been soaking up all the information from this thread   
I got a bunch of attempts before the popup.


----------



## Katniss Mellark

I’ve been practicing at home for a couple of days.  Everything worked fine until today.  It said my tickets aren’t linked, even though they were linked.  I had to try it a few times before the app recognized my tickets. Yikes! I hope it won’t be a problem after I actually scan into the park. I made my husband practice today too, and his button wouldn’t turn red for a long time. He had to toggle back and forth for almost a minute.  I’m already so stressed about this and I’m not even going until April


----------



## Jkpark

Note I'm playing at home.  Yesterday I had the app open but went back to the home screen. with two seconds to go I re-launched the app and hit Find Out More and couldn't join a boarding group without closing and reopening the app. My husband was sitting in the open app on the home page, and when it turned 9am, he hit Find Out More and watched the grey turn orange to join a boarding group. So today I tried that and it didn't work on my phone. I still had to close and reopen the app. Strange as we have the same phone and the same carrier. I'll update my app again - maybe he did his update after me or something? I have a few more trial days before Sunday. The good news is my app opened quickly enough both days that I was able to get original boarding group and not a backup. I am playing with all other apps closed and my phone on DND. I'm afraid my sister will call right then to ask if I got a boarding group. And our backup groups still available at 10:11 - they must be issuing more today, right?


----------



## JWelch62

aymiewilson said:


> 9 mins of backup and counting!


Still available at 9:10 AND they're calling the first BGs already.


----------



## shleaz

Playing along at home, still able to join a backup as of 9:12am!


----------



## BigOHawk

aymiewilson said:


> When you click "Join Boarding Group" you will get a little pop up telling you that you're joining a backup boarding group. If you don't get a pop up, then you're in a regular BG.


Ok, thanks, haven't seen a popup either way. I click "Find Out More," then red "Join Boarding Group," then it goes  to "Create Your Party", then "Join Boarding Group," then "Oops, Not So Fast...You are not in the Park." Where in there would you see the popup or can't you do that from home since you'll need to be in Park? Thanks for all the info!


----------



## EyeOnDisnsey

aymiewilson said:


> 9 mins of backup and counting!


 Make that 11!! Woah!


----------



## Susie63

10:11 and still get back up


----------



## aymiewilson

BigOHawk said:


> Ok, thanks, haven't seen a popup either way. I click "Find Out More," then red "Join Boarding Group," then it goes  to "Create Your Party", then "Join Boarding Group," then "Oops, Not So Fast...You are not in the Park." Where in there would you see the popup or can't you do that from home since you'll need to be in Park? Thanks for all the info!



I don't have my tickets linked yet, so I get an additional screen before "Create Your Party" asking me to link tickets. I have been getting the pop up right after I click "join boarding group." It loads on top of the "Link Your Tickets" page, which for you would likely be the "Create Your Party" page


----------



## brightlined

"Hey, guys, do you think anyone would notice if we offered, like, 150 backup BGs?"


----------



## CastAStone

BigOHawk said:


> 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?


We will know what number once the backups run out. There’s a chart a 3 or 4 pages back with all the number details


----------



## KPeterso

9:15 AM and still getting the back up boarding group message! Wow!


----------



## EyeOnDisnsey

Wednesday operations crew has Boss mode well and truly activated! Already boarding 1-9!


----------



## Abbey1

I’m feeling so much more confident about getting to ride tomorrow after seeing how long the backup groups lasted today and how many groups they got through yesterday.  Thanks to everyone who has been sharing their experiences!


----------



## NorthernCalMom

Backup boarding groups still available at 9:18 according to my phone. Now I’m getting suspicious... Maybe they simply give out an unlimited number of backup groups today to keep people happy & hopeful?


----------



## EmJ

9:22 and for the first time I just tried to see if I can get a red button from home. YES!


----------



## mamapenguin

9:22, playing from home could have gotten a back up boarding group. (I was distracted at 9:00 & didn’t try.)


----------



## ironband74

Either the crowds are low, or they are upping the capacity today.  It's a good sign that we're already at BG 13 at 9:22 AM.


----------



## EyeOnDisnsey

Is anyone else starting to think that they forgot to stop distributing backup BGs at this point??


----------



## EmJ

NorthernCalMom said:


> Backup boarding groups still available at 9:18 according to my phone. Now I’m getting suspicious... Maybe they simply give out an unlimited number of backup groups today to keep people happy & hopeful?


It is curious.... DL has been conservative with its boarding group estimates so far, but this is such a major departure it feels like a policy change. 9:25 and backups still available.


----------



## EmJ

EyeOnDisnsey said:


> Is anyone else starting to think that they forgot to stop distributing backup BGs at this point??


“DANG IT, CARL! You forgot to flip the off switch!!”


----------



## brightlined

It might be a situation where there were, say, 100 BGs worth of people at 9:00am. I mean, at this point, if I arrived at 9:15 or 9:30, I might not even pull my phone out to look. (And, right now, if you arrive after 9am, it's likely you're not there for ROTR.)


----------



## Skyegirl1999

Wednesday morning crowds at DL are usually the lowest of the week - people likely aren’t ARRIVING shortly after 9.   They were either there for rope drop to try for ROTR, or they’re coming later. 

So if there’s only 10,000 there, they’d run through regular groups right away, but no one’s showing up to finish off the back-up groups, you know?


----------



## Skyegirl1999

brightlined said:


> It might be a situation where there were, say, 100 BGs worth of people at 9:00am. I mean, at this point, if I arrived at 9:15 or 9:30, I might not even pull my phone out to look. (And, right now, if you arrive after 9am, it's likely you're not there for ROTR.)


This is basically exactly what I was typing up when you posted...


----------



## Ferrellcon

I am surprised that backup boarding groups are still available 30 minutes after park opening. What numbers are people getting at this time that are considered backup?


----------



## PixieT78

Option still there for me for backups....though I'm having regular issues with my app not letting me sign in.  Any suggestions?  Tells me my password is wrong (it isn't) and also won't send me the notification to reset.  Then sometimes it just logs me in.  Time still until my trip but worried!!


----------



## EmJ

brightlined said:


> It might be a situation where there were, say, 100 BGs worth of people at 9:00am. I mean, at this point, if I arrived at 9:15 or 9:30, I might not even pull my phone out to look. (And, if you arrive at 9am, it's likely you're there for ROTR.)


Could they be increasing capacity too? Like, if there were 40 ride vehicles in circulation before, they upped to 50? I’m making these numbers up, btw, but it could be something they’re trying to increase throughout while still keeping the number of primary BGs low in case it goes badly.


----------



## Jung-li

Since friday when they started the bg process my app has to double load every time I click on it. Like it tries to load once then refreshes itself to load again. I'm at home with good data and wi-fi but old phone. It's not a big deal but definitely a noticeable difference in app performance for me.


----------



## ironband74

This morning's play at home approach was to open the app at 8:59, and then hit the "find out more" button a moment before 9:00.  I was greeted by red button and proceeded to back out of the app and back in.

Regular boarding passes were gone by 9:01:10
As of 9:30, backups are still being distributed.
They started calling BGs at 9:05 with number 1, which was really weird to see on the screen along with a red button.
And they've steadily called them and we're up to 1-15 already.

Looking at Twitter I'm not seeing much disappointment.


----------



## EmJ

ironband74 said:


> This morning's play at home approach was to open the app at 8:59, and then hit the "find out more" button a moment before 9:00.  I was greeted by red button and proceeded to back out of the app and back in.
> 
> Regular boarding passes were gone by 9:01:10
> As of 9:30, backups are still being distributed.
> They started calling BGs at 9:05 with number 1, which was really weird to see on the screen along with a red button.
> And they've steadily called them and we're up to 1-15 already.
> 
> Looking at Twitter I'm not seeing much disappointment.


Any word on how high the backup BG numbers are going?


----------



## ironband74

EmJ said:


> Could they be increasing capacity too? Like, if there were 40 ride vehicles in circulation before, they upped to 50? I’m making these numbers up, btw, but it could be something they’re trying to increase throughout while still keeping the number of primary BGs low in case it goes badly.


Definitely possible that they are unlocking capacity that was previously locked to ensure smooth ops.  I don't want to give any spoilers, but we are talking a little about it in the spoiler thread.  Suffice to say that there are a certain number of pre-show rooms, and they were not all being utilized over the weekend.

When the backups are gone and we see what the max "regular" group number is, that may give us an idea.


----------



## aymiewilson

Trying to curb my enthusiasm/hope that this scenario will still play out this saturday, sunday and/or monday so I can ride it 3 times


----------



## Abbey1

I notice the app doesn’t currently have the statement about which boarding groups are guaranteed today. Does that only show up after the backup groups have run out?


----------



## ironband74

Abbey1 said:


> I notice the app doesn’t currently have the statement about which boarding groups are guaranteed today. Does that only show up after the backup groups have run out?


Yes.  So far on social I haven't seen any backup group numbers - highest regular I saw posted was 55.


----------



## hiroMYhero

Eighty8Keys said:


> 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.


@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.


----------



## Skyegirl1999

I think the backups group lasting longer says a lot more about park attendance than ride capacity.  I very strongly doubt that they’re releasing more BGs (or more capacity in general) given that they’ve yet to get through all distributed backup groups in a day

Wednesdays can be reaaaal empty, friends. It’s a Wednesday in January. I got there last Wednesday around 3:30, and both parks were crazy-dead, almost immediate FPs available for everything but the top three or four rides.

Also, it was a 9am opening, so people who were going to spend their day at DL had plenty of time to get in before opening.

So, I think the number of people in the park is simply hovering in the “backup group” range, which makes total sense on a Wednesday morning.  There was still enough demand to kill the regular BGs in a minute.  There just aren’t bodies in the park to fill up the backups.


----------



## CastAStone

hiroMYhero said:


> @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.


Are you a DL mod now?


----------



## Skyegirl1999

Abbey1 said:


> I notice the app doesn’t currently have the statement about which boarding groups are guaranteed today. Does that only show up after the backup groups have run out?


Yes.


----------



## Abbey1

Looks like backup groups are gone now.


----------



## ironband74

Yeah, my button just greyed out.


----------



## CastAStone

Abbey1 said:


> Looks like backup groups are gone now.


Almost an hour. Wait times so far make it look like today will be a 2/10 crowds day at the highest.


----------



## ironband74

71 is the first backup group.

They've already called 1-17


----------



## Ferrellcon

So it took almost an hour after opening to fill up on backup boarding groups on a Wednesday. Now i know what day of the week I should go.


----------



## SeaDis

CastAStone said:


> *The Chart*
> Shoutout again to @dina444444 who did literally all of the work on this
> View attachment 467161



Amazing data, thank you @dina444444

FreshBaked made an FAQ video after day 2, and suggested something that I think proves true after 3 more days of data.  They thought the DL gates were opened early when the lines started approaching the DCA gates; to prevent the end of the lines from being an obvious mess and blocking DCA gates.

So this applies to the question "will they continue to open gates xxx mins early?"  It just depends on esplanade crowds any given day.  For now, people may need to judge based on crowd levels during their visit.


----------



## ironband74

I'd say @Skyegirl1999  has the right analysis.  I would love to know what the highest BG distributed was today.


----------



## CaliforniaGirl09

Eighty8Keys said:


> 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 a fabulous DP!!! Thanks so much for posting. We will probably do the same on Saturday/Sunday.



Katniss Mellark said:


> I’ve been practicing at home for a couple of days.  Everything worked fine until today.  It said my tickets aren’t linked, even though they were linked.  I had to try it a few times before the app recognized my tickets. Yikes! I hope it won’t be a problem after I actually scan into the park. I made my husband practice today too, and his button wouldn’t turn red for a long time. He had to toggle back and forth for almost a minute.  I’m already so stressed about this and I’m not even going until April


That happened to me when playing at home a few days ago. It was the same day the MaxPass system had a problem. The work around was to try to make a FP selection BEFORE the boarding groups open if possible and/or check to make your tickets are all showing up when you are in the park. 

Great news about backup boarding groups lasting so long, I hope they get through a lot of them today


----------



## montreid

Sounds like surge mass in AM still but the overall number of people are a lot lower.
With a cut off of 70 for regular, the are minimizing recovery situations at end of day so the time to run out of regulars is skewed compared to other days with this.  Still.   70 secs for 70 groups tells about the right tale on people trying right at drop.   

The really good sign are backups lasting a lot longer 

As capacity ramps up the regular groups #s cutoff will increase too (WDW at 80 regular today as comparison).  

Great news about hopping over to DCA after checking in on DL side keeps the status as in park to allow for those with EMH there to enjoy.


----------



## DLRExpert

At park now.
They are creating additional queue space before you scan your Boarding Group Passes.

So my guess is more people per BG number.

ME


----------



## Mathmagicland

Eighty8Keys said:


> 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.


Thank you!


----------



## Skyegirl1999

DLRExpert said:


> At park now.
> They are creating additional queue space before you scan your Boarding Group Passes.
> 
> So my guess is more people per BG number.
> 
> ME


They’ve also called 17 groups.  So I don’t know that it’s more people per BG as much as mire BG at once.

I’m so hopeful that today will be the day that everyone in the park at rope drop gets to ride!!!  And with an earlier closing time, it’s not like anyone’s waiting around for 14 hours only to end up with the group after the cut off.  This looks very promising!


----------



## ironband74

They stopped calling groups for a period of about 25 minutes.  Not sure if that was due to a minor breakdown, or just because they called so many groups up front and got a little front loaded.  The extra queue space suggests that may have been the situation.  Seems like they are back at about a BG every 5 minutes, though (up to 20 now!)


----------



## hiroMYhero

CastAStone said:


> Are you a DL mod now?


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.


----------



## CastAStone

DLRExpert said:


> At park now.
> They are creating additional queue space before you scan your Boarding Group Passes.
> 
> So my guess is more people per BG number.
> 
> ME





Skyegirl1999 said:


> They’ve also called 17 groups.  So I don’t know that it’s more people per BG as much as mire BG at once.
> 
> I’m so hopeful that today will be the day that everyone in the park at rope drop gets to ride!!!  And with an earlier closing time, it’s not like anyone’s waiting around for 14 hours only to end up with the group after the cut off.  This looks very promising!


I would be surprised if they adjusted the size of the BGs. Not saying they definitely wouldn't or didn't, but I can't see any reason for them to bother.


----------



## twodogs

I think they must have increased the number of back up BGs issued today.  I don't see much downside to it from Disney's standpoint.  They have less guests screaming at GS as to why they couldn't even get a back up BG after the first 2 minutes of park opening!   And if they don't get to your back up group, too bad for you.  Disney doesn't give you any recovery (although I'm not sure we even know what recovery they would give at DLR since they have gotten through all the regular groups so far, just barely some days, as I recall) if your back up BG is not called.  So they could just offer back ups endlessly and then just get to whichever number they can, as long as the get through all the regular groups.  Psychologically, would guests feel better getting a back up group and having hope all day (but still not getting to ride), versus getting shut out right at park opening and being mad all day??


----------



## vickiea

twodogs said:


> I think they must have increased the number of back up BGs issued today.  I don't see much downside to it from Disney's standpoint.  They have less guests screaming at GS as to why they couldn't even get a back up BG after the first 2 minutes of park opening!   And if they don't get to your back up group, too bad for you.  Disney doesn't give you any recovery (although I'm not sure we even know what recovery they would give at DLR since they have gotten through all the regular groups so far, just barely some days, as I recall) if your back up BG is not called.  So they could just offer back ups endlessly and then just get to whichever number they can, as long as the get through all the regular groups.  Psychologically, would guests feel better getting a back up group and having hope all day (but still not getting to ride), versus getting shut out right at park opening and being mad all day??



That's a really good point. I know I would feel better knowing I had a 'chance' with a backup group, versus no chance at all.

I'll be there in 2 weeks so I'm hoping these slower weekdays continue to provide backup BG's for longer, and hoepfully even spread the main BG's over a few more minutes.


----------



## Eighty8Keys

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.


----------



## Skyegirl1999

Just heard from a friend who’s been in the parks every day except Saturday since the ride opened.

Her impression is that they didn’t increase anything; she says there were just way less people around this morning.  She said people were still getting groups around 100 “awhile after the park opened” (she does not time things the way some of us would appreciate  ).  She already rode it a bit ago.  She says “everyone is way happier around here than they have been,” which is exciting to hear!


----------



## Rich M

Did I read correctly that even though the park is open to midnight they are shutting the ride down earlier?


----------



## EyeOnDisnsey

Within two and a half hours of park opening they are already up to BG 32 - almost half of the original BG for today! They are aiming super low to avoid compensating guests (logic) but hope plenty of backups will be called today!


----------



## Tylerrog94

They have almost caught up to WDW for the day. Are BG's out here smaller or we just running a little quicker?


----------



## StarGirl11

Tylerrog94 said:


> They have almost caught up to WDW for the day. Are BG's out here smaller or we just running a little quicker?



Well WDW appears to be down judging by the small amount of BGs they are currently calling. So I would put it more on the rides down then anything else.

Though the BGs do appear to be smaller out here normally at the moment


----------



## dina444444

StarGirl11 said:


> Well WDW appears to be down judging by the small amount of BGs they are currently calling. So I would put it more on the rides down then anything else.
> 
> Though the BGs do appear to be smaller out here normally at the moment


WDW has been down most of the day.


----------



## ironband74

Rich M said:


> Did I read correctly that even though the park is open to midnight they are shutting the ride down earlier?


On the days when the park is open until midnight, they seem to stop calling between 8:30pm and 9:00pm.  This is presumably because they need to shut the ride down by 10:00 for overnight maintenance and reset.

Yesterday was the first day not open until midnight, and they stopped calling at 8:00pm.  Presumably so that everyone called would be on the ride by 9:00pm at close.


----------



## VandVsmama

Skyegirl1999 said:


> Just heard from a friend who’s been in the parks every day except Saturday since the ride opened.
> 
> Her impression is that they didn’t increase anything; she says there were just way less people around this morning.  She said people were still getting groups around 100 “awhile after the park opened” (she does not time things the way some of us would appreciate  ).  She already rode it a bit ago.  She says “everyone is way happier around here than they have been,” which is exciting to hear!



Given that right now (11:45 am Pacific time), the wait time on Space Mtn is 30 minutes, I think your friend is right.  There's fewer people there today...which means fewer people vying for a boarding group.  That, in turn, means the backup boarding group assignments take longer before they run out.


----------



## montreid

Rich M said:


> Did I read correctly that even though the park is open to midnight they are shutting the ride down earlier?


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.


----------



## montreid

VandVsmama said:


> Given that right now (11:45 am Pacific time), the wait time on Space Mtn is 30 minutes, I think your friend is right.  There's fewer people there today...which means fewer people vying for a boarding group.  That, in turn, means the backup boarding group assignments take longer before they run out.


Consistent with the time to BG 70 still at 70secs to cover the initial surge and backup BG lasting a lot longer as the total AM group size becomes more manageable.   

So as they ramp up the throughput capacity (riders/hour) and efficiency (less breakdowns), the regular BG amount should go up and guaranteed riders lasting past the 2minute mark.  If they last 3+ minutes for regular BG, most people should be fine about that with backup groups lasting 30+minutes.     That's reasonable for initial operations for a few months IMHO.


----------



## DisneyDork1969

> DisneyDork1969 said:
> ...my BG got called at 8:05pm but I was at my Airbnb resting because I did not want to spend all day at the park just waiting for my turn...when I got the notice that it was my group's turn, I notice it said I only had 1 Hour to ride the attraction...I thought we had a 2 hour window??...did this change over the weekend?...so here I am rushing from my Airbnb back to the park to the attraction...


          How far away were you when you got the notification? People have been wondering how far away they can be and still know when their BG is called. 

I was about 2.7 miles from DL, a good 10 min drive from the park...


----------



## DisneyDork1969

jxhide said:


> How do you refresh the app?



By bouncing back and forth from the main screen on the app to the "join boarding group" page and waiting for the button to light up....


----------



## Ferrellcon

There are on group 29-50. Just 20 more groups till they start calling the backups.


----------



## MonocularVision

DisneyDork1969 said:


> How far away were you when you got the notification? People have been wondering how far away they can be and still know when their BG is called.
> 
> I was about 2.7 miles from DL, a good 10 min drive from the park...



The notification is coming via your data connection. You could be in Maine and as long as you have Internet you will get the notification.


----------



## CastAStone

Tylerrog94 said:


> Are BG's out here smaller or we just running a little quicker?


Comparing the BG/hour reported here to TouringPlans counts of riders exiting the ride/hr, it would appear both parks are using a BG size of either 100 or just below.


----------



## montreid

CastAStone said:


> Comparing the BG/hour reported here to TouringPlans counts of riders exiting the ride/hr, it would appear both parks are using a BG size of either 100 or just below.


Yeah - agree  -  ~100 sounds right and consistent for both parks. Shouldn't be different as would expect using the same base code on it right?

WDW had some down time this morning, but back up again with a good BG spread like DLR of 20.   WDW was really humming yesterday evening with a spread closer to mid 30s at one point after a huge delay in the AM.


----------



## loves to dive

We were in boarding group 31 today and got called around 1:30.  The man in line in front of us said he was in group 10 and it went down this morning, he was given an any time FP.  Came back twice and it was down and CMs told him to shoot for boarding group 30.   We  got there about 10 min. after our boarding group was called, waited in line about 30 or 40 min. to get to the first room and that went down.  We stood there with nothing going on until a CM opened the door and told us to just move on, we also moved right through the next room and onto the ride.  No glitches in the ride after we actually got on it.  We were off by 2:34 or 40.   We were at the park around 6:15 this morning, cold as all heck, let in at 6:30 and 7 am on the dot both my son and I were on MDE trying for boarding groups, he was on 4G I was on internet.  I got the group at about 7:02 am.


----------



## JWelch62

loves to dive said:


> We were in boarding group 31 today and got called around 1:30.  The man in line in front of us said he was in group 10 and it went down this morning, he was given an any time FP.  Came back twice and it was down and CMs told him to shoot for boarding group 30.   We  got there about 10 min. after our boarding group was called, waited in line about 30 or 40 min. to get to the first room and that went down.  We stood there with nothing going on until a CM opened the door and told us to just move on, we also moved right through the next room and onto the ride.  No glitches in the ride after we actually got on it.  We were off by 2:34 or 40.   We were at the park around 6:15 this morning, cold as all heck, let in at 6:30 and 7 am on the dot both my son and I were on MDE trying for boarding groups, he was on 4G I was on internet.  I got the group at about 7:02 am.


I gather you are referring to WDW?


----------



## Skyegirl1999

loves to dive said:


> We were in boarding group 31 today and got called around 1:30.  The man in line in front of us said he was in group 10 and it went down this morning, he was given an any time FP.  Came back twice and it was down and CMs told him to shoot for boarding group 30.   We  got there about 10 min. after our boarding group was called, waited in line about 30 or 40 min. to get to the first room and that went down.  We stood there with nothing going on until a CM opened the door and told us to just move on, we also moved right through the next room and onto the ride.  No glitches in the ride after we actually got on it.  We were off by 2:34 or 40.   We were at the park around 6:15 this morning, cold as all heck, let in at 6:30 and 7 am on the dot both my son and I were on MDE trying for boarding groups, he was on 4G I was on internet.  I got the group at about 7:02 am.


I think you’re on the wrong board; this is the Disneyland ROTR thread.


----------



## Ferrellcon

Both parks have hit 61 groups so far. Not bad at all for Disneyland. Its only a little after 2pm.


----------



## Skyegirl1999

DL just went down, someone live-streamed getting walked off and getting a FP eight minutes ago on IG.


----------



## EmJ

Skyegirl1999 said:


> DL just went down, someone live-streamed getting walked off and getting a FP eight minutes ago on IG.


It’s been an amazing day for the ride so far though!


----------



## jfk4

loves to dive said:


> The man in line in front of us said he was in group 10 and it went down this morning, he was given an any time FP.



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.   I made it partway through and the ride went down.   We were eventually escorted off and given the All Experience FastPass.   I was actually pretty happy about being evac'ed; I got to see the first half of the attraction twice on the same day.

Incidentally, one needs to be careful not to use the All Experience pass for anything except ROTR (unless of course you choose not to ride it).    I always get paranoid whenever I receive one of these and worry that I'm going to accidentally expend it on the wrong attraction.   This seems like a real concern for those with MaxPass, since it seems like you could accidentally expend it by showing up at an attraction at the wrong time.  I generally just use my park pass to scan in rather explicitly redeem the FastPasses, so I don't think there is any safeguard preventing this.


----------



## Ferrellcon

Skyegirl1999 said:


> DL just went down, someone live-streamed getting walked off and getting a FP eight minutes ago on IG.


Oh thats a shame. Still its true its been a great day for Disneyland. Park closes at 9 and they are under 10 groups away till they start calling backups and its only 2:32


----------



## Tylerrog94

Have we figured out an avg downtime yet? Like how long it takes to get back up and running?


----------



## CaliforniaGirl09

queso2992 said:


> This is supposed to be a No Spoilers board! I believe some of the things you said count as spoilers! Can you cover them with the spoilers tag or edit them out?



You beat me to it. I was just going to ask @jfk4 to do the same thing


----------



## jedimdes

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


----------



## JWelch62

Tylerrog94 said:


> Have we figured out an avg downtime yet? Like how long it takes to get back up and running?


Looking at the Thrill Ride data from the past few days it appears that 90 minutes is about the time it takes to get it back up and running.


----------



## ShellB

So bummed, the ride went down at 2pm and still hasn’t come back up.


----------



## ZCarroll

jfk4 said:


> Incidentally, one needs to be careful not to use the All Experience pass for anything except ROTR (unless of course you choose not to ride it).    I always get paranoid whenever I receive one of these and worry that I'm going to accidentally expend it on the wrong attraction.   This seems like a real concern for those with MaxPass, since it seems like you could accidentally expend it by showing up at an attraction at the wrong time.  I generally just use my park pass to scan in rather explicitly redeem the FastPasses, so I don't think there is any safeguard preventing this.



Seems like you would have to use the app to scan in rather than your ticket to avoid that?


----------



## twodogs

jfk4 said:


> Incidentally, one needs to be careful not to use the All Experience pass for anything except ROTR (unless of course you choose not to ride it).    I always get paranoid whenever I receive one of these and worry that I'm going to accidentally expend it on the wrong attraction.   This seems like a real concern for those with MaxPass, since it seems like you could accidentally expend it by showing up at an attraction at the wrong time.  I generally just use my park pass to scan in rather explicitly redeem the FastPasses, so I don't think there is any safeguard preventing this.


The way to avoid accidentally using a ME FP is to scan into the ride for which you have a regular FP by using that actual digital FP in the app for that specific ride.  Do not use your park ticket or pass to scan in!!!  You never know how the Disney IT might prioritize your ME FP and your regular ride FP if you just scan your ticket at the FP machine and hope for the best...


----------



## Tinkerbell19672

CaliforniaGirl09 said:


> You beat me to it. I was just going to ask @jfk4 to do the same thing



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


----------



## Erin M

Tinkerbell19672 said:


> 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!


----------



## Blue32

NO SPOILERS PLEASE


----------



## LilyJC

Just found a Disneyland App update today for bug fixes. I have an iPhone and am clueless about other phones... Hoping this helps rid the app of the massive glitches I’ve been experiencing for about a week (including getting the “something went wrong” notice while trying for a BG on Saturday)!


----------



## ironband74

Looks like it's back up!


----------



## Captainkidd76

I'm sure it's been mentioned, but if the park opens at 9:00 and we're there for EMH, does it help to already be in the park?


----------



## ShellB

JWelch62 said:


> Looking at the Thrill Ride data from the past few days it appears that 90 minutes is about the time it takes to get it back up and running.


 I think you’re right. I went to the ride and immediately it broke and they stopped letting people in. The told me to come back. I looked at my watch and it was 2pm. I went back an hour later and the ride came back up at 3:30.


----------



## dina444444

Captainkidd76 said:


> I'm sure it's been mentioned, but if the park opens at 9:00 and we're there for EMH, does it help to already be in the park?


You have to to have entered the park to join a boarding group when they open.


----------



## Varty Yo

EMH will not help in anything to get a BG. Getting into the park before opening time is not an issue at all.


----------



## jfk4

queso2992 said:


> This is supposed to be a No Spoilers board! I believe some of the things you said count as spoilers! Can you cover them with the spoilers tag or edit them out?



My apologies.  I've updated my post.


----------



## Captainkidd76

The whole process is kind of crazy, but I think it actually works better for tourists than locals. We're coming from Boston so we'll get (hopefully) a boarding group and then spend the whole day enjoying the park. Worst case, we have a 5 minute walk back to our hotel. We can just head back when our group is called. Plus, we'll be there for 7 days. I can see both of those scenarios being less than ideal for locals.


----------



## ironband74

It's been a rough afternoon for the Resistance.


----------



## Ferrellcon

ironband74 said:


> It's been a rough afternoon for the Resistance.


Apparently it has. Its still on 66.


----------



## montreid

Both parks


----------



## dina444444

montreid said:


> Both parks


WDW only got through groups 10-79 today. If Disneyland comes back online they will beat DHS.


----------



## Ferrellcon

Oh they didn't even get to 80 groups. Not a good day at all for Disneyworld.


----------



## montreid

dina444444 said:


> WDW only got through groups 10-79 today. If Disneyland comes back online they will beat DHS.


You brought the gremlins back to WDW I see


----------



## Etonduf

Varty Yo said:


> EMH will not help in anything to get a BG. Getting into the park before opening time is not an issue at all.



I don't know if this is the right context for the question, but there was a suggestion earlier in the thread that people who only cared about ROTR and not the extra time in the park could go camp out at a manual BG distribution spot to get one without relying on a phone. The theory is that the only *guaranteed *way to get a BG is to be first in line at those distribution stations.


----------



## dina444444

montreid said:


> You brought the gremlins back to WDW I see


Well the gremlins have let me get on both days lol


----------



## smartlabelprint

DLgal said:


> No luck for me on a brand new Galaxy S10, with 5 bars of signal.
> 
> I launched the app right at 8, and my buttons never turned red at all. I never even had the option. Button was greyed out with "loading" showing. The My Status button wasn't even red. I tried refreshing, closing and relaunching. Nothing. I'm pissed and my son was practically in tears saying "the phone is not working" while everyone around us was cheering.
> 
> I calmed him down and we got in line to renew his DAS. The CM asked if we got a BG and I told her what happened. She said it happens to a lot of people and the system is a complete crapshoot. She told me this BG system won't be in place very long. She said it should go straight standby sooner rather than later. She then hooked us up with an earlier return time for MFSR since we had such a disappointing morning so far.
> 
> We will try again Tuesday but I don't know what else we can do if my phone/app just decides to hang up again. I'm the only one with a phone. I followed all the advice I've read about how to optimize my chances, but when the app is unresponsive, that all goes out the window.


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.


----------



## SOCALMouseMommy

smartlabelprint said:


> 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.


I’m OK with the system too. From a different perspective but sort of similar, you only have to be 40 inches to ride but if there is no fastpass I can’t imagine how many 3-5 year olds would be able to wait in a massive standby line. So they would just be out of luck.


----------



## smartlabelprint

SOCALMouseMommy said:


> I’m OK with the system too. From a different perspective but sort of similar, you only have to be 40 inches to ride but if there is no fastpass I can’t imagine how many 3-5 year olds would be able to wait in a massive standby line. So they would just be out of luck.


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


----------



## cm123

Big yikes for ROTR reliability today.


----------



## EmJ

cm123 said:


> Big yikes for ROTR reliability today.


It was going so well, and then 2:00 happened    It looks like it's back up now though. It seems like they'll get through the 70 primary groups, but the high hopes for backup groups has faded for sure.


----------



## twodogs

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


----------



## Pickles2000

Up to 70, so looks like the guaranteed groups are good at least but I was hoping for a record number of backup groups the way the morning went.


----------



## socaldisneylover

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?


----------



## Ferrellcon

Does anyone know how long the ride was down today?


----------



## EmJ

Ferrellcon said:


> Does anyone know how long the ride was down today?


Almost continuously from 2:00 until after 6:00. There was a brief period around 2:45 when it looked like it might be up, but... no. https://www.thrill-data.com/waits/attraction/disneyland/starwarsriseoftheresistance/


----------



## Malcon10t

smartlabelprint said:


> 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


My granddaughter was a thrill seeker, any ride, any time, each new ride was "Best ride ever"...She rode BTMRR and Space Mountain at 2.5 years.  At 4.5 she was on Screamin'.  My grandson on the other hand is 4.  He announced mid ride on BTMRR "This was a bad decision"....  Rides are too fast.  He is a strange child as he loves Goofy's Sky Skool, and the swings, and hates Space and BTMRR. He tolerates MFSR. We managed to get him on Star Tours by saying it is a show.  He kind of liked it.  So, we will be using "It's a show" for ROTR.


----------



## smartlabelprint

Malcon10t said:


> My granddaughter was a thrill seeker, any ride, any time, each new ride was "Best ride ever"...She rode BTMRR and Space Mountain at 2.5 years.  At 4.5 she was on Screamin'.  My grandson on the other hand is 4.  He announced mid ride on BTMRR "This was a bad decision"....  Rides are too fast.  He is a strange child as he loves Goofy's Sky Skool, and the swings, and hates Space and BTMRR. He tolerates MFSR. We managed to get him on Star Tours by saying it is a show.  He kind of liked it.  So, we will be using "It's a show" for ROTR.


“This was a bad decision”. 

Thanks for sharing your experience with littles.


----------



## PixieT78

LilyJC said:


> Just found a Disneyland App update today for bug fixes. I have an iPhone and am clueless about other phones... Hoping this helps rid the app of the massive glitches I’ve been experiencing for about a week (including getting the “something went wrong” notice while trying for a BG on Saturday)!



ah thanks!  I’d tried to see a few days ago if there was one.  Fingers crossed this does the trick for me too!


----------



## ironband74

Ferrellcon said:


> Apparently it has. Its still on 66.









Ferrellcon said:


> Apparently it has. Its still on 66.


----------



## dina444444

We’ve made it to 85. Not sure if they will call anymore groups with the park closing in 1.5 hours.


----------



## bluecruiser

Now that the post with spoilers has been edited, could @queso2992 please edit their post that quoted the original spoiler post?


----------



## baozi

Depends on the nature of the problem. 
Does failure ever happen? Definitely, look at Boeing 737 MAX...
But most of the time, if it is a corner case in the system, or a preventable accident caused by the user, for sure over time it will improve.
If it is a fundamental problem, then probably something will happen. In the history there were cases where an attraction was closed shortly (I do not remember, maybe within 2 years?) after opening. 



socaldisneylover said:


> 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?


----------



## StarGirl11

smartlabelprint said:


> 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.



You do realize as long as there's a standby you can get a return time right? I've gotten multiple reutrn times for Smuggler's Run. Which ya know *doesn't *have a fastpass.  I've actually ridden it not once but _four times _without once standing in the standby line. You can't get a return time for RotR since the ride has no traditional standby. My point is if your kids qualify for DAS (which I'm guessing so if they have a sensory issue) then if they had a standby you would just go get a return time instead of trying to grab a boarding group. So your kids wouldn't have to wait in line. They would just go get a return time and then once it comes up you go through the fastpass queue. Which yes that does exist.


----------



## SOCALMouseMommy

smartlabelprint said:


> 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


Yes adults could trade off... but what about the little ones who want to ride? I don’t care how amazing the ride is, I think most 3-5 year old simply don’t have the capacity to wait for hours. Fast pass is key for the littles!

So my guy, who just turned 5 loves Star Wars  but gets rattled by rides that are too “bumpy” (Star Tours, BTMRR). He was torn on MF:SR. He loved the whole experience but it was a touch intense for him. I haven’t gotten him back on since the one ride. I’m hoping ROTR will be good for him! We’ll see!


----------



## smartlabelprint

StarGirl11 said:


> You do realize as long as there's a standby you can get a return time right? I've gotten multiple reutrn times for Smuggler's Run. Which ya know *doesn't *have a fastpass.  I've actually ridden it not once but _four times _without once standing in the standby line. You can't get a return time for RotR since the ride has no traditional standby. My point is if your kids qualify for DAS (which I'm guessing so if they have a sensory issue) then if they had a standby you would just go get a return time instead of trying to grab a boarding group. So your kids wouldn't have to wait in line. They would just go get a return time and then once it comes up you go through the fastpass queue. Which yes that does exist.


Yes. It just “clicked” For me.


----------



## HydroGuy

BigOHawk said:


> Great info in thread, thanks! Will be there in mid March, hopefully crowds, ride reliability, etc improve so we can have a good shot to ride this! *So, if the published opening time is say, 9 a.m. (No MM or EMH hours), does DL ever open or begin riding rides at say 8:50 similar to WDW*? This would certainly impact your timing with the app and RotR.


At DL and DCA, no - with one exception - not sure if DCA still does this - but often Soarin opens 15-30 minutes early. That is it.


----------



## smartlabelprint

DLgal said:


> I don't know why they didn't just do this from the beginning. Have an option on the app to "click for your chance to be entered into the boarding group lottery" once you scan into the park. Have it be a popup notification. Then, people who are interested can do that, and once the park opens, you get another popup letting you know if you "won" or not. It seems that would be a much smaller burden on their system and will allow for people to truly have a fair shot. Provide kiosks in the entrance plaza for people without the app.


How would they know they won without the app?


----------



## smartlabelprint

socaldisneylover said:


> 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

smartlabelprint said:


> 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

hiroMYhero said:


> @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

vharris2828 said:


> 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

DznyPrnces said:


> 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

socaldisneylover said:


> 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

Mike_M said:


> 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

Malcon10t said:


> 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

Eighty8Keys said:


> 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.



BigOHawk said:


> 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.



hiroMYhero said:


> @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!



hiroMYhero said:


> 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! 



Eighty8Keys said:


> 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!



montreid said:


> 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

jfk4 said:


> 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:



jedimdes said:


> 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





Tinkerbell19672 said:


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





Erin M said:


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





Blue32 said:


> NO SPOILERS PLEASE


----------



## theluckyrabbit

smartlabelprint said:


> 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

twodogs said:


> @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

smartlabelprint said:


> 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

theluckyrabbit said:


> 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

smartlabelprint said:


> 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

smartlabelprint said:


> 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).


----------



## CastAStone

Star Wars fans:
News this morning that Millennium Falcon Smugglers Run is moving to FP+ at *Hollywood Studios *2/19, I think it’s safe to assume that a change is coming at Disneyland shortly as well, as the ride is actually less popular here.

Edit: Clarifying that what I mean is that the ride has _shorter average wait times_ at DL.


----------



## dina444444

CastAStone said:


> Star Wars fans:
> News this morning that Millennium Falcon Smugglers Run is moving to FP+ at *Hollywood Studios *2/19, I think it’s safe to assume that a change is coming at Disneyland shortly as well, as the ride is actually less popular here.


I don’t think it’s necessarily less popular it’s just competing with several other headliner attractions for crowds at rope drop.


----------



## Blue32

dina444444 said:


> I don’t think it’s necessarily less popular it’s just competing with several other headliner attractions for crowds at rope drop.


But it probably is less popular


----------



## VandVsmama

socaldisneylover said:


> 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.



I would encourage park guests or future park guests who are upset with the current boarding group method to consider contacting Disney directly in order to voice their concerns.  Call Disneyland.  Send them an email.  Do both.  If boarding groups are still underway for ROTR the next time you go to DL, stop at City Hall and provide some in person feedback as well.

With everything these days as a consumer, you have to go into things with a little "Buyer Beware!"  Consider this example as food for thought.  Last year, a chain of movie theaters in our area switched over to the "reserve a specific seat ahead of time" method instead of the previous seating configuration in which it was every man, woman, and child for themselves.

With the previous seating assignment method, if you wanted to be sure that you got to sit in a certain part of the movie theater, then you know what you did?  You get there early enough to get the seat you want.  That's how it was for years.  If you show up last minute or late?  you get what's left and you don't get upset.

So imagine my surprise when one day, we went to our local movie theater to see a movie and suddenly now you have to actually pick your seats.  Only now the only seats that are left have a horrible view (way in front and way off to the side).  Oh my gosh, no thanks!  Forget it.

I was annoyed.  Was I mad at the movie theater?  Well, no.  I COULD have chosen to be mad at them for their "false advertising" by not putting all sorts of disclaimers in TV, newspaper, and online ads...for not shouting it on the rooftops that their ticketing system had changed.  I was irritated that one time.  And then I adjusted and we saw the movie another time.

The same applies to this boarding group thing at Disneyland, in my opinion.  

Consider, also, how many people go to WDW each year and do zero planning ahead of time.  That's fine. It's a free country.  In WDW online and TV ads, they do not include all sorts of disclaimers about stuff like:

Hey! If you want to eat at a TS restaurant, like Be Our Guest, you better reserve 6 months ahead of time or you're out of luck!
Hey, kids! Don't forget to tell Mom & Dad that they can book FP+ 2 months ahead of time!
Hiya folks!  Don't forget that all of the food & merchandise here is expensive!
Don't forget that buses from Art of Animation & Pop Century resorts now only go to HS & Epcot once an hour when the Skyliner is running!
Yet every year, thousands of people travel to WDW thinking they've got it covered by booking airfare, hotel, and buying their tickets ahead of time.  Thousands of people go to DL & WDW thinking that FP is something you have to pay for.  None of THAT is in the advertising either.  Neither is the boarding group info.

Heck, some people don't even know there's a smart phone app you can use to check wait times.

Google and Yahoo are everyone's friends and all it takes is a simple online search on just about any electronic device for ANY park guest to do <5 min of research ahead of time to find out a TEENY bit of info about ROTR boarding groups...which would increase their odds of getting a boarding group.  Disney has made the information available on their website, in Disney Parks Blogs posts, on social media, on the DL & WDW apps, etc.

If a guest chooses to not do any homework ahead of time, that is NOT Disney's problem.


----------



## Mike_M

socaldisneylover said:


> 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.



Yes there was still the standby line for RSR, and some people had to have seen that as an option or else there wouldnt have been a line at all otherwise. Other people or families though may have seen a line that long as not an option and therefore scoring a FP was the only way they were going to attempt it.

What I mean with the comparison is that the guests that do the research always have a better experience than the ones that just roll up whenever, expecting everything to be open to everyone. That hasn’t been a sound strategy at any theme park for years now. You can’t please everyone and there will always be people who get left out for one reason or another. That’s why sites like this exist. We share our experience so that others can have the same good time we did.

I personally believe that Disney is putting it out there the best they can. The app clearly puts info on the front page about BGs. Last weekend, they had cast members walking through the lines that were forming prior to opening the gates, passing out pamphlets with the process for acquiring a BG to everyone, setting expectations for how fast they were running out, and answering any other questions the best they could. The moment BGs were filled up, signs were placed all over the park letting guests know there were no more BGs avaliable. The information is out there. Guests just need to do the work of getting informed.


----------



## Version 6

Malcon10t said:


> My granddaughter was a thrill seeker, any ride, any time, each new ride was "Best ride ever"...She rode BTMRR and Space Mountain at 2.5 years.  At 4.5 she was on Screamin'.  My grandson on the other hand is 4.  He announced mid ride on BTMRR "This was a bad decision"....  Rides are too fast.  He is a strange child as he loves Goofy's Sky Skool, and the swings, and hates Space and BTMRR. He tolerates MFSR. We managed to get him on Star Tours by saying it is a show.  He kind of liked it.  So, we will be using "It's a show" for ROTR.



40 inches tall at 2.5 years old?? That is one massive 2 year old.


----------



## DLgal

Version 6 said:


> 40 inches tall at 2.5 years old?? That is one massive 2 year old.



It's tall, but not massive. My younger son was 40" right at 3. He has leveled off and is now in the 50th percentile for height as a teen. My older son is a shorty and even he was riding Matterhorn at 2 because it used to have a 35" height requirement.


----------



## DLgal

CastAStone said:


> Star Wars fans:
> News this morning that Millennium Falcon Smugglers Run is moving to FP+ at *Hollywood Studios *2/19, I think it’s safe to assume that a change is coming at Disneyland shortly as well, as the ride is actually less popular here.



This is an interesting turn of events. 

However, will FP+ START that day, or is that the day you can begin making FP+ advanced reservations (so the service will actually start March 19)?


----------



## hiroMYhero

DLgal said:


> This is an interesting turn of events.
> 
> However, will FP+ START that day, or is that the day you can begin making FP+ advanced reservations (so the service will actually start March 19)?


It’s live in the system on the 19th.

WDW guests are Modifying their FPs and holding FPs to ride MFSR on the 19th as their Tier 1.


----------



## DLgal

dina444444 said:


> I don’t think it’s necessarily less popular it’s just competing with several other headliner attractions for crowds at rope drop.



So yes, relatively speaking, it is less popular at Disneyland compared to its status at DHS.


----------



## DLgal

hiroMYhero said:


> It’s live in the system on the 19th.
> 
> WDW guests are Modifying their FPs and holding FPs to ride MFSR on the 19th as their Tier 1.



I'd still choose Slinky Dog Dash.


----------



## DLgal

There really isn't a need for FP at Disneyland for this ride, to be honest. With an average wait time of 40 minutes, it is efficient enough with just standby. It would be like adding FP to PotC.


----------



## ckb_nc

DLgal said:


> This is an interesting turn of events.
> 
> However, will FP+ START that day, or is that the day you can begin making FP+ advanced reservations (so the service will actually start March 19)?


 I just modified my FP+ for mid-March. What I saw was many guests swapping Slinky Dog for Smugglers. Snagged Slinky Dog FP+ that were not there prior to today.


----------



## DLgal

ckb_nc said:


> I just modified my FP+ for mid-March. What I saw was many guests swapping Slinky Dog for Smugglers. Snagged Slinky Dog FP+ that were not there prior to today.



Noyce.


----------



## Abbey1

Got to the esplanade right around 8. The security lines and turnstiles moved quickly. Currently waiting at rope drop to head over to SR. Keeping our fingers crossed we’ll be able to grab a guaranteed boarding group today!


----------



## CastAStone

*The Chart*


----------



## CastAStone

CastAStone said:


> *The Chart*
> View attachment 467409


Again all credit to this goes to @dina444444 !


----------



## EyeOnDisnsey

Abbey1 said:


> Got to the esplanade right around 8. The security lines and turnstiles moved quickly. Currently waiting at rope drop to head over to SR. Keeping our fingers crossed we’ll be able to grab a guaranteed boarding group today!


Im rooting for you! Let us know how it goes! MTFBWY


----------



## dina444444

Did it flip to backups at 9:01 or 9:02?


----------



## cm123

"Join Boarding Group" disabled after a minute or so today.

Clearly yesterday was buggy.


----------



## Erin M

I never got a notice for back ups, but it all went gray at 9:01. Until that time I was able to join regular boarding groups.  Just playing along from home though.


----------



## Mark_E

After about 45-50 seconds by the looks of it


----------



## Amunet

Boarding Group 36. Verizon on Galaxy S7 using 4g data. Was standing next to It's a Small World.


----------



## B3rlingirl

I played along from home... and could have grabbed a BP for a full minute... but not much more maybe 10 seconds... then the button greyed out and even with restarting the app I can’t get a backup BP... button remains grey...


----------



## Ferrellcon

It was gray when i checked at 9:02. Another fast day.


----------



## Katniss Mellark

dina444444 said:


> Did it flip to backups at 9:01 or 9:02?



I was practicing at home. I started getting the backup group message just before 9:01.


----------



## KPeterso

ckb_nc said:


> I just modified my FP+ for mid-March. What I saw was many guests swapping Slinky Dog for Smugglers. Snagged Slinky Dog FP+ that were not there prior to today.



My friend was not able to get a Slinky to match mine. i texted her this AM to tell her to try to get Slinky now!


----------



## Vysecity

Erin M said:


> I never got a notice for back ups, but it all went gray at 9:01. Until that time I was able to join regular boarding groups.  Just playing along from home though.


Exactly what happened to me


----------



## B3rlingirl

If they don’t release any backup groups today it’s certainly an interesting development... especially after yesterday...


----------



## Eighty8Keys

We’re sitting at Starbucks in DCA and just got BG10. Tried to do EMH at DL for the first time in 17 years but the lines seemed super long so we decided to leave after riding Alice.

ETA: We have iPhone 11 Pro Max’s with AT&T. This time we both used cellular data not the WiFi which seemed to be hit or miss at the time.


----------



## Rich M

What I like to see is that everyone who gets into the park has the same shot and it doesn't seem like there is a bunch of people waiting to get through security and missing out because of being in line at the gate.  We are going January 31st and February 1st and hoping to get on once.


----------



## Ferrellcon

They are a little more confident today. 81 and above are backup.


----------



## Rich M

Eighty8Keys said:


> We’re sitting at Starbucks in DCA and just got BG10. Tried to do EMH at DL for the first time in 17 years but the lines seemed super long so we decided to leave after riding Alice.



Wow. So you were able to join a boarding group inside CA?


----------



## Abbey1

EyeOnDisnsey said:


> Im rooting for you! Let us know how it goes! MTFBWY


Got group 34. It’s a Star Wars Miracle. Can’t wait. Thanks to everyone for their advice!


----------



## dina444444

Rich M said:


> Wow. So you were able to join a boarding group inside CA?


Someone confirmed yesterday that as long as you have scanned into Disneyland you can then go into dca and still get a group.


----------



## Rich M

dina444444 said:


> Someone confirmed yesterday that as long as you have scanned into Disneyland you can then go into dca and still get a group.



Great to know


----------



## B3rlingirl

Rich M said:


> Wow. So you were able to join a boarding group inside CA?


According to a report earlier in this thread  it’s not a problem to scan into DL first and than go to DCA afterwards... 
but one has to be scanned into DL that day to be able to get a BP


----------



## Eighty8Keys

Rich M said:


> Wow. So you were able to join a boarding group inside CA?


Only after scanning into DL first. We did this yesterday and got BG 8 so decided to try it again today.


----------



## B3rlingirl

Ferrellcon said:


> They are a little more confident today. 81 and above are backup.


Though the question is how many (if any)  backup boarding groups they released...


----------



## njchris

Ferrellcon said:


> They are a little more confident today. 81 and above are backup.


Did they even offer backup BGs? It seems when trying from home to see how fast it goes it never mentioned backup groups. It just greyed out after about a minute.  I thought it mentions backups after they've filled the non-backups.


----------



## Abbey1

njchris said:


> Did they even offer backup BGs? It seems when trying from home to see how fast it goes it never mentioned backup groups. It just greyed out after about a minute.  I thought it mentions backups after they've filled the non-backups.


I was in line behind a woman in SR who got group 90. So they did release some backup groups.


----------



## dina444444

njchris said:


> Did they even offer backup BGs? It seems when trying from home to see how fast it goes it never mentioned backup groups. It just greyed out after about a minute.  I thought it mentions backups after they've filled the non-backups.


I saw the back up groups notice after I helped a friend that’s in the park today get their group.


----------



## TitusPullo

Katniss Mellark said:


> I was practicing at home. I started getting the backup group message just before 9:01.


Same here.  I got in right at 9 practicing at home.  Then restarted the app and the second time I received the backup message and it was still before 9:01.


----------



## montreid

I does seem weird - doesn't look like Backup BGs offered.  Major overhaul ahead of weekend perhaps?


----------



## jenmiller114

Looks like they ran out of BGs at about 9:00:58.  Backup groups were gone around 9:07.


----------



## montreid

DLR:  still closed - cutoff at 80 ?backups -  

Meantime  WDW:  backup at 95 and already at 60 for today -- they are crushing it.


----------



## Ferrellcon

How would you feel if instead of offering backup groups at park opening they do it after the regular groups were called?


----------



## StarGirl11

Guess I should screenshotted it but I was playing along from home. The one time I went through it gave me the backup BG alert.


----------



## njchris

jenmiller114 said:


> Looks like they ran out of BGs at about 9:00:58.  Backup groups were gone around 9:07.


Weird, my app grayed out the join boarding group after a little over a minute.


----------



## Ferrellcon

montreid said:


> DLR:  still closed - cutoff at 80 ?backups -
> 
> Meantime  WDW:  backup at 95 and already at 60 for today -- they are crushing it.


It seems like wdw is making up for lost time lol. maybe disneyland will be able to be just as good one day.


----------



## Ferrellcon

njchris said:


> Weird, my app grayed out the join boarding group after a little over a minute.


Mine did too. No way it was available till 9:07


----------



## dina444444

montreid said:


> DLR:  still closed - cutoff at 80 ?backups -
> 
> Meantime  WDW:  backup at 95 and already at 60 for today -- they are crushing it.


It would be higher but they had about an hour or so of downtime earlier.


----------



## Kellina

ZCarroll said:


> I didn't actually see that (that the whole party needs to be there) from the first post myself... while it does say you can request to join the virtual queue after entering the park I'm not sure that in itself would explicitly exclude the possibility of creating a group with some members not scanned in the park even though that feels like the most likely assumption I can definitely understand that it might still be a question if just one person from a group needs to be there to request to join.




Glad I wasn't the only one who was unclear on this- it just says you have to be scanned in... It doesn't say "every member of your party must be present" in the first post anywhere. 

There may have been a possibility to create a group on the app and have ONE person scan in while the kids stay back at the hotel with the other parent and sleep! 

But alas...


----------



## mamapenguin

Ferrellcon said:


> How would you feel if instead of offering backup groups at park opening they do it after the regular groups were called?


I would not like that. I want to know in the beginning of the day and then go about my business. I would not want to have to stalk the app to try again later at some unknown time.


----------



## ohstarfish

Thanks to this thread we got a boarding group this morning! Being prepared and informed made the situation much less hectic than I had anticipated, so many MANY thanks to all.

-Left Tropicana at 8:28
-Security screen at 8:34
-Headed for the (short) non-MM/EMH lines to the right, scanned in at 8:40
-originally camped out to the right of the train station steps with great Speedtest results, but as more people entered the park we saw speeds get slower and slower (from 37mbps down/21 up to 14down/4up). Rebooting phone/closing apps didn’t improve performance.
-At 8:50 we made the decision to leave the park and find a place on the esplanade.
-Opened Disneyland app and then Atomic Clock app at 8:55
-At 8:59:59 exactly switched from clock app to Disneyland home screen, clicked “Find out more” and got BG 27! I was on T-Mobile with an iPhone XR. Husband’s boarding group button never turned red - he was on Samsung Galaxy Note 10+, also on T-Mobile. 

Now camped out in Starbucks with Americanos and egg bites — per the app the ride still hasn’t started boarding yet at 9:31am.


----------



## NorthernCalMom

smartlabelprint said:


> They could do standby instead of backup BG.


Given that there are a limited number of spots for standby, I predict that, as a result, people would come extremely early and camp out to snag one of those desired spots in the standby line. I would also expect a dangerous high speed stampede (regardless of how many cast members would caution against running)—unless they do the slow walking behind the rope thing they did for the Cars Land opening to minimize the initial RSR craziness.

From what I have seen on the Disneyworld site describing the policy & procedure experiments & tweaks they did there, they don’t appear to want people camping out at 4am, which is what I’d expect to happen. People who’d come after park opening would end up the same problems they have now, except that instead of no boarding groups left there’d be a maxed out, closed for further people standby lane with people standing there for hours (instead of, as they can do with the current system, go on other rides while waiting for their turn). Why on earth would anybody want that (besides maybe the small number of DAS people who would get to bypass the line).

I like the current boarding group system and hope that they will still use it when we visit in August. It doesn’t give me a guarantee (nothing is ever guaranteed at Disneyland, and rolling with the punches is part of the experience), but it would give me a decent chance (and I am saying that as the proud owner of an iPhone 5s with AT&T service—not exactly the racing horse of phones...). 

I would hate for it to become a lottery, because I tend to unfortunately do notoriously bad on those.  According to the OC Register, Disneyland has an average of 50,000 visitors per day. If I calculate the current 70 guaranteed boarding groups times (generously guesstimated) 100 persons per group, I end up with roughly 7000 ride slots (more if the ride doesn’t break down, as it currently tends to do every once in a while). That would, in a pure lottery, leave me with only a 14% chance at winning one of those spots, which strikes me as rather crummy odds. Even if there would be more than one lottery with chunks being raffled out & taking part in the earliest one and then again in all later ones would improve those odds (while other people doing the same and more people being in the park in the second half of the day would decrease them). Since the 50,000 is an a average & I’d be there in summer when kids are on break, my odds are likely to be lower than those of somebody who’s there at an off-season weekday.

The worst thing would of course be an advance lottery, similar to what they did for Galaxy’s Edge opening reservations, with a virtually unlimited number of people anywhere (including those not even in the park or not even planning to be in the park but simply entering for kicks) competing for the same limited number of spots.

Yeah, math!


----------



## jenmiller114

Ferrellcon said:


> Mine did too. No way it was available till 9:07



I am not at the park.  I was on the app and able to pull up a boarding group until almost 9:01 when it sent me to the backup menu.  I tried a few more times for backup and it kept working.   As I refreshed it at 9:07 it told me all backup groups were gone.  All I can tell you is what I experienced.


----------



## Ferrellcon

mamapenguin said:


> I would not like that. I want to know in the beginning of the day and then go about my business. I would not want to have to stalk the app to try again later at some unknown time.


What if they released groups at different times instead of all at once. One at park opening. One at like 12 and another at 4?


----------



## Ferrellcon

jenmiller114 said:


> I am not at the park.  I was on the app and able to pull up a boarding group until almost 9:01 when it sent me to the backup menu.  I tried a few more times for backup and it kept working.   As I refreshed it at 9:07 it told me all backup groups were gone.  All I can tell you is what I experienced.


Was the button grayed out for you? At 9:02 it was grayed out for me but still offering backup groups.


----------



## jenmiller114

Ferrellcon said:


> Was the button grayed out for you?


It was still red. It turned gray when the page changed to tell me they reached capacity.


----------



## Ferrellcon

jenmiller114 said:


> It was still red. It turned gray when the page changed to tell me they reached capacity.


Interesting. Maybe i needed to refresh my app.


----------



## B3rlingirl

jenmiller114 said:


> It was still red. It turned gray when the page changed to tell me they reached capacity.


It’s pretty weird that the app clearly didn’t behave in the same way for everyone...

and Disney clearly changed something from yesterday to today with the backup groups...


----------



## Ferrellcon

It looks like Disneyland is now boarding its at 10-22.


----------



## mamapenguin

Ferrellcon said:


> What if they released groups at different times instead of all at once. One at park opening. One at like 12 and another at 4?


Nope. I only want to go through that once. I don’t want to schedule my rides around BG drops. This trip we aren’t even doing dining reservations other than one for classic afternoon tea, because those get in the way and effect Maxpass choices.


----------



## vickiea

Ferrellcon said:


> Mine did too. No way it was available till 9:07


Mine was the same, nothing after 9:01.


----------



## Tinkerbell19672

ohstarfish said:


> Thanks to this thread we got a boarding group this morning! Being prepared and informed made the situation much less hectic than I had anticipated, so many MANY thanks to all.
> 
> -Left Tropicana at 8:28
> -Security screen at 8:34
> -Headed for the (short) non-MM/EMH lines to the right, scanned in at 8:40
> -originally camped out to the right of the train station steps with great Speedtest results, but as more people entered the park we saw speeds get slower and slower (from 37mbps down/21 up to 14down/4up). Rebooting phone/closing apps didn’t improve performance.
> -At 8:50 we made the decision to leave the park and find a place on the esplanade.
> -Opened Disneyland app and then Atomic Clock app at 8:55
> -At 8:59:59 exactly switched from clock app to Disneyland home screen, clicked “Find out more” and got BG 27! I was on TMobile with an iPhone XR. Husband’s boarding group button never turned red - he was on Samsung Galaxy Note 10+. Now camped out in Starbucks with Americanos and egg bites — per the app the ride still hasn’t started boarding yet at 9:31am.



Awesome thanks! DD has the same phone, were you on Disney WiFi?


----------



## twodogs

Since DLR is considered such a locals’ park, I wonder how long locals are going to tolerate not riding this ride if you aren’t there at RD?  I envisioned locals dropping by after work for a few hours, and that would definitely not let them ride ROTR under the current system.  I wonder if they will eventually use BGs like a sort of rolling time FP, and also allow a SB line for those who didn’t get a BG at RD or those that show up after RD and want to ride it.  This would possibly keep people from lining up at the gates at 3am to try to be at the front of a SB line since all early birds would be able to (hopefully when things die down) get a BG without arriving super early.  Then those that arrive later could do SB.  But BG line would get priority over SB line like the currently do with FP and SB lines.  Just a thought...


----------



## CaliforniaGirl09

B3rlingirl said:


> and Disney clearly changed something from yesterday to today with the backup groups...


Yep, feels like something yesterday was a fluke. I wonder if they had a lot of upset people having issues so many backup BGs and barely getting to any of them.


----------



## KPeterso

jenmiller114 said:


> Looks like they ran out of BGs at about 9:00:58.  Backup groups were gone around 9:07.



Very interesting. Got busy at work and did not go into the app until 9:04 and the Join Boarding group button was already grayed out for me. Sure looked like they were all gone before that time to me and for many others on the thread too.


----------



## Rich M

CaliforniaGirl09 said:


> Yep, feels like something yesterday was a fluke. I wonder if they had a lot of upset people having issues so many backup BGs and barely getting to any of them.



If you are given a back up and don't get to ride then you have no reason to be upset IMO.  That's why it's a back up.


----------



## south park

For the ATT people - BG 74 on iPhone 11 Pro Max. At the Red Rose Tavern. Opened the App at 9:00.


----------



## Ferrellcon

KPeterso said:


> Very interesting. Got busy at work and did not go into the app until 9:04 and the Join Boarding group button was already grayed out for me. Sure looked like they were all gone before that time to me and for many others on the thread too.



Maybe they were talking about disneyworld? I could see them running out by 9:07 am eastern. Anyone else able to see a red join button after 9:01?


----------



## dina444444

Ferrellcon said:


> Maybe they were talking about disneyworld? I could see them running out by 9:07 am eastern.


Disney world ran out of guaranteed groups in 1/2 min this morning. Backups were around for an hour-ish after that


----------



## Ferrellcon

dina444444 said:


> Disney world ran out of guaranteed groups in 1/2 min this morning. Backups were around for an hour-ish after that


An hour wow! Is that normal occurrence for Disneyworld?


----------



## nutshell

Disney’s website for the ride discusses the virtual queue. So anyone claiming Disney is keeping it a secret until guests enter the park are wrong.


----------



## Ferrellcon

nutshell said:


> Disney’s website for the ride discusses the virtual queue. So anyone claiming Disney is keeping it a secret until guests enter the park are wrong.


Disneyland blog reported it before the ride opened to the public as well.


----------



## Malcon10t

Version 6 said:


> 40 inches tall at 2.5 years old?? That is one massive 2 year old.


She is big, she just turned 9 last week. She wears a women's small (or a 14 slim) and a size 8 women's shoe, na dis 5' tall.  She passed the 52" mark to ride solo on Autopia before she was 7, but even now, we have her ride with an adult still.  She does do single rider (that was her birthday wish when she was 7) and has no fears still.


----------



## crystal1313

I was busy at work too and didn't get to try until 9:05 and the button was grey at that point.


----------



## dina444444

Ferrellcon said:


> An hour wow! Is that normal occurrence for Disneyworld now?


It varies day to day. But usually the backups last for at least 10-20 minutes and up to 2 hours. They are also giving out more groups here a day on average including the backups. With no downtime on a 7am-8/9pm day they can get through 150/160 groups.


----------



## Ferrellcon

dina444444 said:


> It varies day to day. But usually the backups last for at least 10-20 minutes and up to 2 hours. They are also giving out more groups here a day on average including the backups. With no downtime on a 7am-8/9pm day they can get through 150/160 groups.


Amazing! I hope Disneyland can accomplish this in one month.


----------



## ohstarfish

Tinkerbell19672 said:


> Awesome thanks! DD has the same phone, were you on Disney WiFi?


No, I turned my WiFi off since we heard using data plans might be more reliable.


BG27 called at 10:07, with a 2 hour return window. In line now!!


----------



## smartlabelprint

NorthernCalMom said:


> Given that there are a limited number of spots for standby, I predict that, as a result, people would come extremely early and camp out to snag one of those desired spots in the standby line. I would also expect a dangerous high speed stampede (regardless of how many cast members would caution against running)—unless they do the slow walking behind the rope thing they did for the Cars Land opening to minimize the initial RSR craziness.
> 
> From what I have seen on the Disneyworld site describing the policy & procedure experiments & tweaks they did there, they don’t appear to want people camping out at 4am, which is what I’d expect to happen. People who’d come after park opening would end up the same problems they have now, except that instead of no boarding groups left there’d be a maxed out, closed for further people standby lane with people standing there for hours (instead of, as they can do with the current system, go on other rides while waiting for their turn). Why on earth would anybody want that (besides maybe the small number of DAS people who would get to bypass the line).
> 
> I like the current boarding group system and hope that they will still use it when we visit in August. It doesn’t give me a guarantee (nothing is ever guaranteed at Disneyland, and rolling with the punches is part of the experience), but it would give me a decent chance (and I am saying that as the proud owner of an iPhone 5s with AT&T service—not exactly the racing horse of phones...).
> 
> I would hate for it to become a lottery, because I tend to unfortunately do notoriously bad on those.  According to the OC Register, Disneyland has an average of 50,000 visitors per day. If I calculate the current 70 guaranteed boarding groups times (generously guesstimated) 100 persons per group, I end up with roughly 7000 ride slots (more if the ride doesn’t break down, as it currently tends to do every once in a while). That would, in a pure lottery, leave me with only a 14% chance at winning one of those spots, which strikes me as rather crummy odds. Even if there would be more than one lottery with chunks being raffled out & taking part in the earliest one and then again in all later ones would improve those odds (while other people doing the same and more people being in the park in the second half of the day would decrease them). Since the 50,000 is an a average & I’d be there in summer when kids are on break, my odds are likely to be lower than those of somebody who’s there at an off-season weekday.
> 
> The worst thing would of course be an advance lottery, similar to what they did for Galaxy’s Edge opening reservations, with a virtually unlimited number of people anywhere (including those not even in the park or not even planning to be in the park but simply entering for kicks) competing for the same limited number of spots.
> 
> Yeah, math!


I was replying to a poster that suggested having boarding groups, backup boarding groups and standby all at the same time. Why would they need backup boarding groups if there was standby?

I also think PP was suggesting an idea for the future, after all the madness has died down. Obviously standby won’t work now.


----------



## smartlabelprint

twodogs said:


> Since DLR is considered such a locals’ park, I wonder how long locals are going to tolerate not riding this ride if you aren’t there at RD?  I envisioned locals dropping by after work for a few hours, and that would definitely not let them ride ROTR under the current system.  I wonder if they will eventually use BGs like a sort of rolling time FP, and also allow a SB line for those who didn’t get a BG at RD or those that show up after RD and want to ride it.  This would possibly keep people from lining up at the gates at 3am to try to be at the front of a SB line since all early birds would be able to (hopefully when things die down) get a BG without arriving super early.  Then those that arrive later could do SB.  But BG line would get priority over SB line like the currently do with FP and SB lines.  Just a thought...





twodogs said:


> Since DLR is considered such a locals’ park, I wonder how long locals are going to tolerate not riding this ride if you aren’t there at RD?  I envisioned locals dropping by after work for a few hours, and that would definitely not let them ride ROTR under the current system.  I wonder if they will eventually use BGs like a sort of rolling time FP, and also allow a SB line for those who didn’t get a BG at RD or those that show up after RD and want to ride it.  This would possibly keep people from lining up at the gates at 3am to try to be at the front of a SB line since all early birds would be able to (hopefully when things die down) get a BG without arriving super early.  Then those that arrive later could do SB.  But BG line would get priority over SB line like the currently do with FP and SB lines.  Just a thought...


Isn’t this basically giving it fastpasses? You’d still need to be there at park opening because all of the fastpasses would be gone in the same amount of time as boarding groups, right? That’s why people would come early to line up for RSR FP line I think.


----------



## DisneyDork1969

WDW just announced that Smuggler's Run will now have FastPass+ starting Feb 19th with ROTR possibly also getting FP+ status as well...so maybe DL will put SR & ROTR on FP+ as well in the near future....


----------



## DGsAtBLT

twodogs said:


> Since DLR is considered such a locals’ park, I wonder how long locals are going to tolerate not riding this ride if you aren’t there at RD?  I envisioned locals dropping by after work for a few hours, and that would definitely not let them ride ROTR under the current system.  I wonder if they will eventually use BGs like a sort of rolling time FP, and also allow a SB line for those who didn’t get a BG at RD or those that show up after RD and want to ride it.  This would possibly keep people from lining up at the gates at 3am to try to be at the front of a SB line since all early birds would be able to (hopefully when things die down) get a BG without arriving super early.  Then those that arrive later could do SB.  But BG line would get priority over SB line like the currently do with FP and SB lines.  Just a thought...



If locals overwhelmingly don't like the BG system or needing to be there at opening, won't the problem correct itself? The BG would last longer if people didn't show.

What they may do in the future is one thing, but currently demand for RotR is much higher than supply, so no matter what suggestions are given the issue remains that there aren't enough spaces for everybody who wants to ride. No matter what Disney does at the moment, there's no way a local would be able to pop in for a few hours after work and ride unless that person was entering the park holding a FP, which is a whole other can of worms.


----------



## Ferrellcon

Halfway there group 40 now.


----------



## DisneyDork1969

Some locals are actually going at 8am before work and hoping to get a late BG so that they can return after work to ride...


----------



## aymiewilson

Up to BG 60 just after 1:30 pm. That's about 13 BGs per hour. Barring a break down, this looks like the best day yet!


----------



## montreid

But it opens a 900A!  

--so does anyone actually have a Backup BG today?  I'm curious.   

Ride is humming along with 221 group spread -- best I've seen ---  calling BG60!


----------



## DLgal

nutshell said:


> Disney’s website for the ride discusses the virtual queue. So anyone claiming Disney is keeping it a secret until guests enter the park are wrong.



No one says they are keeping it a secret. But any kind of disclaimer to check online for details about accessing the ride are absent from all print, radio, and tv ads. They frequently include disclaimers on ads for things like the special So Cal ticket promos and such. This ride deserves the same. It is misleading to simply say "now open" with the name and photo of the ride in an ad with no fine print, or no "super fast talking fine print guy" at the tail end of a radio ad.

That said, the advertisements have fallen off drastically in the last few days. I haven't seen or heard one all week. Not sure what to make of that.

*ETA: When Galaxy's Edge was about to open with the reservation system, and they ran ads, they DID indicate that you needed a reservation to enter the land in the first few weeks. The television AND radio ads were quite clear about that. *


----------



## DLRExpert

DLgal said:


> No one says they are keeping it a secret. But any kind of disclaimer to check online for details about accessing the ride are absent from all print, radio, and tv ads. They frequently include disclaimers on ads for things like the special So Cal ticket promos and such. This ride deserves the same. It is misleading to simply say "now open" with the name and photo of the ride in an ad with no fine print, or no "super fast talking fine print guy" at the tail end of a radio ad.
> 
> That said, the advertisements have fallen off drastically in the last few days. I haven't seen or heard one all week. Not sure what to make of that.



Not having anything stated on the TV and Radio commercials is a big mistake by Disney.

Also got to the parking structure yesterday, no information on BGs were given in the payment area.

Got on the tram and the guy on the mic was a wannabe Jungle Cruise Skipper, stated that there is something he should be reading about Rise of Resistance but joked that he wasn't going to do that and didn't. I couldn't believe it and there were a good 10 minutes before park opening and what I assume would have been BG information, was not given.

I was the only guest on that tram quickly walking to the entrance.

You could tell people entering the park were taken back by the amount of people on their phones and then cheers.
They had no idea as the ticket takers don't tell you anything either.

ME


----------



## Ferrellcon

I just saw DHS is not going to take groups 117 to 143 today. Disneyland is at 64 at 2:08 with about 6 hours to go. Can they surpass DHS.?


----------



## dina444444

Ferrellcon said:


> I just saw DHS is not going to take groups 117 to 143 today. Disneyland is at 64 at 2:08 with about 6 hours to go. Can they surpass DHS.?


They very well could. The ride has gone down 3 times at dhs today with two of those downtimes lasting at least an hour.


----------



## socaldisneylover

DLRExpert said:


> Not having anything stated on the TV and Radio commercials is a big mistake by Disney.
> 
> Also got to the parking structure yesterday, no information on BGs were given in the payment area.
> 
> Got on the tram and the guy on the mic was a wannabe Jungle Cruise Skipper, stated that there is something he should be reading about Rise of Resistance but joked that he wasn't going to do that and didn't. I couldn't believe it and there were a good 10 minutes before park opening and what I assume would have been BG information, was not given.
> 
> I was the only guest on that tram quickly walking to the entrance.
> 
> You could tell people entering the park were taken back by the amount of people on their phones and then cheers.
> They had no idea as the ticket takers don't tell you anything either.



Bait & Switch.

"Honey.....why is everybody on their phone?"

"Don't worry about it dear.  Let's just go get in line for that new ride we've been seeing ads for the past couple of weeks.  I'm sure it will be crowded."


----------



## Amunet

Okay, we were BG 36 and were right near the Star Wars area when we got the notification that our group was called. In line at 11:30am, exit ride at 12:23pm


----------



## aymiewilson

Maybe I'm just a jerk or it's the Type A in me coming out, but I don't really feel pity for people who can't bother to do even 10 minutes of basic research about a place they're visiting..... If someone can't do that and they're upset they missed out on something, well... too bad so sad.


----------



## montreid

socaldisneylover said:


> Bait & Switch.
> 
> "Honey.....why is everybody on their phone?"
> 
> "Don't worry about it dear.  Let's just go get in line for that new ride we've been seeing ads for the past couple of weeks.  I'm sure it will be crowded."


vs --  oh, what's that line coming out of Galaxy Edge down mainstreet?  What, they've been here since 4AM?    Oh and the ride broke three times and stalled the line for three hours (like at WDW today)?


----------



## laugard

DLRExpert said:


> Not having anything stated on the TV and Radio commercials is a big mistake by Disney.
> 
> Also got to the parking structure yesterday, no information on BGs were given in the payment area.
> 
> Got on the tram and the guy on the mic was a wannabe Jungle Cruise Skipper, stated that there is something he should be reading about Rise of Resistance but joked that he wasn't going to do that and didn't. I couldn't believe it and there were a good 10 minutes before park opening and what I assume would have been BG information, was not given.
> 
> I was the only guest on that tram quickly walking to the entrance.
> 
> You could tell people entering the park were taken back by the amount of people on their phones and then cheers.
> They had no idea as the ticket takers don't tell you anything either.
> 
> ME


I'm really surprised your tram person referred to the ride but actually chose not to say more! While ours didn't give detailed instructions, he did mention the new ride and that you'd need to get a boarding group after entering the park in order to have a chance. He at least gave enough information where anyone unaware had a heads up extra steps were needed and they should try and find out more. (I will say, it seemed like everyone in our vicinity already knew the deal however!) If was going to joke about it though, might as well at least add the rest.


----------



## Lewdannie

aymiewilson said:


> people who can't bother to do even 10 minutes of basic research about a place they're visiting.


...particularly given the price of the tickets. I would never spend that much money on anything without doing some basic research to make sure I get the best return for my bucks.


----------



## Ferrellcon

Couple of thoughts.

Would guests get upset if they were limited to ride once a week to allow other guests a shot at riding it? 

Would you like it if the three main hotels gave you a pass to ride during your visit?


----------



## DLRExpert

The majority of people who visit Disneyland do not plan. They are used to showing up and enjoying a day at the park.
They may know of the new ride through the TV or Radio commercial, maybe Social Media and YouTube, but even those don't necessarily state the need for a Boarding Group Pass and how it all works.


----------



## Lewdannie

Ferrellcon said:


> Would you like it if the three main hotels gave you a pass to ride during your visit?


definitely...given how much the rooms cost


----------



## Ferrellcon

Just 6 away from finishing the main groups with about 5 hours to spare.


----------



## twodogs

smartlabelprint said:


> Isn’t this basically giving it fastpasses? You’d still need to be there at park opening because all of the fastpasses would be gone in the same amount of time as boarding groups, right? That’s why people would come early to line up for RSR FP line I think.


Yes and no.  FP gives you an actual set time window to ride the ride.  If you miss it, you miss it.  BG give you a possibility to ride, but no commitment on Disney's part as to when that will be (so maybe not as good for the guest trying to plan other things that day).  I think the BGs give Disney more flexibility if the ride breaks down to slide the times to later in the day (by not allowing the next groups until they are ready for them).  If you have a FP system, and the ride goes down at 11am and comes back up at 4pm, then all the people who had FPs for any time in the window when it was down would be eligible to line up right at 4pm when it came back up (if they did it like the current FP system).  With BGs, if the ride has a 5 hour downtime, when it comes back up, they just resume calling the groups, so there is not such a huge flood of riders at ride re-opening.  So keeping BGs allows Disney to better control things, in case of breakdowns, which seems to be so common with this ride.

And for the locals, they would not use FP or BG if they don't have the ability or want to get there at RD.  They would have the option to use the SB line, if they introduced one, but those with BGs would get priority at the merge, in my little proposed plan!


----------



## MychaelP

I find this thread fun. People enjoy discussing that this is the most anticipated ride ever, blah blah  blah. I was there at Space Mountain's opening, and it was a madhouse and I waited almost 5 hours for it. But this good thing is I had the opportunity to ride it by getting there early. Right now there are a lot of disappointed people at Disneyland who get there at opening and have zero chance at riding. I see kids faces droop, etc. Doesn't seem very Disney to me. Maybe they will find a way to make more money off it, by offering a "premium" version of Max Pass allowing you to ride it one time. Sounds more like the Disney I know rather than asking people to spend full price only to find out minutes later you can't ride it.


----------



## ironband74

Failing to plan is planning to fail. 

I remember how I used to enjoy going to the parks and just enjoying myself with my family with little to no planning at all.  We'd go in the off season, we'd sleep in, we'd do whatever.  We'd wait in lines because "That's just the way it is."  We didn't bother with fastpass and honestly thought it was something you had to pay for. 

And we were happy to come back every few years and mosey and meander and just go with the flow.

Then, one fateful year (2010) we decided to bring my in-laws with us during the week between Christmas and New Years.

The first day was the very definition of a rude awakening. We got to the park around 10 to find it pretty packed. It was one of those days where they stopped letting people in around noon. We waited like 45 mintues for Mr. Toad's wild ride. We waited about 50 minutes for Gadget's Go Coaster. We headed over to DCA and waited for a long time to ride the Fun Wheel and then forever to ride California Screamin. And we left the park, battered, confused and disappointed because our experience, quite frankly...sucked.

But, oddly enough, I was not angry at Disney. I decided that the onus was on us to make the most of this vacation. The next two days couldn't go that way for me and my family and my in-laws.

So, back at the hotel, while everyone else slept, I researched. I took notes. I even bought a Ridemax subscription and read all the tips that I could find.

And the next two days were magical.

The thing that is hardest about this BG stuff is that you can do everything "right" and still not get on.

But that can happen with other attractions too. They aren't advertising that HM is down for extended maintenance. I doubt they will advertise that Indy is down for extended maintenance when it goes down later this year. If you didn't look at the web site you might show up to the park and discover that your favorite attraction is unavailable.

Or it might be 101 for the day. It happens.

The also don't advertise that fastpasses are needed to get good viewing for the nighttime spectaculars.

Heck, when I scheduled my trip between Christmas and New Year in like March, I had heard that ROTR was going to be open. It was expected that it would be open before the end of the year. If I hadn't done research, I might have gone to the park expecting it to be open.

But I would have been fine. Because a bad day at DLR is better than a good day most anywhere else.

If that had happened, I would have felt that it was on me, not Disney.

Yeah, it sucks that some people don't get to ride, and that some of those people are kids and there are tears and all that.  I remember one trip we kept putting off going on Tarzan's Treehouse, and my then 3 year old really wanted to do it.  And by the time we got around to it on our last day, it was dark and it was closed.  And boy did he cry.  All the joy we had for three days for that moment was just ruined. Did I get angry at Disney for closing it?  Or did I tell my son that sometimes things don't go our way and get on with our lives?

There is a lot to do at DLR, Rise or no Rise.


----------



## aymiewilson

YUP. What @ironband74 said. Also... I feel this way about ALL vacation destinations. It applies to virtually any new place you go to, especially those that are very popular and crowded.


----------



## dismsn

Ferrellcon said:


> Couple of thoughts.
> 
> Would guests get upset if they were limited to ride once a week to allow other guests a shot at riding it?
> 
> Would you like it if the three main hotels gave you a pass to ride during your visit?


I would be fine with just one ride IF it didn't break down during that ride.  If it did break down, I'd want a chance to ride it all the way through without pauses or having sections not work.

Yes, I'd appreciate a Disney hotel guest pass.  After paying the ridiculous cost of their hotels, that's the least they can do.  If they are only getting 5,000 -7,000 people through the ride in a day though, maybe the hotel guests would take up most of those spots and that's not fair to everyone else.


----------



## ironband74

81 has been called.  we are officially in the backup groups at 3:49pm


----------



## B3rlingirl

MychaelP said:


> I find this thread fun. People enjoy discussing that this is the most anticipated ride ever, blah blah  blah. I was there at Space Mountain's opening, and it was a madhouse and I waited almost 5 hours for it. But this good thing is I had the opportunity to ride it by getting there early. Right now there are a lot of disappointed people at Disneyland who get there at opening and have zero chance at riding. I see kids faces droop, etc. Doesn't seem very Disney to me. Maybe they will find a way to make more money off it, by offering a "premium" version of Max Pass allowing you to ride it one time. Sounds more like the Disney I know rather than asking people to spend full price only to find out minutes later you can't ride it.


I understand your point but the problem is capacity. If Disney did Standby queue right now it would be a mad race every morning to it and in the end not everyone there at park opening would be able to ride... the system Disney uses right now actually doesn’t matter someone won’t be able to ride... right now there are more people there at rope drop that wanna ride than the ride has as daily capacity. There is no way around sad faces till the ride is able to raise the capacity.

The only question is how the lucky ones who are able to ride are determined. I personally prefer Boarding passes over a mad race... everyone pretty much has the same chance of riding if you arrive at rope drop... and that’s one thing I like about DL... every day everyone has the same chance of riding popular rides!


----------



## crystal1313

ironband74 said:


> Because a bad day at DLR is better than a good day most anywhere else.


^THIS.  100%

We keep trying to teach our kids that.  I usually preface our DL days saying that we will try our best to do everything that we want to do, but sometimes things happen that are out of our control and we will make the most of it!


----------



## IsleofDisney

DLRExpert said:


> The majority of people who visit Disneyland do not plan. They are used to showing up and enjoying a day at the park.
> They may know of the new ride through the TV or Radio commercial, maybe Social Media and YouTube, but even those don't necessarily state the need for a Boarding Group Pass and how it all works.



But that's the thing about local AP holders if that's whom you're referring, we can always come back later, with a plan, and give it another shot.


----------



## Gaugersaurus

Off topic but all this "false advertising" & "bait & switch" talk makes me think back to when the Nintendo Wii was released. Much like ROTR demand far outpaced supply but Nintendo didn't change their advertising campaign to mention that you needed to be at your local retailer prior to opening on the day they receive a shipment to get in line for the ticket that would allow you to purchase one.

I for one agree with @ironband74  & @aymiewilson if someone can't be bothered to do minimal research on their vacation destination and miss out on something that's the customers fault not the location they visited.


----------



## Etonduf

MychaelP said:


> I find this thread fun. People enjoy discussing that this is the most anticipated ride ever, blah blah  blah. I was there at Space Mountain's opening, and it was a madhouse and I waited almost 5 hours for it. But this good thing is I had the opportunity to ride it by getting there early. Right now there are a lot of disappointed people at Disneyland who get there at opening and have zero chance at riding. I see kids faces droop, etc. Doesn't seem very Disney to me. Maybe they will find a way to make more money off it, by offering a "premium" version of Max Pass allowing you to ride it one time. Sounds more like the Disney I know rather than asking people to spend full price only to find out minutes later you can't ride it.



I went to DLR as a young child, and one of the major reasons I never returned until well into my thirties is because my abiding memory was waiting in lines. So yes, this system that doesn't require waiting in multi-hour lines is not very Disney from that perspective. 

But keep in mind that when there is a five-hour line to get on the latest rides, there are just as many drooping faces--all the kids whose parents took one look and said, "Sorry kids, I know you are dying to do that but we can't pay all this money to wait in one line for half of our day."

As others have said, demand outstrips supply for ROTR. Standby, or whatever other system people come up with, doesn't fix that. And whatever system I come up with may seem fair to me, but there would be a gazillion other people who would find it unfair for whatever reasons apply to them and their loved ones. I'm taking my kids to the park in a couple of weeks. We'll take our shot at the BGs each day, then go on and have fun regardless of the outcome. But count me as one of the folks who doesn't want to wait in a five-hour line when I could just find out at 8:01 that I'm not riding. And I'm thankfully to not have the public saftey concerns that come with five hours worth of people crammed into that little space.


----------



## NateD1226

Today has been going amazing! Here is a comparison from today and opening day (best day). Clearly there is much improvement



https://www.thrill-data.com/


----------



## DLgal

twodogs said:


> And for the locals, they would not use FP or BG if they don't have the ability or want to get there at RD.  They would have the option to use the SB line, if they introduced one, but those with BGs would get priority at the merge, in my little proposed plan!



Locals who come later would have 3 optiions. 

1. Pick up a cancelled fastpass using Maxpass
2. Use the Single Rider line (which I am pretty sure RotR was designed to have, like MFSR
3. Get in the standby line

That is what late arriving locals do for other popular rides like RSR, Space Mountain, Indiana Jones, etc.


----------



## DLgal

MychaelP said:


> I find this thread fun. People enjoy discussing that this is the most anticipated ride ever, blah blah  blah. I was there at Space Mountain's opening, and it was a madhouse and I waited almost 5 hours for it. But this good thing is I had the opportunity to ride it by getting there early. Right now there are a lot of disappointed people at Disneyland who get there at opening and have zero chance at riding. I see kids faces droop, etc. Doesn't seem very Disney to me. Maybe they will find a way to make more money off it, by offering a "premium" version of Max Pass allowing you to ride it one time. Sounds more like the Disney I know rather than asking people to spend full price only to find out minutes later you can't ride it.



The faces of the disappointed kids all around is really heartbreaking. A few were flat out crying. My son was on the verge himself...


----------



## ckb_nc

Lewdannie said:


> ...particularly given the price of the tickets. I would never spend that much money on anything without doing some basic research to make sure I get the best return for my bucks.


Yeah well as park vets we all know stories of people who show up with zero understanding on things like fast passes or doing reservations. Had an uncle who visited WDW and from they told me , oh did just totally miss the mark.


----------



## DLgal

ironband74 said:


> Failing to plan is planning to fail.
> 
> I remember how I used to enjoy going to the parks and just enjoying myself with my family with little to no planning at all.  We'd go in the off season, we'd sleep in, we'd do whatever.  We'd wait in lines because "That's just the way it is."  We didn't bother with fastpass and honestly thought it was something you had to pay for.
> 
> And we were happy to come back every few years and mosey and meander and just go with the flow.
> 
> Then, one fateful year (2010) we decided to bring my in-laws with us during the week between Christmas and New Years.
> 
> The first day was the very definition of a rude awakening. We got to the park around 10 to find it pretty packed. It was one of those days where they stopped letting people in around noon. We waited like 45 mintues for Mr. Toad's wild ride. We waited about 50 minutes for Gadget's Go Coaster. We headed over to DCA and waited for a long time to ride the Fun Wheel and then forever to ride California Screamin. And we left the park, battered, confused and disappointed because our experience, quite frankly...sucked.
> 
> But, oddly enough, I was not angry at Disney. I decided that the onus was on us to make the most of this vacation. The next two days couldn't go that way for me and my family and my in-laws.
> 
> So, back at the hotel, while everyone else slept, I researched. I took notes. I even bought a Ridemax subscription and read all the tips that I could find.
> 
> And the next two days were magical.
> 
> *The thing that is hardest about this BG stuff is that you can do everything "right" and still not get on.*
> 
> But that can happen with other attractions too. They aren't advertising that HM is down for extended maintenance. I doubt they will advertise that Indy is down for extended maintenance when it goes down later this year. If you didn't look at the web site you might show up to the park and discover that your favorite attraction is unavailable.
> 
> Or it might be 101 for the day. It happens.
> 
> The also don't advertise that fastpasses are needed to get good viewing for the nighttime spectaculars.
> 
> Heck, when I scheduled my trip between Christmas and New Year in like March, I had heard that ROTR was going to be open. It was expected that it would be open before the end of the year. If I hadn't done research, I might have gone to the park expecting it to be open.
> 
> But I would have been fine. Because a bad day at DLR is better than a good day most anywhere else.
> 
> If that had happened, I would have felt that it was on me, not Disney.
> 
> Yeah, it sucks that some people don't get to ride, and that some of those people are kids and there are tears and all that.  I remember one trip we kept putting off going on Tarzan's Treehouse, and my then 3 year old really wanted to do it.  And by the time we got around to it on our last day, it was dark and it was closed.  And boy did he cry.  All the joy we had for three days for that moment was just ruined. Did I get angry at Disney for closing it?  Or did I tell my son that sometimes things don't go our way and get on with our lives?
> 
> There is a lot to do at DLR, Rise or no Rise.



All those things that you are saying they don't advertise, they do advertise. They post closed rides right at the ticket booths. They advertise the need for World of Color and Fantasmic fastpasses in almost all their printed materials. The commercials that depict those shows indicate "subject to availability". They advertise their dining packages with sandwich boards in the parks.

You statement that I bolded is the most important part. I did everything right, as thousands of other people also did. I ended up with no chance because my app was unresponsive on a brand new phone with service provided by the "official mobile provider of Disney Parks." What more could I have done? Nothing. And it was crushing in that moment.


----------



## DGsAtBLT

I think the queue being virtual really bothers a lot of people, and they take the rejection worse than a regular queue. If you are missing out on regular BG at the very beginning of the day, and regular groups are finished boarding at 5 PM (as an example) that is just like walking up to a queue at rope drop, and seeing a 7 hour wait. If you miss out on the back ups too, that’s like walking up to the queue and seeing a 12 hour line or a closed queue.

That isn’t better. Under any other first come first served system, you still wouldn’t be riding. Kids would still be crying. Disney ads would still be showing a ride that was extremely difficult to ride. That is the nature of an attraction without enough capacity to satisfy demand, and that is unreliable to boot.


----------



## ckb_nc

DLgal said:


> Locals who come later would have 3 optiions.
> 
> 1. Pick up a cancelled fastpass using Maxpass
> 2. Use the Single Rider line (which I am pretty sure RotR was designed to have, like MFSR
> 3. Get in the standby line
> 
> That is what late arriving locals do for other popular rides like RSR, Space Mountain, Indiana Jones, etc.



One day RoR will not be the bell of the ball; hard to imagine but it’s true. Example at WDW - before Mine Train opened for while Ariel has a huge wait. I remember when Dumbo was a huge deal and you had to hit it at rope drop. And Pooh has long lines - today it’s often walk on.   Heck just today Disney adds Smuggler run to FP+ and all the sudden boom Slinky Dog ( the hardest FP at HS) becomes available.  Look it’s an amazing ride and the BGs are at least consistent and do not reward anyone special. Day tickets have the same chance as VIPs and those staying at club level in WDW. It does require you to be there at park open but it is no mystery how it works.


----------



## IsleofDisney

DLgal said:


> Locals who come later would have 3 optiions.
> 
> 1. Pick up a cancelled fastpass using Maxpass
> 2. Use the Single Rider line (which I am pretty sure RotR was designed to have, like MFSR
> 3. Get in the standby line
> 
> That is what late arriving locals do for other popular rides like RSR, Space Mountain, Indiana Jones, etc.



Rides like RSR, IDA, SM are different then ROTR. Those rides clock in at most 4 min (IJA)? They can cycle through a lot more riders in the time it takes for ROTR to complete one 'show'. This ride is low capacity in comparison to others in the park and park goers would still need to 'plan' their day around it.


----------



## Aurora0427

Gaugersaurus said:


> If you're the ticket "owner" (person responsible for the tickets) you cannot delete them from the app but guest services can remove/make them able to be deleted. If you're not the "owner" you should have a delete ticket option in the My Tickets section of the DLR app. If all 3 people will be in the park it wouldn't hurt to just book a BG for all 3. If not you can scan the tickets for those who will be in the park onto a different Disneyland account.



I’m pretty sure I’m the ticket owner because we use my log in for the app. We have APs. We are going to Disneyland this weekend with my parents. I plan on adding them to my profile. My husband is only coming Saturday. Sunday is the day we are trying to get a BG for myself, two daughters, and my parents. Should I download the app on my dad’s phone and set him up with a login separate from mine and not link my husband’s AP since he won’t be with us when we try for ROTR????


----------



## montreid

People have stated this a lot about DLR being a 'locals' park.   I wonder how true this is compared to the amount of locals to that park down the street or up in north of Hollywood being catered to more 'local'.  There's a huge AP contingent, including myself who are frequent weekenders.    But I'm fairly sure DLR gets its fair share of revenue from nonAP holders.


----------



## Tylerrog94

Groups seem to have stalled at 88... Is it down or did they possibly only give out 8 Backup BG's today?


----------



## azdisneylover

Varty Yo said:


> EMH will not help in anything to get a BG. Getting into the park before opening time is not an issue at all.



EMH will however, allow you a little bit of time to find an optimum spot for WiFi with the least amount of people around.


----------



## katyringo

All this talk.. 

I’m not sure what else Disney can do to get the word out.

disney parks blog.
They have promoted the boarding groups for while.
They host “media” nights where all the instgramers and you tubers get to ask all the questions and then send out to their viewers..

it would be easy for Disney to not allow these folks to video in their parks, etc.. but they have found it helps them.

now as far and the boarding groups go.. if you just have a single day you do run the risk. Personally as a parent I’m not even going to tell my kids about this ride. Granted they are 8 and 4 so I do have some control. If your kids are older and they know about the ride then I would have that discussion before hand.

not too long ago,2017 we booked our first Disneyland vacation. Heck our first ever Disney vacation.  My husband and I had never gone. Ever. And we booked for the days between Christmas and New Years. That’s how much we didn’t know.. lol

but I started googling, found this forum, found disneyland daily, and slowly began to read read read.

I will never understand those people who just show up! Heck most people do an insane amount of research these days before buying a crockpot off amazon!


----------



## azdisneylover

Lewdannie said:


> definitely...given how much the rooms cost



And, bring back free parking for hotel guests.


----------



## Gaugersaurus

Aurora0427 said:


> I’m pretty sure I’m the ticket owner because we use my log in for the app. We have APs. We are going to Disneyland this weekend with my parents. I plan on adding them to my profile. My husband is only coming Saturday. Sunday is the day we are trying to get a BG for myself, two daughters, and my parents. Should I download the app on my dad’s phone and set him up with a login separate from mine and not link my husband’s AP since he won’t be with us when we try for ROTR????


If you cannot delete your husband’s AP on your account then I would set up an account, scan in all the tickets you want to  get BGs for and log into it from as many phones as you can.


----------



## DLgal

IsleofDisney said:


> Rides like RSR, IDA, SM are different then ROTR. Those rides clock in at most 4 min (IJA)? They can cycle through a lot more riders in the time it takes for ROTR to complete one 'show'. This ride is low capacity in comparison to others in the park and park goers would still need to 'plan' their day around it.



Not really true.

Space Mtn: 1600 riders per hour
RSR: 1500 riders per hour
IJA: 1800 riders per hour

RoTR: hard to nail down an exact figure, but I've seen numbers ranging from 1250-2000 per hour

So, under normal operating mode, it's on par with the rest. This myth that it's a low capacity attraction needs to go away. It's only low capacity right now because it doesn't work properly yet.


----------



## DLRExpert

IsleofDisney said:


> But that's the thing about local AP holders if that's whom you're referring, we can always come back later, with a plan, and give it another shot.



Not who I am referring too. Or the people who frequent the boards or something similar.

After the cheering stops, you just have to walk around and see the guest faces that are still glued to their mobile devices hoping for a miracle. It is sad.

Then go see the lines and listen to the guests at a guest services booth or City Hall. Front line CMs I have spoken to have said how stressful this whole situation has made it for the guest and for them. The message and directions have not been clear enough.

They just want BGs to stop.

ME


----------



## socaldisneylover

Obviously the interest on the ride right now are through the roof.  This will certainly decline over time, but the ride will be in the top 2-3 most popular rides in both DL & CA Adventure for years.

But I'm beginning to realize that the BG's is more a result of the fact the ride is so unbelievably unreliable, that a day doesn't go by that there isn't at least one significant breakdown.  This is the problem.  That reliability may not improve over time.  It hasn't improved to any great degree in almost 2 months at WDW, or 1 week at DL.  I see no way they can stop BG's unless that occurs.

Rocket Rods.


----------



## DLgal

montreid said:


> People have stated this a lot about DLR being a 'locals' park.   I wonder how true this is compared to the amount of locals to that park down the street or up in north of Hollywood being catered to more 'local'.  There's a huge AP contingent, including myself who are frequent weekenders.    But I'm fairly sure DLR gets its fair share of revenue from nonAP holders.



All three of these parks are predominantly attended by locals, year round.


----------



## LisaT91403

My family wants to try for RotR on an upcoming weekend. We have APs, and live about 45 minutes away from the park. We are trying to do a reality check on what time we'd actually need to be arriving at the parking structure in order to be *inside* DL before an 8:00am opening. We realize we need to factor in the time it takes just to get into the parking structure, wait for the tram, ride the tram, and scan at the turnstiles.

I realize mileage may vary, but what time do you think we'd need to be exiting the freeway (en route to the parking structure) in order to make this happen? We don't usually get there at rope drop, so I have no idea what the back up might be like. Any best guesses out there?


----------



## laugard

Here's my experience from this past Sunday. We also live approx. 45 minutes away and had never rope dropped before. (I actually specifically checked times as the morning went along so I could report back on the boarding groups thread.)

5:45 - woke up
6:11 - left home
6:57 - arrived at parking structure, which is already busy with cars (ended up parked on Level 5, Finding Nemo)
7:18 - got into security line (lines were long and at this point we were getting nervous and regretting not waking up at 5:30)
7:38 - boarded tram
The one time I forgot to check was when we got in line at the entrance. While the crowd wasn't awful at that point (tram guy had said they were back to DCA earlier), it was still busy and the lines seemed to be moving slowly. We had multiple groups in front of us who had to get their photos taken, or questions, etc. Again, we were really nervous at this point that we might just miss getting in by 8!
7:51 - scanned and in the park, whew! Got BG 74 and while we had a lot of delays, did finally ride. But it was definitely a little too close for comfort for us. Being opening weekend I have no idea how this compares to a usual Sunday, but next time we go and try for ROTR,  we plan on leaving a little earlier just to be safe.


----------



## montreid

DLgal said:


> All three of these parks are predominantly attended by locals, year round.


Disneyland has 18M visitors a year and from blogs I've read, a guesstimate is some 25% are locals while the majority or not and the real spenders in hotels/in-park spending.


----------



## montreid

in other news...... groups 103-115!  Nice.


----------



## EmJ

Assuming 115 is the last group of the day, today looked great. There were some breakdown issues late in the day, but it’s hard to argue with this!


----------



## Ferrellcon

Pretty sure 115 is the last group today. Not too bad. I think DHS still beat them at 119.


----------



## GoldeneyezCA

We live 30 min away and got BG’s on Sat and Sunday.  One benefit to leaving at zero-dark-thirty is that there isn’t much traffic!

Saturday (a DL EMH day): arrived Toy Story 6:10 am, in Esplanade at 6:40 am, gates opened to non-EMH guests at 6:45 am, and we were through the gates by 7:15.   

On Sunday, we arrived to Toy Story at 6:45 am, gates opened at 7:15 am, and we were in the park around 7:30.  We were nervous, but still fine.

So, parking/security/tram took about 30 min each time, and getting into the park took 20-30 min.   I’d target a 5:30 departure, to allow a little wiggle room, and time to get in a good service spot and play with the app.


----------



## aquamanalaska

ironband74 said:


> Failing to plan is planning to fail.
> 
> I remember how I used to enjoy going to the parks and just enjoying myself with my family with little to no planning at all.  We'd go in the off season, we'd sleep in, we'd do whatever.  We'd wait in lines because "That's just the way it is."  We didn't bother with fastpass and honestly thought it was something you had to pay for.
> 
> And we were happy to come back every few years and mosey and meander and just go with the flow.
> 
> Then, one fateful year (2010) we decided to bring my in-laws with us during the week between Christmas and New Years.
> 
> The first day was the very definition of a rude awakening. We got to the park around 10 to find it pretty packed. It was one of those days where they stopped letting people in around noon. We waited like 45 mintues for Mr. Toad's wild ride. We waited about 50 minutes for Gadget's Go Coaster. We headed over to DCA and waited for a long time to ride the Fun Wheel and then forever to ride California Screamin. And we left the park, battered, confused and disappointed because our experience, quite frankly...sucked.
> 
> But, oddly enough, I was not angry at Disney. I decided that the onus was on us to make the most of this vacation. The next two days couldn't go that way for me and my family and my in-laws.
> 
> So, back at the hotel, while everyone else slept, I researched. I took notes. I even bought a Ridemax subscription and read all the tips that I could find.
> 
> And the next two days were magical.
> 
> The thing that is hardest about this BG stuff is that you can do everything "right" and still not get on.
> 
> But that can happen with other attractions too. They aren't advertising that HM is down for extended maintenance. I doubt they will advertise that Indy is down for extended maintenance when it goes down later this year. If you didn't look at the web site you might show up to the park and discover that your favorite attraction is unavailable.
> 
> Or it might be 101 for the day. It happens.
> 
> The also don't advertise that fastpasses are needed to get good viewing for the nighttime spectaculars.
> 
> Heck, when I scheduled my trip between Christmas and New Year in like March, I had heard that ROTR was going to be open. It was expected that it would be open before the end of the year. If I hadn't done research, I might have gone to the park expecting it to be open.
> 
> But I would have been fine. Because a bad day at DLR is better than a good day most anywhere else.
> 
> If that had happened, I would have felt that it was on me, not Disney.
> 
> Yeah, it sucks that some people don't get to ride, and that some of those people are kids and there are tears and all that.  I remember one trip we kept putting off going on Tarzan's Treehouse, and my then 3 year old really wanted to do it.  And by the time we got around to it on our last day, it was dark and it was closed.  And boy did he cry.  All the joy we had for three days for that moment was just ruined. Did I get angry at Disney for closing it?  Or did I tell my son that sometimes things don't go our way and get on with our lives?
> 
> There is a lot to do at DLR, Rise or no Rise.


Moral of the story always always goto Tarzan's Treehouse.  Thanks for sharing so well written.


----------



## ironband74

socaldisneylover said:


> Obviously the interest on the ride right now are through the roof.  This will certainly decline over time, but the ride will be in the top 2-3 most popular rides in both DL & CA Adventure for years.
> 
> But I'm beginning to realize that the BG's is more a result of the fact the ride is so unbelievably unreliable, that a day doesn't go by that there isn't at least one significant breakdown.  This is the problem.  That reliability may not improve over time.  It hasn't improved to any great degree in almost 2 months at WDW, or 1 week at DL.  I see no way they can stop BG's unless that occurs.
> 
> Rocket Rods.


In my opinion, Rocket Rods is a bad analogy.

Rocket Rods was an attempt to use something designed for one thing for something totally different, recapturing existing infrastructure in a misguided attempt to save money rather than build a whole new attraction.

This is an attempt to use cutting edge technology in a brand new space for which expense was really not spared.

DHS has had 50 days of public operation.
DL has had 7.

I suspect that if you compared moving average data for DHS of the first two weeks vs. the last two weeks, you will see that things have improved at least marginally.

If I had to guess for a system of this complexity, you'll start to see real progress after 100 days of operation. I think you'll see something approaching optimal operation after about a year.


----------



## NorthernCalMom

DLgal said:


> All three of these parks are predominantly attended by locals, year round.


What is your source for this claim? I am not saying you’re wrong, but when I tried to find data about this I hit a blank. I can see that, due to it’s location, there are more local visitors in Disneyland than there are at Disneyworld, but I didn’t find anything to confirm or deny your claim that there are more local visitors at Disneyland than there are people who travel there. I’m not trying to start a fight, just wondering, because you sound so sure about this.


----------



## LisaT91403

laugard said:


> Here's my experience from this past Sunday. We also live approx. 45 minutes away and had never rope dropped before. (I actually specifically checked times as the morning went along so I could report back on the boarding groups thread.)
> 
> 5:45 - woke up
> 6:11 - left home
> 6:57 - arrived at parking structure, which is already busy with cars (ended up parked on Level 5, Finding Nemo)
> 7:18 - got into security line (lines were long and at this point we were getting nervous and regretting not waking up at 5:30)
> 7:38 - boarded tram
> The one time I forgot to check was when we got in line at the entrance. While the crowd wasn't awful at that point (tram guy had said they were back to DCA earlier), it was still busy and the lines seemed to be moving slowly. We had multiple groups in front of us who had to get their photos taken, or questions, etc. Again, we were really nervous at this point that we might just miss getting in by 8!
> 7:51 - scanned and in the park, whew! Got BG 74 and while we had a lot of delays, did finally ride. But it was definitely a little too close for comfort for us. Being opening weekend I have no idea how this compares to a usual Sunday, but next time we go and try for ROTR,  we plan on leaving a little earlier just to be safe.



Wow, this is such great information! Thank you so much! I will say that you get ready in the morning way faster than I do ;-) I would have totally been sweating it if I didn't get on the tram until 7:38...it's awesome that you still got in and got a BG. 

We won't try until next weekend (Super Bowl Sunday?!), so maybe some people will report back as to how this coming weekend goes. Thanks again!


----------



## jnkmlsux

Just a quick thank you to all the advice out there! We had one day to make it work, and DANG that 45 seconds to get a spot goes _FAST_. We got BG76--which I at first thought was a back-up because yesterday's cut-off was 70. It took me about 2 hours to realize the cut-off was 80! (*eye roll at myself* and what a happy moment!) About 55 minutes from walking into the actual queue to walking out the exit. 

The guy we met at lunch was really dejected with BG94, I'm so pleased to see he would have made it. 

Good luck tomorrow and over the weekend, all!


----------



## Paigesmom2013

I read something from a vlogger that said if the line at the turnstiles are backed up to DCA entrance, it will take about 25 minutes to get scanned into Disneyland.


----------



## Paigesmom2013

It's also been shared that with the SoCal ticket deal they have been checking ids and taking photos, which is holding up the line somewhat.


----------



## DLgal

montreid said:


> Disneyland has 18M visitors a year and from blogs I've read, a guesstimate is some 25% are locals while the majority or not and the real spenders in hotels/in-park spending.



Disneyland counts visitors by turnstile clicks. On any given day, much more than 25% of the parks guests are southern California locals. Heck, I went to the parks almost 100 times last year. There are over one million annual passholders alone, who visit more than once a year. If each one goes 5 times that's 5M visitors right there. If I park hop, that counts as 2 visitors. The numbers are somewhat misleading.


----------



## Mommy to Kayla

Here at GCH, super stressed about tomorrow as we have to trade our military tickets for regular tickets at the turnstiles. A few quick questions:
I know we need to link our tickets (there are three of us with phones), we all have our own Disneyland app, can we all link our tickets to our individual apps? Or should we try and log in with one account?
Because we haven’t even gotten our tickets yet, part of me is just thinking of heading to DCA for EMH and just doing that and trying for RotR on Saturday during EMH. That’ll give us a day to wrap our heads around everything. I’m torn because I know it’ll be a crapshoot to even get a BG so I wonder if we should just go for it tomorrow? We leave Monday afternoon.


----------



## DLgal

NorthernCalMom said:


> What is your source for this claim? I am not saying you’re wrong, but when I tried to find data about this I hit a blank. I can see that, due to it’s location, there are more local visitors in Disneyland than there are at Disneyworld, but I didn’t find anything to confirm or deny your claim that there are more local visitors at Disneyland than there are people who travel there. I’m not trying to start a fight, just wondering, because you sound so sure about this.



As of 5 years ago, Disney was telling cast members taking the traditions course that 80% of Disneyland visitors on any given day are locals, 20% from outside the "southern CA" area, as defined by the zip codes that cover fro Bakersfield down to the southern border. 

I don't suspect that statistic has changed all that much. But, Disney has never and will never make the exact information public, so no one knows for sure. I go by the parking lots and the fact that most people who come from out of the area don't use them, yet they are usually almost full. Disneyland has around 25,000 parking spaces.


----------



## DLgal

Mommy to Kayla said:


> Here at GCH, super stressed about tomorrow as we have to trade our military tickets for regular tickets at the turnstiles. A few quick questions:
> I know we need to link our tickets (there are three of us with phones), we all have our own Disneyland app, can we all link our tickets to our individual apps? Or should we try and log in with one account?
> Because we haven’t even gotten our tickets yet, part of me is just thinking of heading to DCA for EMH and just doing that and trying for RotR on Saturday during EMH. That’ll give us a day to wrap our heads around everything. I’m torn because I know it’ll be a crapshoot to even get a BG so I wonder if we should just go for it tomorrow? We leave Monday afternoon.



It's not a big deal to convert your tickets. You just go to the gate as usual. Show your military ID and they will print you out the actual tickets and take your pictures. It takes like an extra minute. Once you are in the parks, have everyone open their app and log in and click on add tickets and just take turns scanning them in. This whole process should not take more than 5 minutes. If you go to EMH, that will give you an opportunity to get this stuff done with enough time to exit DCA and enter DL park. Just make sure you leave DCA 20 minutes or so before DL opening time.


----------



## LisaT91403

GoldeneyezCA said:


> We live 30 min away and got BG’s on Sat and Sunday.  One benefit to leaving at zero-dark-thirty is that there isn’t much traffic!
> 
> Saturday (a DL EMH day): arrived Toy Story 6:10 am, in Esplanade at 6:40 am, gates opened to non-EMH guests at 6:45 am, and we were through the gates by 7:15.
> 
> On Sunday, we arrived to Toy Story at 6:45 am, gates opened at 7:15 am, and we were in the park around 7:30.  We were nervous, but still fine.
> 
> So, parking/security/tram took about 30 min each time, and getting into the park took 20-30 min.   I’d target a 5:30 departure, to allow a little wiggle room, and time to get in a good service spot and play with the app.



Thank you! I have read that near the Main Street Station has good service, but how did you determine a good service spot? Did you run speed tests on your phone? I'm not sure we'd have time to do all this...the whole process sounds stressful to me tbh. But my 11 year old Star Wars fanatic is dying to ride....


----------



## Scoobie

Thinking of going to DL late summer or early fall - how many entrances does GE have? Which is the best one to enter? And if we're staying at a place across the street, how early should we be getting to park entrance, based on how things are going now? We've already been to GE in HS and spent extensive time there (already did the sabers, droids, Oga's, RotR, and MF) but would like to see the rest on the west coast. Would obviously try and ride Rise in DL, and MF, so planning on something similar to what we've experienced.


----------



## dina444444

DLgal said:


> Not really true.
> 
> Space Mtn: 1600 riders per hour
> RSR: 1500 riders per hour
> IJA: 1800 riders per hour
> 
> RoTR: hard to nail down an exact figure, but I've seen numbers ranging from 1250-2000 per hour
> 
> So, under normal operating mode, it's on par with the rest. This myth that it's a low capacity attraction needs to go away. It's only low capacity right now because it doesn't work properly yet.


At max through put ROTR can do about 2100-2200/hr. They won’t get there. Optimal is about 1800/hr.


----------



## dina444444

Was 115 the last group yesterday?


----------



## theluckyrabbit

CastAStone said:


> *The Chart*
> View attachment 467409



As of 1/24/20, 2:03 am, PT, The Chart on page one has been updated.


----------



## theluckyrabbit

Rich M said:


> Wow. *So you were able to join a boarding group inside DCA?*





Eighty8Keys said:


> *Only after scanning into DL first.* We did this yesterday and got BG 8 so decided to try it again today.


This has been noted and posted in the FAQs on page one.


----------



## StarGirl11

Scoobie said:


> Thinking of going to DL late summer or early fall - how many entrances does GE have? Which is the best one to enter? And if we're staying at a place across the street, how early should we be getting to park entrance, based on how things are going now? We've already been to GE in HS and spent extensive time there (already did the sabers, droids, Oga's, RotR, and MF) but would like to see the rest on the west coast. Would obviously try and ride Rise in DL, and MF, so planning on something similar to what we've experienced.



There are three entrances, two along Big Thunder Trail and one coming form next to the Hungry Bear Restaraunt. Either of the entrances on the trail are the shortest walk from the main entrance. But the one next to Hungry Bear drops you off closer to Rise of the Resistance while the other two are closer to Smuggler's Run. 

Not sure about when to get there though.


----------



## theluckyrabbit

Scoobie said:


> Thinking of going to DL late summer or early fall - how many entrances does GE have? Which is the best one to enter? And if we're staying at a place across the street, how early should we be getting to park entrance, based on how things are going now?...


Given that ROTR has only been open for one week here, it's a bit early to predict all of this now. Keep following this thread and this board for the latest news, especially in the week or two right before your trip dates. That should keep you up to date on the latest tips and strategies at that time.


----------



## Disney Lvr of Old

Mommy to Kayla said:


> Here at GCH, super stressed about tomorrow as we have to trade our military tickets for regular tickets at the turnstiles. A few quick questions:
> I know we need to link our tickets (there are three of us with phones), we all have our own Disneyland app, can we all link our tickets to our individual apps? Or should we try and log in with one account?
> Because we haven’t even gotten our tickets yet, part of me is just thinking of heading to DCA for EMH and just doing that and trying for RotR on Saturday during EMH. That’ll give us a day to wrap our heads around everything. I’m torn because I know it’ll be a crapshoot to even get a BG so I wonder if we should just go for it tomorrow? We leave Monday afternoon.



Good morning!  if your military tickets have bar codes at the top or the email you have does you can scan it into the app beforehand.  Did it last year with the Military Salute tickets.  Showed the email and they gave me paper tickets with a barcode matching what I had already entered into the app.  Have a great time!


----------



## BigOHawk

So where in the park does it seem that cell service is the best without going back through 75 pages?  I have Verizon, and a Galaxy S8, will probably not use WIFI when there in March, any quick areas where speed seems to be better? I realize this is crowd dependent of course! Thanks!


----------



## CastAStone

BigOHawk said:


> So where in the park does it seem that cell service is the best without going back through 75 pages?  I have Verizon, and a Galaxy S8, will probably not use WIFI when there in March, any quick areas where speed seems to be better? I realize this is crowd dependent of course! Thanks!


To my knowledge, no one has reported cell issues with Verizon. AT&T seems to be the problem child for some. I haven’t seen anything about Sprint.


----------



## TheyCallMeStacey

Has there been much discussion about how to prioritize FastPass and ROTR Boarding Groups?  I saw a snippet of a post where they said to immediately book a FP on maxpass when you scan in and then try for ROTR at park open, but I haven't seen much more than that. Thoughts? Speculations? We have 2 days in the parks and I want to be sure I'm headed with a plan! THANKS!


----------



## GlowTheWeird

We have blue bayou fantasmic dining reservations @330. What happens if our boarding group is called near that reservation time?  I can just see that happening etc.


----------



## Mathmagicland

Arrived at DL yesterday afternoon & wandered over to SWGE to chat with a couple of check-in CMs at RoTR re the BG process.   For those with a BG, they suggested starting to head over approx 4-5 BG numbers before your BG if you want to be there when it is first called.  After checkin, the line is approx 30 min before getting to the ride itself.  

Will be trying for a BG today the first time, we shall see how it goes.


----------



## Mathmagicland

GlowTheWeird said:


> We have blue bayou fantasmic dining reservations @330. What happens if our boarding group is called near that reservation time?  I can just see that happening etc.


Someone posted earlier they talked with the restaurant and were able to accommodate as needed around their BG time.  I’d suggest monitoring the BGs being called to see whether there is potential for a conflict. With a 2-hour return window for most during the day, it may work out OK.


----------



## GlowTheWeird

Mathmagicland said:


> Someone posted earlier they talked with the restaurant and were able to accommodate as needed around their BG time.  I’d suggest monitoring the BGs being called to see whether there is potential for a conflict. With a 2-hour return window for most during the day, it may work out OK.


Thank you. I do follow this board daily- but by the time I get home from the day as everyone knows there are a ton of updates to read through, I must have missed that one.  Good to hear the restaurants sound accommodating. Exciting times.


----------



## Lvsdisney

You have 2 hours from when your boarding group is called, so even if you have an FP at the same time,  you'll have plenty of time to do your FP ride and then join the boarding group. I would make your FP and then continue making them as you are allowed. Your BG shouldn't affect you too much. You can also follow along to see which BGs are being called. You'll get an idea of when yours will be called as it gets closer to your number.


----------



## Lvsdisney

BigOHawk said:


> So where in the park does it seem that cell service is the best without going back through 75 pages?  I have Verizon, and a Galaxy S8, will probably not use WIFI when there in March, any quick areas where speed seems to be better? I realize this is crowd dependent of course! Thanks!


We have Verizon and S10s and secured a BG at red rose Tavern and it sounded like many others did too. Good luck!!


----------



## Mathmagicland

Friday 7:13 lines for DL approx half
Way back across the esplanade


----------



## Mathmagicland

Gates opened approx 7:25 am.


----------



## marsh0013

My brothers and their girlfriends are there, waiting in line for the gates. I’m going to be helping from home. I think I’m more nervous than I was this past Sunday and Monday when I was at Hollywood Studios with my husband!


----------



## Rich M

Mathmagicland said:


> Gates opened approx 7:25 am.



There seems to be no advantage for being in the park so early so I am wondering if you show up at 7:50 is there still lines outside and you might miss being in at 8 or if it makes sense to come a little later as long as you are in the park before the scheduled opening.


----------



## Mathmagicland

In DL. At 7:38 FP selections not yet available to check for linked tickets as some have suggested


----------



## Mathmagicland

Rich M said:


> There seems to be no advantage for being in the park so early so I am wondering if you show up at 7:50 is there still lines outside and you might miss being in at 8 or if it makes sense to come a little later as long as you are in the park before the scheduled opening.


Hard to say. All depends on the crowds for the day


----------



## Mathmagicland

Max pass is available. Sorry for the confusion


----------



## ironband74

Rich M said:


> There seems to be no advantage for being in the park so early so I am wondering if you show up at 7:50 is there still lines outside and you might miss being in at 8 or if it makes sense to come a little later as long as you are in the park before the scheduled opening.


Most reports seem to be that you can roll up to the gate at 7:50 and still be in by 8.  On busy days, security can be the bottleneck.  And once you are in the park, it can take a minute or so for the system to update that you are actually in the park.  And you might want to move to a different area of the park with less cell/data congestion.  

I'd probably try and plan to be in line to enter the park by 7:30am just to keep the stress levels manageable.  It's tough enough just trying to get a boarding pass.  But I like to go early anyway.


----------



## Canadian Harmony

To clarify, I don't need to purchase max pass prior to attempting to get a BG, correct? I can do that after I secure a BG?

*note: I'm not going til March so this might be useless info, but I'm super curious just in case this BG stuff is still going on in 6 weeks*


----------



## kyliechristine

Canadian Harmony said:


> To clarify, I don't need to purchase max pass prior to attempting to get a BG, correct? I can do that after I secure a BG?
> 
> *note: I'm not going til March so this might be useless info, but I'm super curious just in case this BG stuff is still going on in 6 weeks*


Correct. You do not need max pass to get a BG. You can get it after you get a BG and it can be easily purchased from the app.


----------



## ironband74

Canadian Harmony said:


> To clarify, I don't need to purchase max pass prior to attempting to get a BG, correct? I can do that after I secure a BG?
> 
> *note: I'm not going til March so this might be useless info, but I'm super curious just in case this BG stuff is still going on in 6 weeks*


That is correct.  You can get max pass before, after, or not at all and still get a BG.


----------



## Mathmagicland

7:55 & lines to get in still at a steady back to the monorail tracks.


----------



## ironband74

All those going for boarding passes:  May the Force be With You!


----------



## BigOHawk

Grey button 75 seconds in...was able to play along offsite and saw red button for first minute.


----------



## katyringo

Gone at 10:01. I was able to get in multiple times playing from home. Never got a backup pop up tho.

never mind! It went grey and now red again

edit again: now getting backup notification


----------



## Mark_E

Playing along from home, looks like it took around 1 minute 5 seconds before the switch to backup.


----------



## dina444444

I didn’t get in today. It was greyed out when I opened it at 8am pacific time.


----------



## ironband74

Playing along at home, 

Got in fine for the first 70 seconds.

8:01:10 - I get the backup BG message, but the join button is greyed out.


----------



## dina444444

And looks like it’s still open for backups. My button just turned red.


----------



## BigOHawk

How would I know if my red button was a backup or normal group? Not seeing a screen pop to tell me either way since I'm not in park and it says "not so fast, all members of your party must be in park."


----------



## ironband74

Interesting, my red button just unlocked again.


----------



## EmJ

I was playing along at home. Couldn't get the button to turn red at 9:00, despite refreshing and hard closing/opening the Disneyland app. By the time the button turned red at 9:02, I was received the backup boarding group notification.


----------



## marsh0013

marsh0013 said:


> My brothers and their girlfriends are there, waiting in line for the gates. I’m going to be helping from home. I think I’m more nervous than I was this past Sunday and Monday when I was at Hollywood Studios with my husband!



Quoting myself to say that one of my brothers girlfriends got through first. She has Verizon. Not sure exactly where they were. She got them 37! I’m so happy for them!


----------



## katyringo

EmJ said:


> I was playing along at home. Couldn't get the button to turn red at 9:00, despite refreshing and hard closing/opening the Disneyland app. By the time the button turned red at 9:02, I was received the backup boarding group notification.


 When it didn’t turn red for me right away, I went to my status instead and my join boarding group button there was active ... playing from home.


----------



## JadeDarkstar

played from home 8:02 still coulda got a BG


----------



## BigOHawk

Anyone have screen caps of their progression to ensure I'm doing this right? I click app, then "Find Out More,"then red "Join Boarding Group," then "Create Party, Join a Boarding Group," then it says "Not So Fast!"


----------



## EmJ

BigOHawk said:


> How would I know if my red button was a backup or normal group? Not seeing a screen pop to tell me either way since I'm not in park and it says "not so fast, all members of your party must be in park."


I'm several states away, lol, but I get the backup boarding group notification as soon as I hit "Join Boarding Group". I assume I would get an error notification if I took it any further, but I haven't tried.


----------



## katyringo

8:05.. back ups still open


----------



## ironband74

BigOHawk said:


> How would I know if my red button was a backup or normal group? Not seeing a screen pop to tell me either way since I'm not in park and it says "not so fast, all members of your party must be in park."


I go based off the message on the "find out more" screen - if it has gotten to the backup time, it will say "our initial boarding group distribution for SW:ROTR is complete for today." and then a paragraph about backup BGs.


----------



## dina444444

BigOHawk said:


> Anyone have screen caps of their progression to ensure I'm doing this right? I click app, then "Find Out More,"then red "Join Boarding Group," then "Create Party, Join a Boarding Group," then it says "Not So Fast!"


That’s correct. If you were in the park the next page after create party would have you boarding group info on it.


----------



## ironband74

All wings in the park, report in!


----------



## Mathmagicland

BG 23!!  AT&T iPhone X.

Stood by the newsstand at the front gates. Kept checking connection speed was good initially by the train station but got worse as more people started hanging out there. So moved to the newsstand base on reports of ATT success in the esplanade. Had the strongest signal there & never dropped off.

Other family got BG 19 by the partners statue on Verizon. Don’t know the phone type EDIT this phone is a Samsung galaxy note 8


----------



## ironband74

10 minutes in, backups are still available.  Looks like Wednesday again.  @Mathmagicland - how is the crowd reaction this morning?  What numbers are you overhearing?


----------



## Katiebird

8:12 and backup groups still available. Playing from home


----------



## vickiea

It seems like they held back some of the backup BG's today (?) since the Join Boarding Group option did go away for many of us for 1-2 minutes and then came back (and they are still available now). Everyday it is a little different as they tweak things.


----------



## Varty Yo

Playing from home was grey till 8:06 then popped up red for backup groups for another minute or more. Strange.

Flying in sun will try mon morning for BG and every day for next 5 after lol.


----------



## CastAStone

Canadian Harmony said:


> To clarify, I don't need to purchase max pass prior to attempting to get a BG, correct? I can do that after I secure a BG?
> 
> *note: I'm not going til March so this might be useless info, but I'm super curious just in case this BG stuff is still going on in 6 weeks*


If you purchase MaxPass first there’s 2 benefits:
1) you can book a FastPass before park opening
2) you can be sure everything is linked up correctly before the boarding group battle begins

So I wouldn’t wait.


----------



## Mathmagicland

My brother has ATT & iPhone 11 he was in Peter Pan line turn  by the castle & got BG 61 - edit to add BG #

Rope drop at the park was approx 7:54.

also not all in line were in by 8- maybe 20 people deep in the lines by the Newsstand


----------



## VandVsmama

8:15 am DL time and I tried from home, looks like backup boarding groups still available.


----------



## CastAStone

I just went in to try (from home) and it told me to update my app. iPhone. Make sure you’re using the latest version!


----------



## Mommy to Kayla

Got boarding group 26. Three of us with IPhones and my daughter got it first but  the other two of us were in the process of getting one too. So luckily all 3 of us did get in. Came in with low expectations so we are all very happy.
After getting our BG we rode buzz came out and there were signs on the RotR fast pass machines saying Back Up groups still available, that was around 8:15 or so.


----------



## Gaugersaurus

I think we're going to see a trend of all groups being gone within minutes of opening on MM/EMH days and backups sticking around for a bit on days without MM/EMH at least during weekdays. Will be interesting if this holds true for weekends as well.


----------



## EmJ

CastAStone said:


> I just went in to try (from home) and it told me to update my app. iPhone. Make sure you’re using the latest version!


I am a technology dunce. How do I tell if the version is current?


----------



## njchris

Backups still available.


----------



## Rich M

Wow loving this report for today.  I will be there next Friday and now I have hope


----------



## CastAStone

EmJ said:


> I am a technology dunce. How do I tell if the version is current?


On an iPhone you can search for the app in the App Store like you’re going to get it for the first time. If the button that normally says “buy” says “open”, you’re good. If it says “update”, click it to update.


----------



## DLgal

DLRExpert said:


> Not who I am referring too. Or the people who frequent the boards or something similar.
> 
> After the cheering stops, you just have to walk around and see the guest faces that are still glued to their mobile devices hoping for a miracle. It is sad.
> 
> Then go see the lines and listen to the guests at a guest services booth or City Hall. Front line CMs I have spoken to have said how stressful this whole situation has made it for the guest and for them. The message and directions have not been clear enough.
> 
> They just want BGs to stop.
> 
> ME



Agree. When we were in the park Sunday, the lines at the guest Relations kiosks around the park were all SO long. We have to use those for obtaining DAS and basically gave up on that after our first DAS because there were just way too many people lined up to complain. I got to listen to a bunch of people ahead of me complain about it to the CMs and people behind us in line doing so amongst themselves. I've never seen lines that long on a normal day. It's usually 2-3 groups at a time in line maximum.


----------



## smercerdiemont

Hi everyone! We just got back from Disney last night, and was able to pull BG the two days we tried. My husband and I have Apple XS. He was able to pull them, with numbers 43 and 31. I am quick but my phone was not loading. We stood by the shops on the right hand side. Security lines were so fast, which was surprising. We didn’t stand in line longer than 10 minutes and that was due to large groups of people in front of us getting pictures taken. One thing I though was amazing is that there is a rider switch being offered. 

Editing to say THANK YOU to all of you that posted advice/tips/tricks. Without you all sharing your experiences and how to get a BG, I am sure we wouldn’t have gotten one. I can’t tell you all thank you enough. I also removed what might be spoilers and posted to other thread


----------



## Mathmagicland

Backups filled approx 8:45-8:50. Start at 81 today. Ride not yet open.


----------



## DLgal

Rich M said:


> There seems to be no advantage for being in the park so early so I am wondering if you show up at 7:50 is there still lines outside and you might miss being in at 8 or if it makes sense to come a little later as long as you are in the park before the scheduled opening.



We rolled up at 7:51 last Sunday and made it in by 7:53.


----------



## NorthernCalMom

Canadian Harmony said:


> To clarify, I don't need to purchase max pass prior to attempting to get a BG, correct? I can do that after I secure a BG?


I guess the idea behind getting it before is that this can rule out app problems such as improperly scanned tickets and thus people who are in the park but aren’t recognized by the system as being there (they wouldn’t get a Maxpass-FP either, and when you do this early enough it gives you time to go back to a cast member & troubleshoot) or your, for whatever reason, not being signed into your account. So, by the time the BG craziness starts, you would have already excluded a few things that could go wrong. But, yes, you’re right, technically you don’t HAVE to.


----------



## becauseimnew

For those of you testing from home, do you have linked tickets? We won't be able to buy our tickets until we arrive (buying military salute tickets).


----------



## ironband74

becauseimnew said:


> For those of you testing from home, do you have linked tickets? We won't be able to buy our tickets until we arrive (buying military salute tickets).


I don't.  I get to the link tickets screen and then back out.


----------



## Mark_E

becauseimnew said:


> For those of you testing from home, do you have linked tickets? We won't be able to buy our tickets until we arrive (buying military salute tickets).


I don't. But it lets me get through as much as to saying I need to link tickets.


----------



## EmJ

CastAStone said:


> On an iPhone you can search for the app in the App Store like you’re going to get it for the first time. If the button that normally says “buy” says “open”, you’re good. If it says “update”, click it to update.


Thank you!! I did, indeed, need an update, which might have accounted for my odd experience with the join boarding group button this morning.

I wonder how many of my other apps need secret updates!


----------



## pokee99

How are people testing from home? Do you have an annual pass or something?

And don't you have to be inside the park to book a boarding group?


----------



## NorthernCalMom

becauseimnew said:


> For those of you testing from home, do you have linked tickets? We won't be able to buy our tickets until we arrive (buying military salute tickets).


I don’t. I’m just trying different ways of getting to the red button, so that I know exactly what works best for my phone, because I have a relatively old phone & AT&T. I do keep in mind, however, that it may make quite the difference if I’m doing this from a solid WiFi connection at my home versus when sharing the signal with 10,000 of my new best friends in the park. Still, this way I hopefully at least avoid my freezing at the time I’m doing it for real and wondering which button to press. There’s of course the possibility that I’ll do it the day of with actual tickets & get an error message after selecting the people who want to ride. I learned, through years of experience planning DLand visits for my family that even the best of planning merely increases the chances for our getting what we want to get done and that there is, in anything and everything in the parks, no guarantee that things will work out just the way I want them to. I feel sorry for the crying kids some posters mention, but it seems to me that blaming the current (lesser of many other possible evils) BG systems makes just as much sense as blaming the wind when the fireworks that I wanted to see so badly on the last day of my visit are canceled. It’s sad, especially for little ones, but it’s a life lesson, too. I hope that doesn’t sound callous, but teaching my kids to cope with disappointment (in other ways than shouting at cast members) seems so important to me and is sure to help them later in life. That said, I’m of course keeping all my fingers crossed for getting to ride when we go later this year.


----------



## dina444444

pokee99 said:


> How are people testing from home? Do you have an annual pass or something?
> 
> And don't you have to be inside the park to book a boarding group?


You can go through the process of joining a group up to actually being placed in one.


----------



## JWelch62

pokee99 said:


> How are people testing from home? Do you have an annual pass or something?
> 
> And don't you have to be inside the park to book a boarding group?


I suspect that everyone playing from home has some sort of AP. I know that I do.

You do need to be in the park to get a BG, but you can go through the process up until the point a BG is assigned. At that point you get a message about not everyone in your group being in the park. So, you can't proceed to actually get a BG.


----------



## NorthernCalMom

I’m utterly baffled by the huge difference between backup groups’ lasting more than 40 mins Wednesday & today but being gone before minute 2 yesterday. Even if they keep playing around with the controls to find out what works best, that seems like a huge difference! Theories, oh wise ones?


----------



## bethwc101

How does the process worth with attmepting to have multiple people in your group book BGs. If multiple get BGs do you keep them? Or once one person has a BG do the other people get kicked out? Or does it just automatically keep the lowest BG number?


----------



## Etonduf

According to the version history, the iOS app was updated 3 days ago with unspecified bug fixes and performance updates. It may or may not be related to ROTR, but it seems reasonable they'd have some ROTR bugs ironed out now.

From home today the button greyed at 8:01 but I swear I was able to get through *without* the "backup boarding group" alert two more times before I started pulling backups. That doesn't seem to square with everyone else's experiences (backup groups starting at 9:01) so maybe I imagined it or experienced some unrelated glitch that kept the message from appearing those first two times.

But I'm happy to see that backup groups are lasting a little longer. I've been "managing expectations" with my kids for our upcoming trip, but I'm starting to feel a little bit of optimism that we'll at least get a backup. Very interested to see how next week goes.


----------



## Gaugersaurus

NorthernCalMom said:


> I’m utterly baffled by the huge difference between backup groups’ lasting more than 40 mins Wednesday & today but being gone before minute 2 yesterday. Even if they keep playing around with the controls to find out what works best, that seems like a huge difference! Theories, oh wise ones?


EMH seems to make BGs go faster as more people are up early and already in the park.


----------



## Gaugersaurus

bethwc101 said:


> How does the process worth with attmepting to have multiple people in your group book BGs. If multiple get BGs do you keep them? Or once one person has a BG do the other people get kicked out? Or does it just automatically keep the lowest BG number?


Once one person gets a BG for the group the rest get something to the effect of "you already have a BG"


----------



## CaliforniaGirl09

CastAStone said:


> I just went in to try (from home) and it told me to update my app. iPhone. Make sure you’re using the latest version!


Same thing happened to me and I’d just updated it last week right before opening.


----------



## Skyegirl1999

EmJ said:


> Thank you!! I did, indeed, need an update, which might have accounted for my odd experience with the join boarding group button this morning.
> 
> I wonder how many of my other apps need secret updates!


If you go into the App Store and click the number on the top, right, there will be an “update all” option on the left. 


NorthernCalMom said:


> I’m utterly baffled by the huge difference between backup groups’ lasting more than 40 mins Wednesday & today but being gone before minute 2 yesterday. Even if they keep playing around with the controls to find out what works best, that seems like a huge difference! Theories, oh wise ones?


Magic Morning.  Makes total sense to me; the number of people in the park at rope drop on a MM is so much higher.


----------



## ironband74

Looks like they are finally calling groups.  Here's hoping that the morning shakedown got the bugs out.


----------



## LilyJC

Saw on my FB AP group that someone  got backup BG 133 around 8:30 this morning (take it with a grain of salt of course...).  So interesting!


----------



## Etonduf

TheyCallMeStacey said:


> Has there been much discussion about how to prioritize FastPass and ROTR Boarding Groups?  I saw a snippet of a post where they said to immediately book a FP on maxpass when you scan in and then try for ROTR at park open, but I haven't seen much more than that. Thoughts? Speculations? We have 2 days in the parks and I want to be sure I'm headed with a plan! THANKS!



The two don't really have anything to do with one another. The suggestion to book a fastpass immediately is twofold: first, you start the clocking ticking on when you can pull your next FP; and second, you can confirm that everyone is correctly scanned into the park and part of your "party" for the boarding group process to go quicker.


----------



## Talkwithjacob

Got through security by Earl of Sandwich in 5 minutes at 7:30, got in line to Disneyland at 7:40, line moved fast, slowly walked all the way to teacups by 7:50, pressed "find out more" in app when phone said 8am, got boarding group 37. Everyone around me got different boarding groups, the only people I talked to who didn't get a Boarding Group were people who were late or had no smartphone (wow.)  Ride still not open. Weather is great, people are in a good mood, it looks to be a nice day. Already rode Space Mtn, Pirates and Matterhorn by 9:30am.

I am coming again with family in a few weeks and wanted to test-run this whole weird boarding group thing to ensure we have a good visit.

Single rider, samsung galaxy 9+.


----------



## Jaina

We were on Verizon with iPhone 8 and XR over by the firehouse and I got Boarding group 36 on my 8. It was such a rush. However, 1.5 hours later they have still haven’t started boarding...  (whoops, while I was typing that, they started with group 11 - Yay!)


----------



## ironband74

LilyJC said:


> Saw on my FB AP group that someone  got backup BG 133 around 8:30 this morning (take it with a grain of salt of course...).  So interesting!


Thanks, that's a great data point.


----------



## LeiaOfAlderaan

I am confused...I’ve seen references to buttons being gray, blue, orange, and red. It would be so helpful if someone could post step by step (with screen shots) of what color button you are looking for depending on which way you are trying for a boarding group. 

And on a related note, I don’t understand why there is more than one way to get a boarding group! Maybe I am just easily confused, lol.


----------



## hulamom

I was following the WDW thread until the ride opened in DL, and have now been obsessively following this thread.  Thank you to all who have helped and experienced the BG process! My trip isn't until mid-March and my anxiety level is so high (my family thinks I am crazy).  

One thing that I don't think I've seen answered... I've watched a few of the videos out there of people attempting to get BGs, and sometimes the "Something went wrong" error message pops up.  My questions:
- What is the correct thing to do when this happens? I see that you can either click the "x" or "refresh icon".  I can't tell in the videos what people are doing to resolve this.
- Why is this error coming up? App glitch? Overloaded App? Maybe it's unknown, but it would be nice to know if it's something to do with my app not being current or user error.


----------



## Skyegirl1999

LeiaOfAlderaan said:


> I am confused...I’ve seen references to buttons being gray, blue, orange, and red. It would be so helpful if someone could post step by step (with screen shots) of what color button you are looking for depending on which way you are trying for a boarding group.
> 
> And on a related note, I don’t understand why there is more than one way to get a boarding group! Maybe I am just easily confused, lol.


Have you played along on the app when BGs go live?  That’s probably the easiest way to see what people are talking about.  You just click “find out more” under ROTR on the home page.

There are also quite a few videos on YouTube that show the process.




hulamom said:


> I was following the WDW thread until the ride opened in DL, and have now been obsessively following this thread.  Thank you to all who have helped and experienced the BG process! My trip isn't until mid-March and my anxiety level is so high (my family thinks I am crazy).
> 
> One thing that I don't think I've seen answered... I've watched a few of the videos out there of people attempting to get BGs, and sometimes the "Something went wrong" error message pops up.  My questions:
> - What is the correct thing to do when this happens? I see that you can either click the "x" or "refresh icon".  I can't tell in the videos what people are doing to resolve this.
> - Why is this error coming up? App glitch? Overloaded App? Maybe it's unknown, but it would be nice to know if it's something to do with my app not being current or user error.


It’s usually not user error - make sure your app is updated, but otherwise, you’re at their mercy.  Disney’s IT can be... sketchy.

I haven’t had this happen while trying for a BG, but usually you have to X out.


----------



## ironband74

I have to say, the data at thrill-data.com is super interesting and I could look at it all day if I didn't have a real job to do...

Someone was saying that there has been no real improvement at DHS in the first 50 days.  However, this chart definitely shows an upward trend in processing rates:


Yes, there are some low outliers where things went horribly sideways last week, but if you were to draw a trendline, typical groups per hour have nearly doubled since opening week.  It's still a crapshoot as to if you're going to have a good, bad, or average day.  But the good days definitely outnumber the bad in the last couple of weeks (10 days over 10g/h and 4 below).

Compare this with our West coast's first week in action:


We have not broken 10g/h yet, but we've only gone below 6 once and just barely.  Our first week performance looks similar to DHS second week, just kissing 10 but not breaking it.

We shall watch these developments with great interest...


----------



## Skyegirl1999

ironband74 said:


> I have to say, the data at thrill-data.com is super interesting and I could look at it all day if I didn't have a real job to do...
> 
> Someone was saying that there has been no real improvement at DHS in the first 50 days.  However, this chart definitely shows an upward trend in processing rates:
> View attachment 467772
> 
> Yes, there are some low outliers where things went horribly sideways last week, but if you were to draw a trendline, typical groups per hour have nearly doubled since opening week.  It's still a crapshoot as to if you're going to have a good, bad, or average day.  But the good days definitely outnumber the bad in the last couple of weeks (10 days over 10g/h and 4 below).
> 
> Compare this with our West coast's first week in action:
> View attachment 467775
> 
> We have not broken 10g/h yet, but we've only gone below 6 once and just barely.  Our first week performance looks similar to DHS second week, just kissing 10 but not breaking it.
> 
> We shall watch these developments with great interest...


Data nerds, unite!

I have to say that I’ve really enjoyed your enthusiasm on this thread; you’ve added a lot to the conversation and have a nice, balanced outlook. ☺


----------



## KPeterso

Skyegirl1999 said:


> Data nerds, unite!
> 
> I have to say that I’ve really enjoyed your enthusiasm on this thread; you’ve added a lot to the conversation and have a nice, balanced outlook. ☺



I am a data nerd too. Love looking at it and analyzing it. Guess it makes sense I am a reporting analyst (haha). I also love the chart showing the numbers for each day. I have ridden once on day 2, but feel so much more ready and prepared to try again!


----------



## StarlitNight05

So funny that a lot of us Disney lovers are data nerds!


----------



## ironband74

Skyegirl1999 said:


> Data nerds, unite!
> 
> I have to say that I’ve really enjoyed your enthusiasm on this thread; you’ve added a lot to the conversation and have a nice, balanced outlook. ☺


Awww, thanks!  I do love me some data...Goes well with my coffee.

Also, dang, they are pre-loading the queue hard today! Here's hoping she holds together...


----------



## karrit2000

Anyone have any experience with using xfinity mobile trying to get a bg?  I've only seen people mention the big service providers, Verizon, Sprint, AT & T and T mobile.


----------



## LeiaOfAlderaan

Skyegirl1999 said:


> Have you played along on the app when BGs go live? That’s probably the easiest way to see what people are talking about. You just click “find out more” under ROTR on the home page.
> 
> There are also quite a few videos on YouTube that show the process.


No, haven’t played along at home yet because I’m not a morning person (except at Disney of course) and I keep waking up too late. I will practice when I get closer to my visit. 

Thanks so much for the YouTube suggestion, I don’t know why I didn’t think of that (duh). I think I understand now which buttons should be which color. (And I think some people are calling the same button red or orange depending on how they perceive it.)


----------



## Skyegirl1999

LeiaOfAlderaan said:


> No, haven’t played along at home yet because I’m not a morning person (except at Disney of course) and I keep waking up too late. I will practice when I get closer to my visit.
> 
> Thanks so much for the YouTube suggestion, I don’t know why I didn’t think of that (duh). I think I understand now which buttons should be which color. (And I think some people are calling the same button red or orange depending on how they perceive it.)


Glad you found something helpful - and yeah, I think red/orange are the same unless I’ve missed something!


----------



## SOCALMouseMommy

dina444444 said:


> I didn’t get in today. It was greyed out when I opened it at 8am pacific time.


Oh man! Not good!


----------



## twodogs

pokee99 said:


> How are people testing from home? Do you have an annual pass or something?
> 
> And don't you have to be inside the park to book a boarding group?


To be clear,  you DO NOT have to have a ticket linked to your account to "play along" from home to see how the first several steps of trying to get a BG go.  However, if you do not have tickets linked AND you have not scanned those tickets into DL for the day, you will not be able to complete the final step, booking an actual BG.  You will be able to see if you would have gotten a real BG or a back up BG when playing from home (even without tickets) because the pop-up on the app to tell you that you are about to join a back up group comes before the final step where you would actually book a group.

Practicing from home can be helpful to see the steps and make it less stressful when you are actually there.   It also lets you see how many other people's tickets you currently have linked to your account (you will see the list on the "Whoa, you can't book since you are not in the park" screen), in case you want to remove some of those people before your trip to save time of having to de-select them on the actual day you are booking. 

You can practice twice a day actually because you can get up really early and practice on the WDW app, and then practice again a few hours later on the DLR app when they open (should anyone on these boards be really type A and think to do that...).


----------



## Skyegirl1999

twodogs said:


> (should anyone on these boards be really type A and think to do that...).


This group?  Type A?  I can’t believe anyone would think that!


----------



## Talkwithjacob

11:09, BG #36 just called. I am 37. I am beyond excited. Boarding seems to be going fast and smooth today. See you on the other side!


----------



## franandaj

Another Data need here! I'm following both parks on different Chrome tabs on my Galaxy.


----------



## Jaina

Talkwithjacob said:


> 11:09, BG #36 just called. I am 37. I am beyond excited. Boarding seems to be going fast and smooth today. See you on the other side!


That’s us! We’re in the line! Hoping we don’t get a breakdown, because I already ate all my snacks this morning!


----------



## Mathmagicland

BG 23 called at 9:39. We entered queue at 10:05. Got to ride entrance at 10:22.


----------



## deejdigsdis

pokee99 said:


> How are people testing from home? Do you have an annual pass or something?
> 
> And don't you have to be inside the park to book a boarding group?



I don't have an AP and I've been able to try from home and get to the notice about not being in the park so I can't go any further.


----------



## EmJ

Data nerds rule the world! Or at least the theme park 

I’m enjoying this graph today. They added the trend line now that there’s a week’s worth of data to work with. Looking good so far today.


----------



## NorthernCalMom

StarlitNight05 said:


> So funny that a lot of us Disney lovers are data nerds!


Is it the Disney LOVERS or they Disney PREPPERS in particular whom you are more likely to run into here, hungry for statistical input and happy to share what we find? Also, it may be that nerds and other connaisseurs of numbers and patterns feel more drawn to prepping (as opposed to seats-of-the-pants park touring styles)? That definitely covers me... my family appreciates my research, since it helps us minimize waiting, but I’m not just doing it for them; I actually genuinely enjoy looking at numbers & finding patterns as well as observing how Disney operations tries to deal with challenging, emotion-laden crowd control issues. There is so much beauty in data!!!


----------



## JWelch62

EmJ said:


> Data nerds rule the world! Or at least the theme park
> 
> I’m enjoying this graph today. They added
> The trend line now that there’s a week’s worth of data to work with. Looking good so far today. View attachment 467842


Very cool. I've noticed that, barring the ride shutting down, the rate of BGs called increases about 2 hrs after the first BG is called. This makes sense to me as first there is the initial burst of BGs as the ride opens, and then a slow down while they work through those first groups. After 2 hours the initial groups are out, freeing up space. This has held (mostly) true for any day the ride has not gone down in the first 2 hours.

BTW, also a nerd. IC designer with an unhealthy love for Excel.


----------



## Susie63

Has anyone been through the DAS line and the regular line? I am wondering if I will miss out on any cool stuff by going through the DAS line?


----------



## dina444444

Susie63 said:


> Has anyone been through the DAS line and the regular line? I am wondering if I will miss out on any cool stuff by going through the DAS line?


You just miss some “props” and the things to play the play app game. The preshows start after the merge. I’ve been down the fp/das line at dhs once since we had one of the first boarding groups called one of our days.


----------



## EmJ

JWelch62 said:


> Very cool. I've noticed that, barring the ride shutting down, the rate of BGs called increases about 2 hrs after the first BG is called. This makes sense to me as first there is the initial burst of BGs as the ride opens, and then a slow down while they work through those first groups. After 2 hours the initial groups are out, freeing up space. This has held (mostly) true for any day the ride has not gone down in the first 2 hours.
> 
> BTW, also a nerd. IC designer with an unhealthy love for Excel.


No amount of love for Excel is unhealthy


----------



## Ferrellcon

dina444444 said:


> Was 115 the last group yesterday?


Yes 115 was the last number called yesterday.


----------



## BigOHawk

Bricker of DisneyLand Touring Blog does a great job along with the all the folks in this thread explaining RoTR process, complete with screenshots and tips and tricks!
https://www.disneytouristblog.com/star-wars-rise-resistance-disneyland-strategy-guide/


----------



## Evh412

This was the first thread I ever checked out and silently lurked for the past week . I wanted to share my experience to help anyone else trying.

My husband and I practiced the boarding procedure from home and got the red button to light up fairly quickly the few times we tried. We used the Apple Watch as a countdown clock.

We were let into the gates at 7:30 ish yesterday for Magic Morning. We ended up near the submarines , internet speeds were at 100 testing with ookla there weren’t that many people around.

We stayed off WiFi and just used T-Mobile LTE. We both have iPhone 10s.

We bought fast passes and confirmed our tickets were active and linked . We restarted our phones, closed all our apps. 8:57 rolled around and more people started to come, I did another internet speed test and we were only pinging at 35 and not 100 like previously.

We employed the method we had been using at home. Except It didn’t work this time. It just kept pulling up a gray button, never turned red.

We started the process with the app already open. We both were panicked so i closed out the app finally and reopened it and we got BG 107.

5 groups around me who knew what they were doing all got BG groups of 85 or higher, but one older couple got BG 45. There was only one group cheering but looking around most people seemed disappointed. Everyone seemed to employ different methods of trying to get tickets.

We had to leave early and didn’t get a chance to ride. The park was fairly empty yesterday and we had the best time and rode a lot of rides. We went without the kids and it was so fun doing what WE wanted to do lol.

I would suggest finding a spot where your signal is good, internet speed is strong and there aren’t a lot of people. If there are more than 2 people in your party I would maybe have one person try with the app already open and one person open the app fresh.

My overall advice - you can only control so much and dissecting this process as I did still may not yield the results you want. I think it’s just a random process that sometimes favors certain factors because you’re using the internet and it’s, well it’s the internet. Good luck everyone!


----------



## Nonsuch

franandaj said:


> Another Data need here! I'm following both parks on different Chrome tabs on my Galaxy.


A Galaxy Far Far Away...


----------



## Jaina

We were waiting and entered the queue as soon as our group (36) was called today, just before 11:10. It took us about 40 minutes until we started our experience. It was awesome!!


----------



## HydroGuy

montreid said:


> Disneyland has 18M visitors a year and from blogs I've read, a guesstimate is some 25% are locals while the majority or not and the real spenders in hotels/in-park spending.


I have no information in the recent years, but my understanding is that the number is closer to 70% locals at DLR. FWIW it is about 15% at WDW. If someone has better, more recent or more accurate information that would be great to hear!


----------



## HydroGuy

DLgal said:


> As of 5 years ago, Disney was telling cast members taking the traditions course that 80% of Disneyland visitors on any given day are locals, 20% from outside the "southern CA" area, as defined by the zip codes that cover fro Bakersfield down to the southern border.
> 
> I don't suspect that statistic has changed all that much. But, Disney has never and will never make the exact information public, so no one knows for sure. I go by the parking lots and the fact that most people who come from out of the area don't use them, yet they are usually almost full. Disneyland has around 25,000 parking spaces.


OK, thanks, I posted my PP before seeing this. I have a hard time seeing it is as high as 80%, but have no information to dispute that. Thanks!


----------



## Skyegirl1999

HydroGuy said:


> OK, thanks, I posted my PP before seeing this. I have a hard time seeing it is as high as 80%, but have no information to dispute that. Thanks!


I have heard that it’s “up to 80% on certain days,” which I find possible for some times of year (especially a few years ago when APs were soooo prevalent) - but then there are times (like Christmas week) that are maybe 10% APs.  

It’s also important for people to distinguish between “locals” and “APs.”  There will be a lot of locals who visit this spring on the three-day ticket deal, or who buy a one-day ticket for a birthday or something... and there are a lot of APs who live far away and just make 2-3 longer trips a year on their APs.  So it’s hard to make generalizations about “locals” or “APs.”


----------



## CaliforniaGirl09

Just arrived for the much awaited birthday weekend for DS22 special needs. Staying at the grand so came into CA Adventure first to eat lunch. Kind of funny at check-in, the CM went through a whole spiel on boarding groups not being guaranteed and trying to put a spin on not getting one. I told her 2 of us had ridden at WDW but she had a script  My sense is they’ve had lots of disappointed and upset guests complaining so they are trying to set low expectations. Hopefully my son will not be one of them!


----------



## Ferrellcon

DHS is at 142. Well done to them. Disneyland is at 61 at 2:17  i hope they do well today. They have about 6 hours left till they stop calling boarding groups due to them closing early for maintenance. It seems they may get through the regular groups and some backup today.


----------



## montreid

CaliforniaGirl09 said:


> Just arrived for the much awaited birthday weekend for DS22 special needs. Staying at the grand so came into CA Adventure first to eat lunch. Kind of funny at check-in, the CM went through a whole spiel on boarding groups not being guaranteed and trying to put a spin on not getting one. I told her 2 of us had ridden at WDW but she had a script  My sense is they’ve had lots of disappointed and upset guests complaining so they are trying to set low expectations. Hopefully my son will not be one of them!


Going up there tomorrow for Sat-Mon but will miss out sat AM.  excited to see compared to WDW.   Only got to ride once out there.  this time in SoCal Sun so already a win!


----------



## Ferrellcon

CaliforniaGirl09 said:


> Just arrived for the much awaited birthday weekend for DS22 special needs. Staying at the grand so came into CA Adventure first to eat lunch. Kind of funny at check-in, the CM went through a whole spiel on boarding groups not being guaranteed and trying to put a spin on not getting one. I told her 2 of us had ridden at WDW but she had a script  My sense is they’ve had lots of disappointed and upset guests complaining so they are trying to set low expectations. Hopefully my son will not be one of them!


I would like to read that script to see what they are telling guests and how they are setting those low expectations without angering them lol.


----------



## Ferrellcon

I wonder what would happen if they somehow managed to get through all the boarding groups and still have time to load more guests? Would they just open the standby line at that point or would they just reopen the boarding groups?


----------



## dina444444

Ferrellcon said:


> I wonder what would happen if they somehow managed to get through all the boarding groups and still have time to load more guests? Would they just open the standby line at that point or would they just reopen the boarding groups?


They’ve pixie dusted at dhs before in the evening so they could do the same at Disneyland.


----------



## EmJ

Ferrellcon said:


> I wonder what would happen if they somehow managed to get through all the boarding groups and still have time to load more guests? Would they just open the standby line at that point or would they just reopen the boarding groups?


This happened at WDW once that I know of, and they just stopped the ride. They didn't open up boarding groups or a SB line. I don't think it was a long time before it would have closed anyway, though.

EDIT: I stand corrected by dina  It looks like maybe WDW changed its procedures!


----------



## Ferrellcon

Does anyone know how high the boarding group number goes for both parks?


----------



## dina444444

Ferrellcon said:


> Does anyone know how high the boarding group number goes for both parks?


It changes day to day. Dhs went to 142 today and started with either 9 or 10. They’ve gone as high as low 200s(NYE, park was open 16 hours) and mid 160s (this past Monday, best day on record for groups per hour).


----------



## MonocularVision

I am an obsessive follower of this thread and the WDW version but I can’t remember: has anyone mentioned an announcement of the BGs over the PA at Disneyland? I ask because the announcement and BG opening happened a minute earlier at DHS this morning.

This has me rethinking my “leave the park to get away from crowds” strategy.


----------



## dina444444

MonocularVision said:


> I am an obsessive follower of this thread and the WDW version but I can’t remember: has anyone mentioned an announcement of the BGs over the PA at Disneyland? I ask because the announcement and BG opening happened a minute earlier at DHS this morning.
> 
> This has me rethinking my “leave the park to get away from crowds” strategy.


Yes, they make several announcements leading up to park opening about boarding groups. I remember at least 4 announcements were made on Saturday morning after I entered the park at 7:10 for the 8am opening.


----------



## DLgal

MonocularVision said:


> I am an obsessive follower of this thread and the WDW version but I can’t remember: has anyone mentioned an announcement of the BGs over the PA at Disneyland? I ask because the announcement and BG opening happened a minute earlier at DHS this morning.
> 
> This has me rethinking my “leave the park to get away from crowds” strategy.



Yeah, they made an announcement about 5 minutes before 8am last Sunday. They did not make an announcement when 8am hit, though.


----------



## ckb_nc

HydroGuy said:


> I have no information in the recent years, but my understanding is that the number is closer to 70% locals at DLR. FWIW it is about 15% at WDW. If someone has better, more recent or more accurate information that would be great to hear!


FWIW is much higher locals on weekends.  Which are crazy


----------



## Mike_M

MonocularVision said:


> I am an obsessive follower of this thread and the WDW version but I can’t remember: has anyone mentioned an announcement of the BGs over the PA at Disneyland? I ask because the announcement and BG opening happened a minute earlier at DHS this morning.
> 
> This has me rethinking my “leave the park to get away from crowds” strategy.



When I was there this past weekend, while BG selection didn’t start until 8:00AM on the dot, the general park opening announcement was happening about 10 min early. I assume this was to help with congestion on Main St. Just keep in mind that if they open early, It doesn’t mean BG selection does too.


----------



## Mathmagicland

Up to 82 first backups by 4pm


----------



## Lewdannie

They getting into the groove now. I reckon the later opening date has allowed Disneyland to resolve some issues plaguing WDW and predict that they will soon be routinely outperforming the East Coast


----------



## CaliforniaGirl09

Ferrellcon said:


> I would like to read that script to see what they are telling guests and how they are setting those low expectations without angering them lol.



I wish I had a better memory! My son was impatient so i was just trying to get out of there!



MonocularVision said:


> I am an obsessive follower of this thread and the WDW version but I can’t remember: has anyone mentioned an announcement of the BGs over the PA at Disneyland? I ask because the announcement and BG opening happened a minute earlier at DHS this morning.
> 
> This has me rethinking my “leave the park to get away from crowds” strategy.


the boarding groups at wdw started at 7:59? Yikes! That hasn’t happened here. I am planning to leave the park tomorrow after tapping in but our plan was that my husband will you stay in the park just in case something went wrong—like this. I guess lol!


----------



## MonocularVision

CaliforniaGirl09 said:


> the boarding groups at wdw started at 7:59? Yikes! That hasn’t happened here. I am planning to leave the park tomorrow after tapping in but our plan was that my husband will you stay in the park just in case something went wrong—like this. I guess lol!



Technically 6:59 since they opened at 7am.


----------



## CaliforniaGirl09

MonocularVision said:


> Technically 6:59 since they opened at 7am.


Wow, that is the first I've heard of that. I wonder if they are trying to stop what people are doing by tapping in and then leaving to get better wifi/phone service. Either that or someone messed up!


----------



## Pickles2000

On these days where back-ups are lasting a bit longer, I’d love to hear some reports on the latest people are getting BGs and still getting to ride. Very curious.


----------



## Talkwithjacob

Follow up: my BG #37 boarded at 11am, queue was slow but moving, I was out of the attraction by 12. Amazing ride. My advice: show up early and get a BG, don't stress, plan ahead, and may the force be with you.


----------



## TikiTikiFan

DLgal said:


> Agree. When we were in the park Sunday, the lines at the guest Relations kiosks around the park were all SO long. We have to use those for obtaining DAS and basically gave up on that after our first DAS because there were just way too many people lined up to complain. I got to listen to a bunch of people ahead of me complain about it to the CMs and people behind us in line doing so amongst themselves. I've never seen lines that long on a normal day. It's usually 2-3 groups at a time in line maximum.



Feel so bad for those cast members, this has to be so stressful for them.


----------



## CastAStone

now boarding group 106


----------



## CastAStone

CastAStone said:


> now boarding group 106


The current record for total BGs in a day (WDW+DLP) is 254...we’re at 229 with 5 hours until DLP closes...


----------



## ballonewb

How many people are sticking around that have a late bg return time?


----------



## ironband74

CastAStone said:


> now boarding group 106


Yeah, but we've been stuck at 106 for 50 minutes.  Hopefully we get back up soon and have a good push to the end of the day.


----------



## Lewdannie

What is the record for WDW on its own?


----------



## ironband74

Lewdannie said:


> What is the record for WDW on its own?


Well, 222 (211 called), but that was New Year's Eve so an extra long day.


----------



## dina444444

ironband74 said:


> Well, 222 (211 called), but that was New Year's Eve so an extra long day.


Which was an 18 hour park day. Disneyland regularly has 16 hour days where as DHS averages 12-13 hour days max except those few 6am days which were 16 hour days.


----------



## hiroMYhero

Lewdannie said:


> What is the record for WDW on its own?





ironband74 said:


> Well, 222 (211 called), but that was New Year's Eve so an extra long day.


And in extra long, Studios opened at 6a with the ride opening at 6:30ish and closed at midnight. 215 BGs were called to load until 10p.


----------



## ironband74

Looks like we're up and running again with about an hour of call time left.


----------



## montreid

isn't DLR open to 12MN?  so 10pm close perhaps?


----------



## Ferrellcon

montreid said:


> isn't DLR open to 12MN?  so 10pm close perhaps?


I wish but no. I was there when the park closed at 12am and they stopped a little after 8.


----------



## heathpack

Ferrellcon said:


> I would like to read that script to see what they are telling guests and how they are setting those low expectations without angering them lol.



We checked in to Grand Californian today too.  No scripted comments.  Maybe a little chit chat about Rise but nothing that felt like an attempt to manage expectations.


----------



## dina444444

Ferrellcon said:


> I wish but no. I was there when the park closed at 12am and they stopped a little after 8.


I wouldn’t base tonight off of last weekend. The ride should be able to operate longer hours as it logs more time. This can be evidenced by DHS’s operating hours and the ride no closing early the days between 12/26-1/1.


----------



## Ferrellcon

dina444444 said:


> Which was an 18 hour park day. Disneyland regularly has 16 hour days where as DHS averages 12-13 hour days max except those few 6am days which were 16 hour days.


Does Disneyland ever open at 6 am?


----------



## heathpack

Our data points:

Arrived VGC at 6am, checked in & parked, hit up DTD Starbucks and were to DL gates at 6:30am.

At 7am, we each in turn walked over to DCA and entered the park, then returned to the DL line.  Booked a couple of fast passes.

Entered DL around 7:15ish.  Found a bench up by the train station to wait.

Did all the “correct” procedures- up-to-date version on the app, nothing else running, hard reset of the phone, close out of the app, reopen app, etc.  At 8am, neither husband nor I (both logged into my account) got a red button.  This is what I’d experienced practicing at home and generally I find my version of the app to be very slow.  We both have older I Phones and mine doesn’t have much space left on it.

I closed the app and reopened it, nada zip grey button.  Husband was kvetching to a sympathetic bystander when his button went red and we got boarding group 91.

We were called up a little before 5pm, entered the queue at 5:02 and were done riding around 6pm.  The ride was worth the effort.

We arrived yesterday around 3pm, stayed one night at the Fairfield Inn before checking into the Grand today.  We check out tomorrow.  It’s been great- non crowded and we rode everything and must have grabbed 10 fast passes today, sweet.

We’re going to try for a boarding group tomorrow but if we get a high number we may not stick around for it, today was a bit grueling and we’d like to get home at a decent hour.  As I understand it you can transfer BG to someone else so if there’s a party of two who will be around tomorrow and might want a late boarding group, message me.  No promises we’ll give it up, it’s somewhat going to depend on how we feel tomorrow.


----------



## dina444444

Ferrellcon said:


> Does Disneyland ever open at 6 am?


No but the 6am DHS days other than NYE were 16 hour days (6am-10pm) which Disneyland has almost every Friday/Saturday/Sunday (8am-12am).


----------



## Ferrellcon

dina444444 said:


> No but the 6am DHS days other than NYE were 16 hour days (6am-10pm) which Disneyland has almost every Friday/Saturday/Sunday (8am-12am).


I would love an 18 hour day more boarding groups would be available.


----------



## IsleofDisney

Up to BG 122 at DLR! Have they met or surpassed the 10g/hr today?


----------



## dina444444

IsleofDisney said:


> Up to BG 122 at DLR! Have they met or surpassed the 10g/hr today?


They are at about 9 groups an hour right now since there has been some downtime


----------



## montreid

Either done or down.  122 BG....not bad


----------



## Ferrellcon

I believe 122 will be the last boarding group today.


----------



## Mathmagicland

heathpack said:


> As I understand it you can transfer BG to someone else


How would you do this, transfer a BG.   I Don’t recall hearing about this.


----------



## vickiea

Ferrellcon said:


> I believe 122 will be the last boarding group today.


Do we know if that was the highest backup BG handed out?


----------



## ironband74

Mathmagicland said:


> How would you do this, transfer a BG.   I Don’t recall hearing about this.


I think it would entail sending screenshots of the BG to the recipient.  I'm not aware of any "official" way to do it.


----------



## ironband74

Ferrellcon said:


> I believe 122 will be the last boarding group today.


I agree.  The pattern is pretty well established that between 8:30 and 9:00 they stop calling.  Still, BG 122 (112 called) is the best yet by a slim margin.


----------



## ironband74

vickiea said:


> Do we know if that was the highest backup BG handed out?


There was a report of a BG 133 obtained at 8:30am today, so there were some groups left on the table today for sure.


----------



## heathpack

ironband74 said:


> I think it would entail sending screenshots of the BG to the recipient.  I'm not aware of any "official" way to do it.



It was implied to me by another guest today that you could officially transfer a boarding group but I didn’t ask specifics, and have no idea if they had any idea what they were talking about.  If anyone here knows an “official” method, let me know.

My assumption prior to this comment was you’d transfer a screenshot, which should be very doable based on our ride experience today.  All they need is the barcode to scan.


----------



## Skyegirl1999

heathpack said:


> My assumption prior to this comment was you’d transfer a screenshot, which should be very doable based on our ride experience today.  All they need is the barcode to scan.


You can definitely do this; I’ve known many people who have done this already.

I very much doubt there’s an official way to transfer them, as that could be monetized and Disney generally sticks with stuff being officially non-transferable.


----------



## vharris2828

CastAStone said:


> To my knowledge, no one has reported cell issues with Verizon. AT&T seems to be the problem child for some. I haven’t seen anything about Sprint.


I’ve posted about sprint. We tried twice this week and had boarding group 35 one day and boarding group 8 another day.


----------



## vharris2828

vickiea said:


> Do we know if that was the highest backup BG handed out?


We were late to the park today (like 8:20??) there was still a red button. We pulled boarding group 128.


----------



## theluckyrabbit

Lvsdisney said:


> You have 2 hours from when your boarding group is called, so even if you have an FP at the same time,  you'll have plenty of time to do your FP ride and then join the boarding group...


Make sure to double check the BG return time! Some people are still posting that the return times vary between one or two hours -- so double check!



CastAStone said:


> I just went in to try (from home) and it told me to update my app. iPhone. Make sure you’re using the latest version!


Has anyone noticed that this most recent update made any difference (positive) in their app performance regarding BGs?



JWelch62 said:


> I suspect that everyone playing from home has some sort of AP. I know that I do...


I wouldn't think so -- people have posted that they have APs, tickets, or nothing (because they haven't bought their tickets yet). For those who want to play along, but don't have tickets, don't worry -- just join in the fun/stress. You'll be allowed to go along to the point where the app asks you to link tickets, then back out.



Skyegirl1999 said:


> Data nerds, unite!
> 
> I have to say that I’ve really enjoyed your enthusiasm on this thread; you’ve added a lot to the conversation and have a nice, balanced outlook. ☺


Hear, hear! Add my heartfelt appreciation to all the data nerds participating in this thread with their nice, balanced outlooks! We couldn't do this without you!



dina444444 said:


> You just miss some “props” and the things to play the play app game. The preshows start after the merge. I’ve been down the fp/das line at dhs once since we had one of the first boarding groups called one of our days.


Did you happen to notice anything in WDW's DAS/FP line that might cause any issues for someone using a DAS? For those who've used the DAS/FP line here at DL, has anyone noticed anything that might be an issue? (No spoilers needed -- just general warnings if there is anything that might cause a problem, like the steepness of the ramps in MFSR, for example.)



HydroGuy said:


> I have no information in the recent years, but my understanding is that the number is closer to 70% locals at DLR. FWIW it is about 15% at WDW. If someone has better, more recent or more accurate information that would be great to hear!


The numbers I've heard repeatedly from TDA people is 60% locals/40% non, but those are very general estimates. Whatever the actual numbers, it is clear that, with tickets or APs, there are a lot of local guests at DLR on any given day.


----------



## theluckyrabbit

FYI: For anyone still having problems unlinking tickets and APs from your app (if they won't be used for your BG), you can try calling the AP Hotline (714/781-7277) or the App Support Line (714/520-6222). The problem with unlinking tickets/APs from BGs is a known glitch, according to someone on IG, and IT is working on fixing the problem. If you call to get help, please be courteous with the CMs on the phone. This issue is not their fault!


----------



## dina444444

Was 122 the end number for yesterday?


----------



## dina444444

theluckyrabbit said:


> Did you happen to notice anything in WDW's DAS/FP line that might cause any issues for someone using a DAS? For those who've used the DAS/FP line here at DL, has anyone noticed anything that might be an issue? (No spoilers needed -- just general warnings if there is anything that might cause a problem, like the steepness of the ramps in MFSR, for example.)


I think I answered this before, but there is minimal elevation change in the queue for both the regular and fp/das. You enter and exit the ride on the ground level.


----------



## Mathmagicland

heathpack said:


> My assumption prior to this comment was you’d transfer a screenshot, which should be very doable based on our ride experience today. All they need is the barcode to scan.


I’d be very hesitant to do this, transfer a sceeen capture, as the BG bar code screen has the names & what I think are the associated last four of the AP or ticket number.  Would not necessarily want just anyone to have that info, maybe ok for family or close friends only.


----------



## theluckyrabbit

dina444444 said:


> I think I answered this before, but there is minimal elevation change in the queue for both the regular and fp/das. You enter and exit the ride on the ground level.


Yes, you did answer that previously. I was wondering if there was anything else, like loud noises (especially unexpected loud noises) or bright lights or things like that which people might want to be prepared to expect. For example, in the IJA queue, anyone using DAS who is sensitive to dark and creepy atmosphere might want to be forewarned. The queue also can be very loud. Using DAS doesn't avoid any of that, so if sensitivity to that is a big issue, it would be better to have the information in advance. DAS issues can cover so many areas, so the more information people can have in advance (not spoilers, obviously), the easier it can be for them to plan their trips. 
If anyone has used the DAS return line for ROTR at DL and feels that there was something in the line that might be an issue for others, please post!


----------



## Mathmagicland

I don’t know about the DAS queue at DL but one thing I noticed in the regular queue before the ride starts that I thought was a very nice and helpful touch - there are a few areas where people who need to can sit for a bit.


----------



## theluckyrabbit

Mathmagicland said:


> I don’t know about the DAS queue at DL but one thing I noticed in the regular queue before the ride starts that I thought was a very nice and helpful touch - there are a few areas where people who need to can sit for a bit.


I've read about that and agree that it is a nice touch. Given how often the ride could go down, it does help to know that there could be a place to rest for a few minutes.


----------



## disneyholic family

i just read an article that said boarding groups are filling up at one minute.  Is that true??????
that's insane. Basically a function of whether your phone is faster than mine.


----------



## HydroGuy

disneyholic family said:


> i just read an article that said boarding groups are filling up at one minute.  Is that true??????
> that's insane. Basically a function of whether your phone is faster than mine.


Yes, it is true. Yes, it is insane - but probably so is any other process Disney might offer for a ride with much more demand than supply (e.g., 10 hour standby lines). No, it does not seem to be entirely a function of phone speed but that does seem to help.


----------



## Pamela M

ballonewb said:


> How many people are sticking around that have a late bg return time?


I had a late boarding group at WDW. We left and went back to the hotel and headed back to the park when the BG was 15 spots away from ours. By the time we got back in the park and found the entrance to ROTR we had one more group until ours was called. I like that you can see the status of the boarding groups so you know you have time to go back to the hotel if your tired.


----------



## theluckyrabbit

disneyholic family said:


> i just read an article that said boarding groups are filling up at one minute.  Is that true??????
> that's insane. Basically a function of whether your phone is faster than mine.


See the chart on page one of this superthread. The chart, which gets updated regularly, shows when the park opened each day and when BGs were gone.


----------



## Varty Yo

Flying out tomorrow we are pumped!!!

So whats the consensus on where the best signal is on 4G? I keep seeing at the train station?


----------



## CastAStone

theluckyrabbit said:


> See the chart on page one of this superthread. The chart, which gets updated regularly, shows when the park opened each day and when BGs were gone.


Speaking of which


----------



## theluckyrabbit

Thank you, to you and dina444444! As of 1/25/20, at 7:14 am, PT, The Chart has been updated.


----------



## CastAStone

theluckyrabbit said:


> Thank you!


Thank @dina444444 !


----------



## ironband74

Good luck today to anyone in the park.  May the Force be with You! (You're gonna need it!)


----------



## dina444444

On to backups


----------



## CastAStone

Flipped to Backups for me today at exactly 8:01:00


----------



## JadeDarkstar

just played from home. red button 2 times before it grayed out


----------



## CastAStone

And gone by 11:02


----------



## dina444444

And looks like backups are gone


----------



## TikiTikiFan

Played along for the first time at home and the button never turned red for me even after restarting the app.


----------



## Mathmagicland

MM at DL today. At 6:50 AM the regular lines were past the monorail track. We left DL at 7:53 and both MM and Regular lines still past the monorail. Could not get a strong connection anywhere in the esplanade this a.m.  went to DCA strong signal in front of Trolley Treats. Got BG 19. iPhone X & AT&T.


----------



## ironband74

TikiTikiFan said:


> Played along for the first time at home and the button never turned red for me even after restarting the app.


Same.  To be fair I tried to open a few seconds earlier today.  But after that no amount of restarting or refreshing would give me a button.


----------



## ironband74

First backup group today is 83


----------



## cuteinnocent

What time did they open for EMH guests? Wondering if earlier than 7.


----------



## jackbo487

What time did Toy Story lot open this morning?


----------



## Jung-li

TikiTikiFan said:


> Played along for the first time at home and the button never turned red for me even after restarting the app.



same here, tried from home in OR starting at 7:59. Never turned red and very slow to load when clicking on the ROTR find out more button.


----------



## kyliechristine

I woke up at 6:47am and decided with my DBF to spontaneously get out of bed and try to get a BG today. We live 35 minutes away. Lines for parking structure were insane so we decided to park in garden walk and run over. Lines for both security and turnstiles were very long when we got here through harbor entrance around 7:40. Luckily we snagged a new formed line that they turned from MM to regular entrance. Got through turnstiles at 7:53. Snagged BG 16. I consider us very lucky today!


----------



## IsleofDisney

TikiTikiFan said:


> Played along for the first time at home and the button never turned red for me even after restarting the app.



Me too, I was 15 sec too late in opening the app and by the time I got to Join Boarding Group I was on back ups, that was past the 8:00:33 second mark


----------



## cm123

I got group 28 this morning. 

Seemed to be more people here today than last Saturday.


----------



## dina444444

cm123 said:


> I got group 28 this morning.
> 
> Seemed to be more people here today than last Saturday.


I’m not sure if last weekend had blockouts on Saturday for MLK weekend.


----------



## aymiewilson

In the parks today. We rolled up to security at about 7:20 am and breezed thru security. Long lines to actually get into the park (halfway back into the esplanade.) we made it in at about 7:48 and went up to the Main Street train station boarding platform.
Had a friend with a smart watch counting down seconds for the three of us. Two of us are Verizon (iPhone and android) and one is android Verizon user. I had four to five bars up there on ATT. We all had the app already open but no other apps open, waiting to click “find out more.” We clicked button right at 8:00 and got BG 27!!

hopped to DCA and had a five min wait for Soarin!


----------



## cm123

They are only had 1 exit open leaving Disneyland Park. It was chaos trying to get out after 8.


----------



## Mathmagicland

cuteinnocent said:


> What time did they open for EMH guests? Wondering if earlier than 7.


No it opened right at 7 for MM today.


----------



## aymiewilson

cm123 said:


> They are only had 1 exit open leaving Disneyland Park. It was chaos trying to get out after 8.


Yup that was super irritating. Come on guys... at least give two exits


----------



## Mathmagicland

aymiewilson said:


> Yup that was super irritating. Come on guys... at least give two exits


We exited on the Harbor Blvd side and there were four exit turnstiles open


----------



## cm123

That's were I exited. They must had changed it from magic hours to an exit right after I left.


----------



## SDdisneyguy

We got boarding group 124 at 0801.

i don’t think we will be able to ride today. leaving at 6pm 

What’s the going consensus ?


----------



## DLRExpert

Went back to the park today. Previous day's I had BG 71, 55, 21, 27... and today 116.

Tested the esplanade area. No wifi.
App opened before park opening and got the constant loading screens. 

Word is getting out how early you have to be in the park. Mickey and Friends was a nightmare at 7am. Pixar Pal entrance was not open until after 710am.

Was able to park by 730am as the far right parking lane worked.

Didn't bring a bag. Went to Downtown Disney security. Packed and went to Disneyland Hotel security not as bad and they opened up a no bag check lane. Got thru by 740am.

Walked through Downtown Disney and got in the planter trick line on the left side. Line started near the center of the esplanade. Got through that and entered the park by 755am.

Exited the park by esplanade and got stuck with the loading screen but got 116.

ME


----------



## ironband74

SDdisneyguy said:


> We got boarding group 124 at 0801.
> 
> i don’t think we will be able to ride today. leaving at 6pm
> 
> What’s the going consensus ?


Highly unlikely.  It looks like they haven't even started boarding yet, and the highest they've ever gotten to is 122.  I'd put the odds at 3720 to 1.


----------



## cm123

Yeah you won't get on


----------



## Mathmagicland

DLRExpert said:


> Went back to the park today. Previous day's I had BG 71, 55, 21, 27... and today 116.
> 
> Tested the esplanade area. No wifi.
> App opened before park opening and got the constant loading screens.
> 
> Word is getting out how early you have to be in the park. Mickey and Friends was a nightmare at 7am. Pixar Pal entrance was not open until after 710am.
> 
> Was able to park by 730am as the far right parking lane worked.
> 
> Didn't bring a bag. Went to Downtown Disney security. Packed and went to Disneyland Hotel security not as bad and they opened up a no bag check lane. Got thru by 740am.
> 
> Walked through Downtown Disney and got in the planter trick line on the left side. Line started near the center of the esplanade. Got through that and entered the park by 755am.
> 
> Exited the park by esplanade and got stuck with the loading screen but got 116.
> 
> ME


 Very helpful info here for a future visit. It did seem very busy this morning for non MM guests. 

I too had no WiFi & poor connection in the esplanade.


----------



## cm123

50 minutes after opening and still no bgs loading


----------



## disneyholic family

CastAStone said:


> Speaking of which
> View attachment 468051



all i can say to that is, OMG!!!  i haven't been following ROTR opening at disneyland....just that article showed up in my email today so i read it..
how do those speeds of time to full Boarding Groups compare to what happened at WDW with ROTR opened?

.


----------



## jackbo487

cm123 said:


> 50 minutes after opening and still no bgs loading


Doesn’t it not start until 9?


----------



## cm123

jackbo487 said:


> Doesn’t it not start until 9?


It seems some days it's as early as 30 mins after park opening


----------



## CastAStone

disneyholic family said:


> all i can say to that is, OMG!!!  i haven't been following ROTR opening at disneyland....just that article showed up in my email today so i read it..
> how do those speeds of time to full Boarding Groups compare to what happened at WDW with ROTR opened?
> 
> .


Much faster. But when WDW opened no one knew it was a must-do attraction yet. They also initially weren’t separating out backups. After a couple weeks it got much crazier, particularly with the holidays. 

I anticipate DL will remain crazier than DHS for the foreseeable future. It opens later, there’s hundreds of thousands of AP holders who can go whenever, DL has roughly 2x the daily attendance of DHS, and it’s easier to park hop and people aren’t usually there for a week so ROTR is everyone’s #1 every single day.


----------



## CastAStone

jackbo487 said:


> Doesn’t it not start until 9?


It has opened within 10 minutes of the park. Most days there’s a delay.


----------



## heathpack

We left our room in VGC around 7:15, got through security and to front gate of DL by 7:25ish (security line at the DTD entrance from GCH was very very long but moved quickly).  Got in an EMH line and was in the park by 7:35.

Went to the train station platform as we did yesterday, turned off wifi, hard reset phone, closed app etc.

Once again, my button never turned red.  Husbands did after an excruciating delay but we got BG 65, good enough for us to stay.

Our plan is to chill this morning, check out of the Grand, keep our lunch reservation and wander into DL after lunch.  If Rise looks promising for an early afternoon ride, we’ll experience it and head home after.

Lucky trip for us so far.  Even if we don’t get to ride today, we’ll be pretty satisfied.


----------



## disneyholic family

CastAStone said:


> Much faster. But when WDW opened no one knew it was a must-do attraction yet. They also initially weren’t separating out backups. After a couple weeks it got much crazier, particularly with the holidays.
> 
> I anticipate DL will remain crazier than DHS for the foreseeable future. It opens later, there’s hundreds of thousands of AP holders who can go whenever, DL has roughly 2x the daily attendance of DHS, and it’s easier to park hop and people aren’t usually there for a week so ROTR is everyone’s #1 every single day.



thanks!  i was wondering about relative attendance.....
so i guess we should expect the same thing when we go to DL in october...

well, if we don't succeed in getting in, we have a second chance when we go to WDW in 2021....   
.


----------



## msteddom

Question:  is it possible to get a BG by clicking on the “My Status” button?  Might that be a work around for people whose “Join Boarding Group” button isn’t turning red?

I tried to play along from home, and it looked like that might be the case, but I’m looking for confirmation.


----------



## Mathmagicland

msteddom said:


> Question:  is it possible to get a BG by clicking on the “My Status” button?  Might that be a work around for people whose “Join Boarding Group” button isn’t turning red?
> 
> I tried to play along from home, and it looked like that might be the case, but I’m looking for confirmation.


Yes as that’s how I’ve been successful yesterday and today. If no active BG button on the first screen I hit My Status and see it there to join


----------



## CastAStone

msteddom said:


> Question:  is it possible to get a BG by clicking on the “My Status” button?  Might that be a work around for people whose “Join Boarding Group” button isn’t turning red?
> 
> I tried to play along from home, and it looked like that might be the case, but I’m looking for confirmation.


It appears from reports that alternating between these screens might be the most optimal plan of attack in fact.


----------



## dina444444

disneyholic family said:


> thanks!  i was wondering about relative attendance.....
> so i guess we should expect the same thing when we go to DL in october...
> 
> well, if we don't succeed in getting in, we have a second chance when we go to WDW in 2021....
> .


My guess is that by October they won’t be using boarding groups anymore.


----------



## ironband74

CastAStone said:


> It appears from reports that alternating between these screens might be the most optimal plan of attack in fact.


This seems to be the case for iPhone users.  Some folks have also reported success with starting on the status screen and pulling down to refresh.  I have not seen this approach be successful for Android (I have limited data, though, this is only anecdotal) - For Android, it seems that if you don't have a red button out front, you don't have a blue button inside.  But if you do have a red button out front, you do have a blue button inside.


----------



## ironband74

Looks like boarding started at group 12 today, sometime between 9:15 and 9:20.  They are up to 24 at 9:33, so definitely preloading the queue.


----------



## DLgal

msteddom said:


> Question:  is it possible to get a BG by clicking on the “My Status” button?  Might that be a work around for people whose “Join Boarding Group” button isn’t turning red?
> 
> I tried to play along from home, and it looked like that might be the case, but I’m looking for confirmation.



Sure, if you have a red My Status button. When I tried in the park, all my buttons were greyed out. I couldn't click on anything.


----------



## msteddom

DLgal said:


> Sure, if you have a red My Status button. When I tried in the park, all my buttons were greyed out. I couldn't click on anything.


Well, that’s frustrating!!!!!


----------



## DLgal

msteddom said:


> Well, that’s frustrating!!!!!



Tell me about it. My son keeps wanting to go back and try again, but I am just so worried the same thing is going to happen again.


----------



## heathpack

DLgal said:


> Sure, if you have a red My Status button. When I tried in the park, all my buttons were greyed out. I couldn't click on anything.



That has been my experience as well.  When this happens (to both husband & I), I’ve tried closing the app to restart, whereas this morning husband backed out to the “find out more” page and then back in.  He got a red button whereas I didn’t get back in before he had a BG.

Yesterday, I did successfully shut the app and reopen it- never got anything but a grey button.  He didn’t do anything, was talking to another guest when his button turned red.  So I’m not convinced that doing anything matters if your button stays grey.  It may just be that your button would eventually turn red of it’s own accord if they don’t run out of BG first.

Yesterday I think we just got very lucky in that back up boarding groups were available for a freakishly long time.  Today we were better prepared for the possibility of a “late” red button and May have just responded to it more quickly (husband isn’t sure how long his button was red yesterday before he noticed it, we thought we were out of the running because it was probably 8:03 or so when we got our backup BG).

Now we are trying to decide if it’s worth keeping Feb 22 Flexpass reservations + Blue Bayou lunch and Feb 28/29 overnight trip with Lamplight brunch.  Is it worth our time to drive 3-4 hr RT and maybe get shut out (presumably) because we have older slower phones?


----------



## Ferrellcon

dina444444 said:


> My guess is that by October they won’t be using boarding groups anymore.


I hope this will be the case. I am predicting sometime next year as the holidays bring in more guests. It could take years before they stop using boarding groups entirely for this ride. When they do eventually stop using boarding groups the line will probably consistently be 4 hours long like flight of the passage at WDW.


----------



## Ferrellcon

I love that DHS is now confident enough to load 106 groups before going to backup. Lets see if Disneyland gets there after a little over a month after opening.


----------



## cuteinnocent

heathpack said:


> That has been my experience as well.  When this happens (to both husband & I), I’ve tried closing the app to restart, whereas this morning husband backed out to the “find out more” page and then back in.  He got a red button whereas I didn’t get back in before he had a BG.
> 
> Yesterday, I did successfully shut the app and reopen it- never got anything but a grey button.  He didn’t do anything, was talking to another guest when his button turned red.  So I’m not convinced that doing anything matters if your button stays grey.  It may just be that your button would eventually turn red of it’s own accord if they don’t run out of BG first.
> 
> Yesterday I think we just got very lucky in that back up boarding groups were available for a freakishly long time.  Today we were better prepared for the possibility of a “late” red button and May have just responded to it more quickly (husband isn’t sure how long his button was red yesterday before he noticed it, we thought we were out of the running because it was probably 8:03 or so when we got our backup BG).
> 
> Now we are trying to decide if it’s worth keeping Feb 22 Flexpass reservations + Blue Bayou lunch and Feb 28/29 overnight trip with Lamplight brunch.  Is it worth our time to drive 3-4 hr RT and maybe get shut out (presumably) because we have older slower phones?


What phones do you have?


----------



## JadeDarkstar

link isn't working

edit fixed


----------



## midnight star

I know this is slightly off topic, but how have crowds been after opening? Like at 9am? Are there still long security and parking lines? Is rope drop a mess? I feel like I’m out of the loop with DL after being at WDW.


----------



## cm123

midnight star said:


> I know this is slightly off topic, but how have crowds been after opening? Like at 9am? Are there still long security and parking lines? Is rope drop a mess? I feel like I’m out of the loop with DL after being at WDW.


There's way more people in the parks earlier now


----------



## midnight star

cm123 said:


> There's way more people in the parks earlier now


Ugh that’s what I figured! Thanks!


----------



## superdeluxe

Do we know how child switch works?  Also can you get your queue from both parks?  Now im regretting not getting park hoppers


----------



## dina444444

superdeluxe said:


> Do we know how child switch works?  Also can you get your queue from both parks?  Now im regretting not getting park hoppers


You have to scan into Disneyland to join the queue but you don’t have to stay there. You can go to DCA. For child swap, I think everyone riding still needs a boarding group  and they will send the second person down the FP line. Not sure if they allow 2 people to join like they do for other rides.


----------



## CaliforniaGirl09

cm123 said:


> I got group 28 this morning.
> 
> Seemed to be more people here today than last Saturday.





DLRExpert said:


> Went back to the park today. Previous day's I had BG 71, 55, 21, 27... and today 116.
> 
> Tested the esplanade area. No wifi.
> App opened before park opening and got the constant loading screens.
> 
> Word is getting out how early you have to be in the park. Mickey and Friends was a nightmare at 7am. Pixar Pal entrance was not open until after 710am.
> 
> Was able to park by 730am as the far right parking lane worked.
> 
> Didn't bring a bag. Went to Downtown Disney security. Packed and went to Disneyland Hotel security not as bad and they opened up a no bag check lane. Got thru by 740am.
> 
> Walked through Downtown Disney and got in the planter trick line on the left side. Line started near the center of the esplanade. Got through that and entered the park by 755am.
> 
> Exited the park by esplanade and got stuck with the loading screen but got 116.
> 
> ME



Word is definitely getting out. Today was crazy. Way more people than I expected from previous reports. Way worse than our experience WDW. 



CastAStone said:


> Much faster. But when WDW opened no one knew it was a must-do attraction yet. They also initially weren’t separating out backups. After a couple weeks it got much crazier, particularly with the holidays.
> 
> I anticipate DL will remain crazier than DHS for the foreseeable future. It opens later, there’s hundreds of thousands of AP holders who can go whenever, DL has roughly 2x the daily attendance of DHS, and it’s easier to park hop and people aren’t usually there for a week so ROTR is everyone’s #1 every single day.



We did ROTR a couple weeks ago at DHS and today was our attempt at DLR. Wow, what a difference. There were way more people at DLR than DHS from what I could tell. It was a very stressful morning. 

We are staying at the Grand and got up around 6:45 am. We were at the downtown disney security gate from the hotel right after 7am. OMG the lines were crazy. My stress level shot through the roof. I had a backpack, but DH and DS23 (birthday boy today) didn't have any bags so I sent them through the line. I figured worst case scenario they would be in the park and able to ride even if I couldn't. I ran back up to the room to get rid of my backpack. The no bag line was walk through, and I caught up with them at the magic morning lines. I can't believe they had all those hotel people funneling through one line.  

Then by time we got to the gates, the magic morning lines were ridiculous. They seemed to take forever. This was a completely different experience from WDW where you "tap in" very quickly. We seemed to be in the line that had every clueless person possible. Super frustrating. We didn't get though until about 7:40! Not what I was expecting.  

We stuck to the right to enter the not-very-magic-morning line and headed toward the back of the park by small world. I had a speed tester app going and we tried out a few different places, and I was panicking. Last night when I speed tested *inside* Oga's, I was getting in the 150s. Today it was more like in the 30s. I finally found a place that was decent (70s) and we sat down without our five phones. The three of us had our regular iPhones (one 11, one x, and one 8 all on AT&T) as well as an old 8 and an old 6 that were on wifi. I had my apple watch with the count down on the table. We decided to split the difference and had two phones at the landing page and three pones with nothing open. It was all a flurry, but basically, I had a couple phones turn red, and I ended up going with the oldest phone (the iPhone 6) that was on wifi. I could have also done my iPhone 11 on AT&T, but I was worried about doing something at the same time and screwing up. So I kept my iPhone 11 AT&T on the red "join boarding group" page while I proceeded on the old iPhone 6. We ended up with boarding group 53, which was perfect for us as we had the napa rose princess breakfast for DS's birthday.

There were so many people that didn't get groups, I felt really badly for them. At WDW, it felt like most people were successful. That wasn't how it seemed here. I'm not sure how long the regular boarding groups lasted, but it felt really fast. My husband said he had a full about 35 seconds after 8. 

WDW felt way more civilized compared to this morning. Very stressful.


----------



## chickapin parterre

CaliforniaGirl09 said:


> Word is definitely getting out. Today was crazy. Way more people than I expected from previous reports.
> 
> Then by time we got to the gates, the magic morning lines were ridiculous. They seemed to take forever.  We seemed to be in the line that had every clueless person possible. Super frustrating. We didn't get though until about 7:40! Not what I was expecting.
> 
> WDW felt way more civilized compared to this morning. Very stressful.



That Tinkerbell!!!!!   The good concept about her sprinkling magic dust  is that she equally spreads the clueless folks into all lines.


----------



## Ferrellcon

DHS is loading backups before 3pm their time. Disneyland is at 39. Lets see how high they can go.


----------



## Ferrellcon

Just saw that Disneylands version went down.


----------



## IsleofDisney

CaliforniaGirl09 said:


> Word is definitely getting out. Today was crazy. Way more people than I expected from previous reports. Way worse than our experience WDW.
> 
> 
> 
> We did ROTR a couple weeks ago at DHS and today was our attempt at DLR. Wow, what a difference. There were way more people at DLR than DHS from what I could tell. It was a very stressful morning.
> 
> We are staying at the Grand and got up around 6:45 am. We were at the downtown disney security gate from the hotel right after 7am. OMG the lines were crazy. My stress level shot through the roof. I had a backpack, but DH and DS23 (birthday boy today) didn't have any bags so I sent them through the line. I figured worst case scenario they would be in the park and able to ride even if I couldn't. I ran back up to the room to get rid of my backpack. The no bag line was walk through, and I caught up with them at the magic morning lines. I can't believe they had all those hotel people funneling through one line.
> 
> Then by time we got to the gates, the magic morning lines were ridiculous. They seemed to take forever. This was a completely different experience from WDW where you "tap in" very quickly. We seemed to be in the line that had every clueless person possible. Super frustrating. We didn't get though until about 7:40! Not what I was expecting.
> 
> We stuck to the right to enter the not-very-magic-morning line and headed toward the back of the park by small world. I had a speed tester app going and we tried out a few different places, and I was panicking. Last night when I speed tested *inside* Oga's, I was getting in the 150s. Today it was more like in the 30s. I finally found a place that was decent (70s) and we sat down without our five phones. The three of us had our regular iPhones (one 11, one x, and one 8 all on AT&T) as well as an old 8 and an old 6 that were on wifi. I had my apple watch with the count down on the table. We decided to split the difference and had two phones at the landing page and three pones with nothing open. It was all a flurry, but basically, I had a couple phones turn red, and I ended up going with the oldest phone (the iPhone 6) that was on wifi. I could have also done my iPhone 11 on AT&T, but I was worried about doing something at the same time and screwing up. So I kept my iPhone 11 AT&T on the red "join boarding group" page while I proceeded on the old iPhone 6. We ended up with boarding group 53, which was perfect for us as we had the napa rose princess breakfast for DS's birthday.
> 
> There were so many people that didn't get groups, I felt really badly for them. At WDW, it felt like most people were successful. That wasn't how it seemed here. I'm not sure how long the regular boarding groups lasted, but it felt really fast. My husband said he had a full about 35 seconds after 8.
> 
> WDW felt way more civilized compared to this morning. Very stressful.



Sorry for such a stressful morning you had. I'm glad you all were able to get a BG! Hope you all have a great weekend and Happy Birthday to your DS!


----------



## Jaina

This morning the crowds were (as illustrated above) insane. I’ve never personally seen it like that. (Buy we’re out of state and avoid brand new opening stuff) We got in around 7:40, and my husband stayed DL while I left after a few minutes and scanned into CA. It was gloriously empty over there. Quieter than I’ve ever seen it. We are on Verizon. My husband has an XR and could t ever get it to show a red button. He said his whole app got super slow. I was by the Walt statue (ish) in CA and my app was lightning fast. However, my button stayed grey exactly at 8 when I said Find Out More or whatever. I quickly clicked on My Status and it gave me the option to join a boarding group there. Group 38! However, once our group was called, we got in line maybe 15 minutes later, and the ride **** down before we made it to the front. I asked, and was told they won’t give us a pass to return if we leave the line.


----------



## Ferrellcon

Jaina said:


> This morning the crowds were (as illustrated above) insane. I’ve never personally seen it like that. (Buy we’re out of state and avoid brand new opening stuff) We got in around 7:40, and my husband stayed DL while I left after a few minutes and scanned into CA. It was gloriously empty over there. Quieter than I’ve ever seen it. We are on Verizon. My husband has an XR and could t ever get it to show a red button. He said his whole app got super slow. I was by the Walt statue (ish) in CA and my app was lightning fast. However, my button stayed grey exactly at 8 when I said Find Out More or whatever. I quickly clicked on My Status and it gave me the option to join a boarding group there. Group 38! However, once our group was called, we got in line maybe 15 minutes later, and the ride **** down before we made it to the front. I asked, and was told they won’t give us a pass to return if we leave the line.


Thats terrible that they wont let you leave due to a breakdown. It takes at least an hour to reset the ride. What if you have to use the restroom or your kids if you have them? Can you leave then?


----------



## Jaina

Ferrellcon said:


> Thats terrible that they wont let you leave due to a breakdown. It takes at least an hour to reset the ride. What if you have to use the restroom or your kids if you have them? Can you leave then?


I asked about that specifically and they said they should be able to work with us if that was an issue.


----------



## Tinkerbell19672

We got BG 23 yesterday and 20 today. Parks are SO much busier today than yesterday. I figured they would be but this morning was crazy. I didn’t think we would make it through the gates in time. Esplanade both days backed up to almost DCA. I appreciate all the tips here, worked great for us.


----------



## Varty Yo

Tinkerbell19672 said:


> We got BG 23 yesterday and 20 today. Parks are SO much busier today than yesterday. I figured they would be but this morning was crazy. I didn’t think we would make it through the gates in time. Esplanade both days backed up to almost DCA. I appreciate all the tips here, worked great for us.



Can i ask your method that got great BG's? Where were you standing and app open or open app at 8:00


----------



## maxacorn

Has anyone had success with an iPhone 6s on T-Mobile? I'm going next week and am wondering how low I should set my expectations.


----------



## cm123

My wife has an SE on tmobile and was able to get us a 75 BG last Saturday.


----------



## Etonduf

Tinkerbell19672 said:


> We got BG 23 yesterday and 20 today. Parks are SO much busier today than yesterday. I figured they would be but this morning was crazy. I didn’t think we would make it through the gates in time. Esplanade both days backed up to almost DCA. I appreciate all the tips here, worked great for us.





Varty Yo said:


> Can i ask your method that got great BG's? Where were you standing and app open or open app at 8:00



Yes, enquiring minds want to know your strategy!


----------



## Tinkerbell19672

Etonduf said:


> Yes, inquiring minds want to know your strategy!



3 of us all on Sprint. Closed all apps and opened DL app a few minutes before start time. Stayed on home page and hit find out more button right at start time. We all had WiFi off. DH got BG 23 first day on his IPhone X.  DD got 20 today on her XR and I also got red button on my iPhone 8 but she beat me getting a group. We stood under a tree near bottom of stairs to train station both times. Good luck!


----------



## Ferrellcon

Wow group 151 at DHS. Disneyland is at 51.


----------



## dina444444

Ferrellcon said:


> Wow group 151 at DHS. Disneyland is at 51.


Disney must have just come back up. It was on 49 for a while. 151 might be the final number for dhs today, they haven’t called one in a little bit.


----------



## Jaina

It was down for a little over an hour when we were waiting.


----------



## Tylerrog94

Jaina said:


> It was down for a little over an hour when we were waiting.


Did you guys make it on today?


----------



## Blue32

After rope drop, how have crowds been on these busy mornings? I assume lines are building much quicker on days like this? Are the days of quiet mornings at DL  coming to an end?


----------



## Mathmagicland

Along with all of the tips re being sure of current app, restarting phone, closing other apps, etc - another great one & the one I think helped me the most is to check connection speed and find a spot with the best....and keep checking it, moving if necessary as speeds will change as more as people gather. I had BG 23 yesterday and 19 today by moving out of slower areas to somewhere that was faster.  And fast one day is not necessarily fast the next as I got mine in two very different areas. Just looking at bars is not enough and can be deceiving.


----------



## superdeluxe

dina444444 said:


> You have to scan into Disneyland to join the queue but you don’t have to stay there. You can go to DCA. For child swap, I think everyone riding still needs a boarding group  and they will send the second person down the FP line. Not sure if they allow 2 people to join like they do for other rides.




Thank you!

Also does everyone that want to ride need to have a cell phone to join the queue?  My nine year old does not have one?


----------



## dina444444

superdeluxe said:


> Thank you!
> 
> Also does everyone that want to ride need to have a cell phone to join the queue?  My nine year old does not have one?


No, you will link their ticket into your and anyone else in your group that is trying account(s).


----------



## CaliforniaGirl09

chickapin parterre said:


> That Tinkerbell!!!!!   The good concept about her sprinkling magic dust  is that she equally spreads the clueless folks into all lines.


There are a lot of them, LOL!!! So many people turned back from the magic morning lines for not having magic morning. Then there are the pics  



IsleofDisney said:


> Sorry for such a stressful morning you had. I'm glad you all were able to get a BG! Hope you all have a great weekend and Happy Birthday to your DS!


Thanks for commiserating. It really was not fun and a vast difference from WDW. I'm such a Disneyland fan girl that I rarely say this, but they were much more efficient and better run. 

Thanks so much for the birthday wishes for DS. I think he's had a great day so far. Our boarding group was called a little before three and we had a nice seamless ride. He loved it so the hassle and stress was definitely worth it. Now off to Tortilla Jos for some relaxing, well-earned margaritas


----------



## CastAStone

Just a note on cell phones and carriers. 

The issue with a carrier is simply can your phone get a signal through. The amount of data needed should be trivial. No one has reported in this thread any issues with T-Mobile, Sprint, or Verizon, and the issues reported with AT&T have been a small % of total AT&T datapoints.

If you can load a website at 7:59, you should be fine.

As for phones, I haven’t seen anything in this thread or the WDW thread to make me think that your phone model matters


----------



## Carl4628

What good cellular data speed, # of mbps?


Mathmagicland said:


> Along with all of the tips re being sure of current app, restarting phone, closing other apps, etc - another great one & the one I think helped me the most is to check connection speed and find a spot with the best....and keep checking it, moving if necessary as speeds will change as more as people gather. I had BG 23 yesterday and 19 today by moving out of slower areas to somewhere that was faster.  And fast one day is not necessarily fast the next as I got mine in two very different areas. Just looking at bars is not enough and can be deceiving.



What is a good cellular data speed, # of mbps?


----------



## ironband74

Regular groups have all been called.  On to the backups!


----------



## ironband74

CastAStone said:


> Just a note on cell phones and carriers.
> 
> The issue with a carrier is simply can your phone get a signal through. The amount of data needed should be trivial. No one has reported in this thread any issues with T-Mobile, Sprint, or Verizon, and the issues reported with AT&T have been a small % of total AT&T datapoints.
> 
> If you can load a website at 7:59, you should be fine.
> 
> As for phones, I haven’t seen anything in this thread or the WDW thread to make me think that your phone model matters



I don't think the model matters so much as the OS.  I have my suspicions that the app behaves slightly differently on Apple vs. Android.  I would be very interested in hearing from an Android user who had success with the Status page/Find out More Cha-Cha or the Status page refresh pull-down approach.


----------



## Dr. G

I don't have the time to read through everything so some of this may be duplicate. But I'll put it here in case it helps anyone else. We were at the resort on 5-day parkhoppers last Fri & Sat and then again Mon-Wed. Got to park on Friday in afternoon so didn't have a shot at the new ride. Saturday got BG 45 from Fantasyland since we were in for Magic Morning. Mon-Wed were all in Town Square on the curb facing the Parade doors on Verizon and got BGs 10 on Mon, then 4 on Tue, then 1 on Wednesday. We seemed to get better at it everyday.  Every time my son's phone was the fastest (Apple XR). My Samsung Galaxy 7 was lagging way behind! 

For what it's worth, here's what we did. I think this is all the steps. I'll have my son confirm later tonight if I remember.

Make sure where you are has maximum bars for reception. Town Square seemed excellent for Verizon.
Have everyone's ticket scanned into everyone else's phone/app and make sure you see your group. Remove anyone not scanned into the park from your app.
Ideally do a Fastpass to test the group if you have MaxPass. Everyone may as well try for a BG
Restart phone at least 10 minutes before open
Turn off wifi
Turn off Bluetooth
Optimize phone settings for speed etc. No need to save battery at this time. 
Don't launch any other apps except Disneyland app (one exception to this was I had clock app open per below, but I was never the fast one anyway...)
Wait at Main app page
Have someone with a seconds countdown on a phone or watch count down for you. Ideally test the clock app you are using to make sure it is synced perfectly with your provider
Right at the hour, hit Find Out More
Hit Join Boarding Group if Available, if not hit My Status if it is available, then hit Join a Boarding Group
Breathe, or curse... 

Best of luck!


----------



## cm123

The model (more specifically your resolution) matters slightly. 

Higher resolution displays don't have to scroll at all to get a BG. 

People with smaller phones have to scroll during a few points during the BG process.


----------



## Mathmagicland

Carl4628 said:


> What good cellular data speed, # of mbps?
> 
> 
> What is a good cellular data speed, # of mbps?


I’m sorry, I don’t really know for this. Someone earlier reported getting over 100 & I have not seen that. I also don’t know how they checked that.

One person said google internet connection speed & use the first one in the search results so that’s what I have been using.

on that site, the best I’ve had is around 60-70 in this area. It also is comparable to what I saw on my wireless at home. So walking around here in the parks, when was seeing 5 or 10 or 15 or 20,I’d move to a different spot. Those numbers may be unique to my phone or the app but for me the comparisons were all using the same device & app so I felt comfortable that higher was a little better then lower.

 Those more technical on this thread may be laughing or may have more insight but it worked for me.  And what works for me may not work the same for someone else as there is no consistency at all


----------



## CastAStone

Honestly if you’re getting 2-3 Mbps you’ll be fine. The difference between 100kb of data (which is almost certainly way more than is transmitted in the entire BG process) at 2 mbps and 100 mbps is less than 4/10ths of a second.


----------



## heathpack

cuteinnocent said:


> What phones do you have?



I have an IPhone SE and husband has a 6S.


----------



## heathpack

CastAStone said:


> Just a note on cell phones and carriers.
> 
> The issue with a carrier is simply can your phone get a signal through. The amount of data needed should be trivial. No one has reported in this thread any issues with T-Mobile, Sprint, or Verizon, and the issues reported with AT&T have been a small % of total AT&T datapoints.
> 
> If you can load a website at 7:59, you should be fine.
> 
> As for phones, I haven’t seen anything in this thread or the WDW thread to make me think that your phone model matters



well maybe my issue is not with my phone but with AT&T, my carrier

but even when I’m on wifi, when I’m in the DL app on my phone, frequently I tap a button and get zero response for seconds.  I may have to tap several times, or just wait 10-20 sec for the app to respond

hence my impression being that the issue is with my phone.  I recently tried to install an app from ITunes and got a message that I didn’t have enough available memory to install the app

my sense is that my phone itself can barely run the DL app not so much that it’s having trouble sending or receiving data.  But I honestly don’t know much about the tech specifications of cell phones


----------



## KPeterso

Went again today. Parking was a bad. I got off the freeway about 6:50 am and then took at least 30 minutes to park. I made it in the park about 7:48 am (lucked out with a line that split) and immediately exited the park once scanned in. I found a bench off to the side of the esplanade and checked connection speed. Since it was very good, I stayed put. At 8 am, I got right in and removed my mom from my boarding group and got boarding group 34. I headed into DCA at that point and enjoyed the low crowds over there. My boarding group was called about 10:50 am. For comparison, last week I got back up group 84 and we were called about 4:45 pm. I have an iPhone 11 pro on Verizon.


----------



## ten6mom

I've been following along on this closely because I have a trip coming up at the end of February.  I am meeting up with a group of friends, many of who have APs (as do I).  Other friends will have PHs.

What is the consensus on UN-linking the APs after linking them (in order to get into the same boarding group, if successful)?  Can it still not be un-done without a phone call?  Has anyone done it?  Is it an arduous process?


----------



## Evita_W

ten6mom said:


> I've been following along on this closely because I have a trip coming up at the end of February.  I am meeting up with a group of friends, many of who have APs (as do I).  Other friends will have PHs.
> 
> What is the consensus on UN-linking the APs after linking them (in order to get into the same boarding group, if successful)?  Can it still not be un-done without a phone call?  Has anyone done it?  Is it an arduous process?


Assuming it is the same as linking for MaxPass, linking and unlinking is super simple and always has been, no need to call unless you are unlucky enough to have one of the difficult accounts that messes everything up.


----------



## Mathmagicland

Dr. G said:


> Have someone with a seconds countdown on a phone or watch count down for you. Ideally test the clock app you are using to make sure it is synced perfectly with your provider


Sharing an experience re countdowns - I’ve been using my Apple Watch with a clockface that has a second hand, and clicking the appropriate button when the second hand gets to the top of the hour for park opening.

My nephew was near a guy who was counting down the seconds out loud and several people around were counting along with him.  The guy’s countdown was a few seconds ahead of the time on my nephew’s phone.  When the guy hit “zero” he and most others around did not get any active buttons & started clicking frantically.  My nephew waited the extra second or two until his phone showed 0800, clicked right in and got BG 19.  Others around were either still looking for an active button or else got backup groups.

Lesson here is go with your device, don’t listen to countdown from neighboring peeps as You don’t know what they are using to count down.


----------



## Ferrellcon

Big news everyone, there will be a star wars night on August 27th and galaxys edge will be open for it. There will be special drinks available and a special fireworks show. Tickets are not available yet and prices have not been revealed. Another thing to take note is the rides available for that night have not been revealed, but this the perfect after hours event for rise of the resistance.

https://www.ocregister.com/2020/01/...s-twin-moons-eclipse-day-in-galaxys-edge/amp/


----------



## ddtink

We're going next Friday and stay at DL Hotel.  Are we able to ride the monorail in early in the morning or should we go to the Main Gate?  The park opens at 8 and the original plan was to go to the main gate at 7:15ish but wondering what other opinions may be.  We are hoping for RoTR Boarding groups


----------



## ironband74

Mathmagicland said:


> Sharing an experience re countdowns - I’ve been using my Apple Watch with a clockface that has a second hand, and clicking the appropriate button when the second hand gets to the top of the hour for park opening.
> 
> My nephew was near a guy who was counting down the seconds out loud and several people around were counting along with him.  The guy’s countdown was a few seconds ahead of the time on my nephew’s phone.  When the guy hit “zero” he and most others around did not get any active buttons & started clicking frantically.  My nephew waited the extra second or two until his phone showed 0800, clicked right in and got BG 19.  Others around were either still looking for an active button or else got backup groups.
> 
> Lesson here is go with your device, don’t listen to countdown from neighboring peeps as You don’t know what they are using to count down.


Yeah, I've been wondering about that.  

Checking against the NIST website, my phone appears to run a few seconds behind. So far playing along at home, I have been able to get in when my phone hits opening time. This morning I tried 5 seconds earlier and got nothing, and no amount of refreshing or restarting helped. I don't know if there is a correlation here, or if today's mechanics were different from the last couple days. 

Funny thing is I probably won't get the chance to go while BGs are still a thing.  I'm still thinking of President's weekend...but it's going to be hard to justify especially since that weekend will probably be nutty.


----------



## ironband74

ddtink said:


> We're going next Friday and stay at DL Hotel.  Are we able to ride the monorail in early in the morning or should we go to the Main Gate?  The park opens at 8 and the original plan was to go to the main gate at 7:15ish but wondering what other opinions may be.  We are hoping for RoTR Boarding groups


We haven't heard any reports of anyone successfully using the Monorail gate and getting a BG.  You might try asking the CM at the monorail gate what time they will start letting folks in.  Technically it is a DL gate...


----------



## SOCALMouseMommy

ddtink said:


> We're going next Friday and stay at DL Hotel.  Are we able to ride the monorail in early in the morning or should we go to the Main Gate?  The park opens at 8 and the original plan was to go to the main gate at 7:15ish but wondering what other opinions may be.  We are hoping for RoTR Boarding groups


Monorail doesn’t generally run before the park opens. It’s possible they might scan you in from there before the park opens but it would be close to opening time. I would go in the park at 7am at the main gate and take advantage of your extra hour from being a hotel guest.


----------



## ddtink

ironband74 said:


> We haven't heard any reports of anyone successfully using the Monorail gate and getting a BG.  You might try asking the CM at the monorail gate what time they will start letting folks in.  Technically it is a DL gate...


Thank you very much!


----------



## ddtink

SOCALMouseMommy said:


> Monorail doesn’t generally run before the park opens. It’s possible they might scan you in from there before the park opens but it would be close to opening time. I would go in the park at 7am at the main gate and take advantage of your extra hour from being a hotel guest.


I didn't realize we'd get that Extra Hour into Disneyland on Friday.  Thanks so much!


----------



## SOCALMouseMommy

ddtink said:


> I didn't realize we'd get that Extra Hour into Disneyland on Friday.  Thanks so much!


Oops I didn’t see it’s Friday. Your extra hour is at DCA. I’d go to DCA at 7 and do some rides, the hope over to DL maybe at 7:30 or even 7:40 if the lines look okay. Maybe stay close to the main entrance so you can Che k out the scene across the esplanade.


----------



## dina444444

Was 92 the last group for today?


----------



## Ryan120420

No. 106 was the last group called at 9:15pm.


----------



## dina444444

Ryan120420 said:


> No. 106 was the last group called at 9:15pm.


Thanks! I saw a tweet about 92 but was unfortunately on an airplane when boarding ended tonight. Chart will be posted in the morning.


----------



## pokee99

CastAStone said:


> Just a note on cell phones and carriers.
> 
> The issue with a carrier is simply can your phone get a signal through. The amount of data needed should be trivial. No one has reported in this thread any issues with T-Mobile, Sprint, or Verizon, and the issues reported with AT&T have been a small % of total AT&T datapoints.
> 
> If you can load a website at 7:59, you should be fine.
> 
> As for phones, I haven’t seen anything in this thread or the WDW thread to make me think that your phone model matters



Any issues or delays noted with data roaming (we're from Canada). It seems like milliseconds make a difference in success for this whole process, so not sure if there's a block or delay with roaming.

Can anyone confirm Canadians getting a decent (or ANY) BG?


----------



## ButterflyKisses77

I’m sorry if this has already been mentioned but do the people who get Magic Morning get all the Rise reservations because they’re there first? I would hope not but just wanted to make sure


----------



## theluckyrabbit

ButterflyKisses77 said:


> I’m sorry if this has already been mentioned but do the people who get Magic Morning get all the Rise reservations because they’re there first? I would hope not but just wanted to make sure


See #2 in post one on page one. BGs do not open until published park opening hours. MM/EMH guests can enter the park one hour early (FL & TL only), but they cannot get a BG until the park actually opens, just like all other guests. So MM/EMH guests do not get an advantage over regular guests who enter later. As long as you enter DL before the park officially opens for the day, you have a chance to get a BG when they are released at park opening.


----------



## Skyegirl1999

ButterflyKisses77 said:


> I’m sorry if this has already been mentioned but do the people who get Magic Morning get all the Rise reservations because they’re there first? I would hope not but just wanted to make sure


No.  The boarding groups are released at the official park opening, so anyone in the park at that time has a chance.


----------



## pokee99

ironband74 said:


> Yeah, I've been wondering about that.
> 
> Checking against the NIST website, my phone appears to run a few seconds behind. So far playing along at home, I have been able to get in when my phone hits opening time. This morning I tried 5 seconds earlier and got nothing, and no amount of refreshing or restarting helped. I don't know if there is a correlation here, or if today's mechanics were different from the last couple days.
> 
> Funny thing is I probably won't get the chance to go while BGs are still a thing.  I'm still thinking of President's weekend...but it's going to be hard to justify especially since that weekend will probably be nutty.



Thanks for this!

Do you think they'll still have boarding groups in mid-March?

After reading all these posts, I think you're right about TIMING being the key to getting a BG. You can't come into the app too early and then keep trying. Seems that if your first try is greater than 09:00:01, you're put in the queue first. If it's 08:00:00 or less, you're going to need some luck.

I also think the post i read here about PROXIMITY holds some value.  Not that the strongest signal provides the best chances, but that your geolocation could play a factor?

I'll be data roaming with AT&T, so that's another variable I have to consider. Does roaming inhibit this process?

I'd like to play at home without tickets  using different phones, and then wifi vs data. I'm convinced I could come up with some statistical data, but since proximity seems to be a factor, it's really not going to be reliable data...

Do you need to create an account to try at home?


----------



## Mathmagicland

pokee99 said:


> Any issues or delays noted with data roaming (we're from Canada). It seems like milliseconds make a difference in success for this whole process, so not sure if there's a block or delay with roaming.
> 
> Can anyone confirm Canadians getting a decent (or ANY) BG?


I can’t provide any specifics but yes, I was chatting with some folks from Canada in another ride line early on Friday mornjng and they had gotten BG 13.


----------



## JWelch62

Leaving San Diego for the park. Here's hoping we get a boarding pass...


----------



## hiroMYhero

pokee99 said:


> since proximity seems to be a factor,


Proximity and geolocation aren’t factors in joining a BG. WDW guests have given their MDE login to family and friends in other states to book their BGs for them. They’ve had great success even with friends trying from MCO / Orlando airport.

You can install the DL app and begin charting data but it will depend on how reliable the BG system is on the days you gather data.


----------



## VandVsmama

pokee99 said:


> Thanks for this!
> 
> Do you think they'll still have boarding groups in mid-March?
> 
> After reading all these posts, I think you're right about TIMING being the key to getting a BG. You can't come into the app too early and then keep trying. Seems that if your first try is greater than 09:00:01, you're put in the queue first. If it's 08:00:00 or less, you're going to need some luck.
> 
> I also think the post i read here about PROXIMITY holds some value.  Not that the strongest signal provides the best chances, but that your geolocation could play a factor?
> 
> I'll be data roaming with AT&T, so that's another variable I have to consider. Does roaming inhibit this process?
> 
> I'd like to play at home without tickets  using different phones, and then wifi vs data. I'm convinced I could come up with some statistical data, but since proximity seems to be a factor, it's really not going to be reliable data...
> 
> Do you need to create an account to try at home?



I think they'll still have boarding groups by mid-March.


----------



## dina444444

New chart below, I plan to thoroughly update the FAQ on the first page today now that I am home from WDW.


----------



## kyliechristine

We brought the in laws today. Turnstiles haven’t opened yet and all lines are back to DCA. Seems pretty busy this morning.


----------



## katyringo

I hadn’t made the connection between this system and the increase in morning crowds. It’s obvious duh, but man. Those who have been is  it severly
Impacting the ride wait times elsewhere in the first couple hours the park is open?


----------



## JWelch62

JWelch62 said:


> Leaving San Diego for the park. Here's hoping we get a boarding pass...


In line at 7:15. All the way back to DCA


----------



## Mathmagicland

7:20 am and DL lines are touching the DCA gates & curving


----------



## montreid

Yep. We're 20 ft away from dca at 710a.   BG will go in 30sec I bet


----------



## hiroMYhero

DHS Guests are reporting as of today, they only have a 1-hour return window once their BGs are called.

*Now confirmed it may be a 1-hour or 2-hour return but it’s currently a 1-hour return.

I asked and no one knows if the window return time will also be in effect at DL.


----------



## Mathmagicland

Gates do not appear be open yet as we are not moving at all.  7.27 am


----------



## Aurora0427

We are here in line. It’s 7:25. They haven’t opened the gates yet. Lines are past DCA. I don’t think we are going to scan in by 8. It’ll be tight. We arrived at 7:15. I have two small kids and my elderly parents. It was a struggle just getting them here this early.  If we aren’t successful we will try again tomorrow. Fortunately we are local and can come back anytime.


----------



## montreid

Yep. We're 20 ft away from dca at 710a.   BG will go in 30sec I bet


----------



## JWelch62

Aurora0427 said:


> We are here in line. It’s 7:25. They haven’t opened the gates yet. Lines are past DCA. I don’t think we are going to scan in by 8. It’ll be tight. We arrived at 7:15. I have two small kids and my elderly parents. It was a struggle just getting them here this early.  If we aren’t successful we will try again tomorrow. Fortunately we are local and can come back anytime.


Looks like Gates just opened at 7:31


----------



## Aurora0427

I am pretty mad. I have stayed positive throughout this process because it’s not that big of a deal in this grande scheme of life, but the fact that it is 7:32 on a weekend and they still haven’t opened the gates really makes mad. People are literally lined up in DCA. It is an avoidable mess if they’d just opened up the gates earlier like they have been.

It’s 7:34 and they just opened.


----------



## Mathmagicland

Yes I am a little nervous as all lines have u turned I can’t see how far back up. I am concerned crowd reaction should everyone not get scanned in to try. So many people...also concerned for possible line jumping attempts.


----------



## Aurora0427

Mathmagicland said:


> Yes I am a little nervous as all lines have u turned I can’t see how far back up. I am concerned crowd reaction should everyone not get scanned in to try. So many people...also concerned for possible line jumping attempts.


Oh there’s lots of line jumping. People are cutting in front of everyone. It’s not clear where the lines are. I’m frustrated because it’s so hard with small kids to get here earlier than 7! Ha!!!! I’m letting this go today and we are going to have fun doing other things and try again another day!


----------



## Skyegirl1999

Aurora0427 said:


> Oh there’s lots of line jumping. People are cutting in front of everyone. It’s not clear where the lines are. I’m frustrated because it’s so hard with small kids to get here earlier than 7! Ha!!!! I’m letting this go today and we are going to have fun doing other things and try again another day!


Good job keeping a good attitude!  I hope you have a great day anyway. 

This sort of situation is, I think, what a lot of us were concerned about in the early pages of this thread.  DL doesn’t usually open that early, and then the lines can be so inequitable and slow...

I hope things stay calm and everyone has a nice day at the parks!


----------



## CastAStone

They have done a good job of clearing insane entry lines the last 10 days; don’t give up yet...


----------



## JWelch62

Skyegirl1999 said:


> Good job keeping a good attitude!  I hope you have a great day anyway.
> 
> This sort of situation is, I think, what a lot of us were concerned about in the early pages of this thread.  DL doesn’t usually open that early, and then the lines can be so inequitable and slow...
> 
> I hope things stay calm and everyone has a nice day at the parks!


Just got in. Took 15 minutes from just about the entrance to DCA


----------



## ironband74

I saw on twitter that they are also using the side gates for entrance this morning?


----------



## ironband74

"Never tell me the odds"

May the Force be with You


----------



## DLgal

They really need to be opening gates more than 30 minutes ahead. That was fine in the days before this BG system was implemented but it doesn't fly anymore. That is just ridiculous and I'm glad we didn't try to go today because we wouldn't have made it in! 

I was similarly annoyed at the security lines last weekend. They had only a few lines open and the backups were massive! This was at the Downtown Disney checkpoint, so we went around to the hotel side and same thing, although those lines were shorter. Once through people were SPRINTING through Downtown Disney. It was so crazy. 

Disney needs to staff up the security checkpoints FULLY on weekend mornings until they stop with the BG system.


----------



## DLgal

ironband74 said:


> I saw on twitter that they are also using the side gates for entrance this morning?



They use those every weekend.


----------



## CastAStone

Curious if anyone can report on current lines to get in?


----------



## dina444444

on to backups already


----------



## JWelch62

JWelch62 said:


> Just got in. Took 15 minutes from just about the entrance to DCA


BG12!


----------



## Skyegirl1999

I got a red button and no back-up warning just as my phone hit 8:01 from home.  Opened the app on a whim to check at some point after it was already 8:00. 

(I’m recovering from surgery, so no parks for me this weekend.)


----------



## Aurora0427

CastAStone said:


> They have done a good job of clearing insane entry lines the last 10 days; don’t give up yet...



We got in the parks and got group 21. I can’t beliebe it. I might be crying. Ha!!!! The Force was definitely with us today!!!! I’m wearing my new Star Wars jacket and I am
Pumped!


----------



## dina444444

Skyegirl1999 said:


> I got a red button and no back-up warning just as my phone hit 8:01 from home.  Opened the app on a whim to check at some point after it was already 8:00.
> 
> (I’m recovering from surgery, so no parks for me this weekend.)


no pop up warning but on the main page it says they are now distributing backups


----------



## Skyegirl1999

So glad you guys made it in and got groups!

How’d the lines outside look when the park opened?


----------



## kyliechristine

We made it through the turnstiles at 7:54. Ended up with BG 13. I’m sure there will be lots of unhappy guests today though, considering the lines behind us to get in were still very very long


----------



## B3rlingirl

From home: I got a red button no problem and no backup warning until well after 1 minute...About  2 min actually

And backups are still available... after 4 min


----------



## dina444444

backups are still available at 8:04, that an improvement over yesterday


----------



## EmJ

dina444444 said:


> on to backups already


How weird!! I was playing along on two phones and didn’t get the backup notification on either of them until 9:04!!


----------



## BellaandMickey

EmJ said:


> How weird!! I was playing along on two phones and didn’t get the backup notification on either of them until 9:04!!



Me too... strange


----------



## dina444444

EmJ said:


> How weird!! I was playing along on two phones and didn’t get the backup notification on either of them until 9:04!!


I didn't get the pop up yet, but the main page switched to the due to popularity etc. message before 8:01.


----------



## Skyegirl1999

dina444444 said:


> backups are still available at 8:04, that an improvement over yesterday


I’d guess that’s because yesterday was MM and today they didn’t open the gates until after 7:30... not enough people in the park yet to fill them.

It does give a person some idea of how many people they’re processing into the park...


----------



## Skyegirl1999

dina444444 said:


> I didn't get the pop up yet, but the main page switched to the due to popularity etc. message before 8:01.


I saw what you’re talking about.


----------



## Etonduf

EmJ said:


> How weird!! I was playing along on two phones and didn’t get the backup notification on either of them until 9:04!!



Same for me and my child, both playing from home.


----------



## dina444444

Skyegirl1999 said:


> I’d guess that’s because yesterday was MM and today they didn’t open the gates until after 7:30... not enough people in the park yet to fill them.
> 
> It does give a person some idea of how many people they’re processing into the park...


Yeah, that's one area that DHS has Disneyland beat. They have gotten everyone in the gates before the park officially opens that were in line before it opens. and usually by opening there isn't a line to go through the tap stiles. The fingerprint vs. picture makes all the difference in how long it takes.


----------



## dina444444

backups still available as of 8:10am


----------



## katyringo

I’ve been playing at home using a seconds countdown and I’ve noticed something. My red button doesn’t turn red right on time. It happens a few seconds later. What does work right away is clicking on my status first..


----------



## ironband74

DLgal said:


> They use those every weekend.


Clearly I don't go on the weekends


----------



## ironband74

katyringo said:


> I’ve been playing at home using a seconds countdown and I’ve noticed something. My red button doesn’t turn red right on time. It happens a few seconds later. What does work right away is clicking on my status first..


iPhone?


----------



## jxhide

I got back up group 106. Anyone know if there is any chance?


----------



## Etonduf

I would be encouraged that they lasted longer than I expected today, but it sounds like it may have been at the expense of a lot of people who weren't able to get through the gates. That's a really bad situation


----------



## IsleofDisney

I'm still allowed to join a Back up group at 8:17am!


----------



## dina444444

jxhide said:


> I got back up group 106. Anyone know if there is any chance?


Mixed, they have been getting to the low 100s the past few days. What time did you enter the park at? And what group is the first backup, should be able to see this when you click on my status.


----------



## ironband74

jxhide said:


> I got back up group 106. Anyone know if there is any chance?


I'd say you have a very good chance. They've gotten to 106 66% of the time.


----------



## dina444444

And backups are gone, they start with 82 today.


----------



## ironband74

Backups are gone.  82 and up are backups.


----------



## ironband74

dina444444 said:


> And backups are gone, they start with 82 today.


JINX!


----------



## katyringo

ironband74 said:


> iPhone?


 Yeah 8S


----------



## midnight star

katyringo said:


> I’ve been playing at home using a seconds countdown and I’ve noticed something. My red button doesn’t turn red right on time. It happens a few seconds later. What does work right away is clicking on my status first..


Yep. Happened to me at WDW. Had to join by pressing my status.


----------



## dina444444

midnight star said:


> Yep. Happened to me at WDW. Had to join by pressing my status.


Same here, Did that for about half of my rides in WDW.


----------



## Mathmagicland

For the data folks - pulled back up 123 at 8:16 a.m.  we did not plan to ride today so did not try for a regular BG. Pulled the backup to see where it would be.


----------



## JWelch62

JWelch62 said:


> BG12!


I have a Pixel XL2, on VZW. I had a clock with a second display. Switched to Disneyland app at 7:59:59 and button was red when app switched.


----------



## Aurora0427

I used my dad’s phone. He has a newer model iPhone on AT&T with 5G. I stood in the hub where I had 5 bars. His phone was lightning fast. We never would’ve gotten a BG with my old iPhone. I had a clock ticking down on my phone. At 7:59:59 I opened his app, clicked find out more, join boarding group, and we were in. I’m convinced it’s all in the speed of your phone.  Everything pulling up was immediate and we got BG 21. My parents don’t live here and my mom is so excited. She was cheering. It made my heart so happy to do this for my parents. They took me to see empire strikes back when I was two weeks old and I’m convinced that’s why Star Wars means so much to me!


----------



## Mathmagicland

Re the line jumping - The big problem was the wrapped ends of the lines, who arrived later, on either side of us ended up as
New lines somehow. Maybe when the
Single lines split to the two ticket turnstile per gate. Folks were NOT happy at all. 

for us it took 25 min from DCA gate to get scanned in once the gates opened. we made it at 7:56 & not everyone behind us was going to get in before 8 today.


----------



## jxhide

If back up groups started at 82, might there still be a chance?


----------



## ironband74

Mathmagicland said:


> For the data folks - pulled back up 123 at 8:16 a.m.  we did not plan to ride today so did not try for a regular BG. Pulled the backup to see where it would be.


Thanks.  Leads me to believe based on the timing that they issued between 130-140 groups today.  

This also suggests that when our attraction gets to the point of being able to handle 150 groups per day that some days it will be "easy" to get a BG.


----------



## dina444444

jxhide said:


> If back up groups started at 82, might there still be a chance?


Yes, it's all going to depend on if the ride has downtime today. But based on how Disneyland has been loading I would expect to not be called back before mid to late afternoon.


----------



## ironband74

jxhide said:


> If back up groups started at 82, might there still be a chance?


I'd give you better than even odds to get to 106.


----------



## dina444444

Ride is now boarding. Group 10 is first group of the day.


----------



## disneyholic family

CaliforniaGirl09 said:


> Word is definitely getting out. Today was crazy. Way more people than I expected from previous reports. Way worse than our experience WDW.
> 
> 
> 
> We did ROTR a couple weeks ago at DHS and today was our attempt at DLR. Wow, what a difference. There were way more people at DLR than DHS from what I could tell. It was a very stressful morning.
> 
> We are staying at the Grand and got up around 6:45 am. We were at the downtown disney security gate from the hotel right after 7am. OMG the lines were crazy. My stress level shot through the roof. I had a backpack, but DH and DS23 (birthday boy today) didn't have any bags so I sent them through the line. I figured worst case scenario they would be in the park and able to ride even if I couldn't. I ran back up to the room to get rid of my backpack. The no bag line was walk through, and I caught up with them at the magic morning lines. I can't believe they had all those hotel people funneling through one line.
> 
> Then by time we got to the gates, the magic morning lines were ridiculous. They seemed to take forever. This was a completely different experience from WDW where you "tap in" very quickly. We seemed to be in the line that had every clueless person possible. Super frustrating. We didn't get though until about 7:40! Not what I was expecting.
> 
> We stuck to the right to enter the not-very-magic-morning line and headed toward the back of the park by small world. I had a speed tester app going and we tried out a few different places, and I was panicking. Last night when I speed tested *inside* Oga's, I was getting in the 150s. Today it was more like in the 30s. I finally found a place that was decent (70s) and we sat down without our five phones. The three of us had our regular iPhones (one 11, one x, and one 8 all on AT&T) as well as an old 8 and an old 6 that were on wifi. I had my apple watch with the count down on the table. We decided to split the difference and had two phones at the landing page and three pones with nothing open. It was all a flurry, but basically, I had a couple phones turn red, and I ended up going with the oldest phone (the iPhone 6) that was on wifi. I could have also done my iPhone 11 on AT&T, but I was worried about doing something at the same time and screwing up. So I kept my iPhone 11 AT&T on the red "join boarding group" page while I proceeded on the old iPhone 6. We ended up with boarding group 53, which was perfect for us as we had the napa rose princess breakfast for DS's birthday.
> 
> There were so many people that didn't get groups, I felt really badly for them. At WDW, it felt like most people were successful. That wasn't how it seemed here. I'm not sure how long the regular boarding groups lasted, but it felt really fast. My husband said he had a full about 35 seconds after 8.
> 
> WDW felt way more civilized compared to this morning. Very stressful.



my best friend is at DHS today..
she and her family were inside the park waiting for the queue to open. 
They got boarding group 14.....i was so excited for them..
i'm wondering what phone they used and whether they were on wifi or their carrier..
their group boarded  a half hour after opening...

.
.


----------



## CaliforniaGirl09

dina444444 said:


> Yes, it's all going to depend on if the ride has downtime today. But based on how Disneyland has been loading I would expect to not be called back before mid to late afternoon.


Ditto, and just as a comparison, we were 58 yesterday and got our notification at 2:57 pm. There seemed to be one shut down yesterday, and it was stuck on 49 for a long time afterwords as they cycled people through after.

P.S. Meant to add that we are really glad we decided not to go for a second day. Sounds like even more of a CF out there than yesterday and my stress levels were through the roof with that. I think it was partly that I wasn't expecting it from prior reports, but this weekend the crowds have really arrived. Everything was horribly packed yesterday and last night. Maxpass for CA was gone in the early evening if not before. We were there on Dec. 22-26th and the crowds were much much worse yesterday. I talked to a CM and she said to visit when passes were blocked. I also complained to the Grand about the hotel security line and apparently I wasn't the first. She tried to pass the buck to security, but I told her even if they don't handle it, it is part of the hotel experience that would be reflected on my survey. I must have said the magic words because I was immediately transferred to a very sympathetic manager, LOL.


----------



## JWelch62

JWelch62 said:


> I have a Pixel XL2, on VZW. I had a clock with a second display. Switched to Disneyland app at 7:59:59 and button was red when app switched.


Also, thanks to everyone for all the tips and advice. I hope you all get to experience this ride!


----------



## ironband74

Earlier start than yesterday.  Here's hoping for a good day!


----------



## jackbo487

AT&T, old 5S, speed test apps said I had awful coverage (like 4-5 mbps) in the fire station next to city hall.

despite all that, and Find OutMore not lighting up (had to use My Status), somehow landed group 43 anyway.


----------



## CastAStone

jackbo487 said:


> AT&T, old 5S, speed test apps said I had awful coverage (like 4-5 mbps) in the fire station next to city hall.
> 
> despite all that, and Find OutMore not lighting up (had to use My Status), somehow landed group 43 anyway.




Nice! Bumping for the morning crowd:


CastAStone said:


> Just a note on cell phones and carriers.
> 
> The issue with a carrier is simply can your phone get a signal through. The amount of data needed should be trivial. No one has reported in this thread any issues with T-Mobile, Sprint, or Verizon, and the issues reported with AT&T have been a small % of total AT&T datapoints.
> 
> If you can load a website at 7:59, you should be fine.
> 
> As for phones, I haven’t seen anything in this thread or the WDW thread to make me think that your phone model matters





CastAStone said:


> Honestly if you’re getting 2-3 Mbps you’ll be fine. The difference between 100kb of data (which is almost certainly way more than is transmitted in the entire BG process) at 2 mbps and 100 mbps is less than 4/10ths of a second.


----------



## njchris

Ugh.  Got here 15 mins later than I wanted and line was out to DCA.  It was very confusing with the lines looking like they wrapped back and forth.  But got in at 8:01.  My friend scanned in after me and it took about 30 seconds for the system to recognize he was here.  I really don’t think type of phone matters much. It’s not doing a lot of work to display a screen.  It prob has more to do with the ping to the server that you have.
Anyway we got on backup group 102.


----------



## Skyegirl1999

njchris said:


> Ugh.  Got here 15 mins later than I wanted and line was out to DCA.  It was very confusing with the lines looking like they wrapped back and forth.  But got in at 8:01.  My friend scanned in after me and it took about 30 seconds for the system to recognize he was here.  I really don’t think type of phone matters much. It’s not doing a lot of work to display a screen.  It prob has more to do with the ping to the server that you have.
> Anyway we got on backup group 102.


Fingers crossed for you - as long as they have a decent day, you should get to ride!

I hope they’re going to streamline entrance procedures.  They’re going to have busy days as people think “the crowds will have died down by now” or “I heard you’re fine if you arrive at 7:45!”  I shudder to think what Presidents’ Day week is going to look like...


----------



## crystal1313

I was reading on an AP Facebook page this morning that there were a lot of line cutters, which is unfortunate. Hopefully Disney learns from this experience and opens the gates earlier when it’s packed like today.


----------



## aymiewilson

Lines were REALLY long this morning. Security line short at about 7:15 am but lines went all the way back to DCA entrances and wrapped around. They started letting ppl through at 7:30, and we were in the wrapped around part of the line and STILL got thru at 7:54 am!

We went to the stairs for the Main Street station again, this time on Tomorrowland side. Same process as yesterday - watching friend’s smartwatch with second hand. Opened DL appa few mins before - all other apps closed. Hit “find out more” exactly as second hand hit 8 am. Got BG 22 today!

Looks like they started with BG10 at around... 8:30? We got the notification our group was called at about 9 am while loading onto Pirates.

currently in line now as I write this!


----------



## msteddom

I got backup BG 105 at 8:08 this morning.  I was very pleasantly surprised to get anything!


----------



## Skyegirl1999

crystal1313 said:


> I was reading on an AP Facebook page this morning that there were a lot of line cutters, which is unfortunate. Hopefully Disney learns from this experience and opens the gates earlier when it’s packed like today.


To be fair, the line situation can be very confusing.  A lot of the lines “split,” or it’s hard to tell where they lead, or there’s no way to know who “belongs” in a new, short line.  When people are panicking and see a short line, they’re going to rush there... a lot of perceived “cutting” isn’t intentional; it’s a byproduct of disorganization and the stress of people trying to get in. 

I mean, the same thing happens at the grocery checkout when they open a new lane - it’s not always the people waiting the longest who get to use the new checkout, you know?

I do think Disney needs to do a better job of regulating the lines.  We’ve been in some situations in the past where line dynamics got ugly, and that was before BGs made it 100 times more stressful.  There’s the potential for some real issues


----------



## Mathmagicland

For those from Oz, had some Aussies behind us in line today, here one day only so quickly shared the DIS strategies. Just saw them and they scored BG 61 on their LTE service.


----------



## coaches24

Ok reading through and want to make sure I understand what to do. Seems simple enough in theory but I want to make sure I am not missing anything. We are going with my daughters theater group Feb 20-22 with 3 day park hoppers and I am a chaperone so our schedule is set by the group leader which  means I am at their mercy as far as park times go (and we don’t know the daily schedule yet).
We really want to ride both SW rides. 
Is getting a BG at park opening the only way to ride RoTR? 
And I can only get a BG if I have scanned my ticket that day in DL? 
And do they have any accommodations for groups that have impacted schedules due to classes and such that anyone knows about?


----------



## Etonduf

coaches24 said:


> Ok reading through and want to make sure I understand what to do. Seems simple enough in theory but I want to make sure I am not missing anything. We are going with my daughters theater group Feb 20-22 with 3 day park hoppers and I am a chaperone so our schedule is set by the group leader which  means I am at their mercy as far as park times go (and we don’t know the daily schedule yet).
> We really want to ride both SW rides.
> Is getting a BG at park opening the only way to ride RoTR?
> And I can only get a BG if I have scanned my ticket that day in DL?
> And do they have any accommodations for groups that have impacted schedules due to classes and such that anyone knows about?



Take a look at the first three posts in the thread for the updated rundown, but the short answers to your questions:

1. Yes
2. Yes
3. No


----------



## montreid

ironband74 said:


> "Never tell me the odds"
> 
> May the Force be with You


Yes we saw that happen. Line shifted on the far right a lot.   We of course had chosen the middle section....


----------



## Aurora0427

We scanned in at 9:07 and were off at 9:37. I rode with my parents, and it was amazing. Ride was walk on. By the time we got off, the line was backed up to where they scan boarding groups, so we didn’t use our rider swaps. My husband and older daughter will ride another time. 

It was wonderful and we are so lucky everything worked out for us so perfectly. I still can’t believe it.


----------



## VandVsmama

coaches24 said:


> Ok reading through and want to make sure I understand what to do. Seems simple enough in theory but I want to make sure I am not missing anything. We are going with my daughters theater group Feb 20-22 with 3 day park hoppers and I am a chaperone so our schedule is set by the group leader which  means I am at their mercy as far as park times go (and we don’t know the daily schedule yet).
> We really want to ride both SW rides.
> Is getting a BG at park opening the only way to ride RoTR?
> And I can only get a BG if I have scanned my ticket that day in DL?
> And do they have any accommodations for groups that have impacted schedules due to classes and such that anyone knows about?



Right now, boarding groups are the only way to get on ROTR. There are no special accommodations for groups with impacted schedules. Even people paying thousands of dollars for VIP tours must be at the park at 8:00 am and have to get a boarding group like everyone else. No standby line. No FP. No single rider line. Only boarding groups.


----------



## SOCALMouseMommy

Skyegirl1999 said:


> I got a red button and no back-up warning just as my phone hit 8:01 from home.  Opened the app on a whim to check at some point after it was already 8:00.
> 
> (I’m recovering from surgery, so no parks for me this weekend.)


Hope you recover quickly!


----------



## Go💛Go

Aurora0427 said:


> we didn’t use our rider swaps. My husband and older daughter will ride another time.


Those who ride on the “swap” use the FP line so they bypass the majority of the BG/Standby line up until the merge point.


----------



## Aurora0427

Go💛Go said:


> Those who ride on the “swap” use the FP line so they bypass the majority of the BG/Standby line up until the merge point.



Yeah, I thought about that. But my husband had to leave to go to the airport and my eight year old was starting to really freak herself out about riding it, so I just let it go and went and saw princesses.


----------



## Ferrellcon

dina444444 said:


> Yeah, that's one area that DHS has Disneyland beat. They have gotten everyone in the gates before the park officially opens that were in line before it opens. and usually by opening there isn't a line to go through the tap stiles. The fingerprint vs. picture makes all the difference in how long it takes.



I feel like DHS Beats Disneyland in many ways. Lol

They get everyone in the park before opening and they are more efficient in  loading boarding groups. I have seen them often go through over 100 groups. If i had a choice I would go to DHS over Disneyland any day to get on the new ride. They do have an advantage though. They have been open longer.


----------



## Kellina

Question- I can't seem to find a clear answer on this one. 

It will be my husband, 2 kids and myself going in about a month. Should my husband and I both try for a BG? If so can we just use either one??

Thanks!!!


----------



## dina444444

Kellina said:


> Question- I can't seem to find a clear answer on this one.
> 
> It will be my husband, 2 kids and myself going in about a month. Should my husband and I both try for a BG? If so can we just use either one??
> 
> Thanks!!!


You can both try on your phones, you will each need to have your entire parties tickets scanned in to both logins on the apps. You can also use one login on both phones.


----------



## HydroGuy

Kellina said:


> Question- I can't seem to find a clear answer on this one.
> 
> It will be my husband, 2 kids and myself going in about a month. Should my husband and I both try for a BG? If so can we just use either one??
> 
> Thanks!!!





dina444444 said:


> You can both try on your phones, you will each need to have your entire parties tickets (or APs) scanned in to both logins on the apps. You can also use one login on both phones.


Dina is of course correct and, to be clear, you need to have all your park tickets linked into your account and, if your DH uses a separate acount, into his. Or he can login to your same account. Both approaches work.

The key thing is that as soon as a BG is obtained for a certain group of tickets, they are locked into a BG and cannot get another.

What this means practically is that it is not only OK, but highly recommended, for everyone in your group to attempt to get a BG for your group. That increases your odds as it is not clear whose phone will be the lucky one to get the BG that day.


----------



## HydroGuy

Ferrellcon said:


> I feel like DHS Beats Disneyland in many ways. Lol
> 
> They get everyone in the park before opening and they are more efficient in  loading boarding groups. I have seen them often go through over 100 groups. If i had a choice I would go to DHS over Disneyland any day to get on the new ride. They do have an advantage though. They have been open longer.


As much as I love DLR, I have to agree. I was at Pandora (AK) on opening day and they just nailed the entire process.


----------



## pokee99

How many of you think this rope drop morning boarding group allocation is NOT a sustainable solution to allocate spots for riding ROTR?

I realize it's not a permanent solution, but most think it will be in place for months. It's been a week and already we've seen loads of disappointed and angry guests.  EVen those that came prepared.

Today's late rope drop was the perfect example of a total disaster. They simply can't manage early morning crowds like that for weeks on end.  I think it's only going to get worse! Especially when we get to March and all the spring break vacations.

I personally feel an advance reservation system is more fair. You get ONE reservation per ticket, hopper pass or say one a month for AP holders & multi- ticket holders (limited to riding once a month means EVERYONE should be able to get a shot at the ride). You could cancel your reservation if you can't make your reserved boarding group, and be put on the back up for the same day. In addition, there would only be 50% advance reservations (for early day BG) and then in park boarding group assignments at a set time in the afternoon for later day rides.  This completely eliminates the morning crowds and line jumping for panicked guests. It also achieves a level of fairness for guests that may not be as tech savvy, or have older phones - or no data plans (which is very common for out of country visitors). I'm from Canada and I'm going to have to upgrade my phone plan JUST to do THIS!!!

I've been reading this thread for a day and I'm SUPER stressed out about visiting GE because of the DESPERATE NEED for people to visit it and get onto ROTF! There's just gotta be a better way...


----------



## montreid

The issue is the scanning and picture taking that has traditionally stalled gate entry at Disneyland.  This is why they really should just open both sides and allow entry in early at 730 or do anyway with pictures.   At 759 it became silent....eary sensation. Really .


----------



## HydroGuy

pokee99 said:


> How many of you think this rope drop morning boarding group allocation is NOT a sustainable solution to allocate spots for riding ROTR?
> 
> I realize it's not a permanent solution, but most think it will be in place for months. It's been a week and already we've seen loads of disappointed and angry guests.  EVen those that came prepared.
> 
> Today's late rope drop was the perfect example of a total disaster. They simply can't manage early morning crowds like that for weeks on end.  I think it's only going to get worse! Especially when we get to March and all the spring break vacations.
> 
> I personally feel an advance reservation system is more fair. You get ONE reservation per hopper pass or say one a month for AP holders (riding once means EVERYONE should be able to get a shot). You could cancel your reservation if you can't make your reserved boarding group, and be put on the back up for the same day. In addition, there would only be 50% advance reservations (for early day BG) and then in park boarding group assignments at a set time in the afternoon for later day rides.  This completely eliminates the morning crowds and line jumping for panicked guests. It also achieves a level of fairness for guests that may not be as tech savvy, or have older phones - or no data plans (which is very common for out of country visitors). I'm from Canada and I'm going to have to upgrade my phone plan JUST to do THIS!!!
> 
> I've been reading this thread for a day and I'm SUPER stressed out about visiting GE because of the DESPERATE NEED for people to visit it and get onto ROTF! There's just gotta be a better way...


There are almost 3000 posts in this thread.  LOL I have read them all but many have not because it takes so much time. I think every possibly different approach DIsney could have taken with ROTR, or might want to switch to, has been discussed.

Without rehashing those, I think we all agree that there is no single solution that will make everyone happy. Most seem to think the current BG system is the least unfair.

It seems until today Disney had the queue system outside the turnstiles under control before park opening. And then for whatever reason, they messed it up today. It would seem they know what to do, but did not follow that today. As long as they continue to manage the turnstile queues beore park opening, the current system works. And is sustainable until enough APs and local SoCal folks have made their way through and the early morning stress will die down.


----------



## NorthernCalMom

Kellina said:


> Question- I can't seem to find a clear answer on this one.
> 
> It will be my husband, 2 kids and myself going in about a month. Should my husband and I both try for a BG? If so can we just use either one??
> 
> Thanks!!!


The more phones you try on the better your odds (not sure if there is an advantage of several people logging into one account or people using different accounts with linked tickets—seems that more people here do the former rather than the latter). Whichever way you access the system, once one of you gets in & selects a BG for all of you, everybody else will get messages upon trying to select one that there’s already a BG associated with the ticket & you can’t get another.


----------



## Abbey1

We entered the parks for rope drop this past Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. We were using 3-day tickets and they never took our photos during that early morning entry. When we re-entered last night around 6:30, they took our photos for those tickets. It was our experience that they were trying to get guests through the turnstiles as quickly and efficiently as possible. It sounds like today didn’t go as smoothly as it has been which is unfortunate.


----------



## montreid

Okay update for today
710 arrive harbor security...all open
715 through to esplanade...20 ft away from dca
730 gates open.    Side gates open on harbor side too...watch for this in the future...stay right like in WDW?
742. Through the gates.... Scoped out sites yesterday.   T-Mobile tower sites best in downtown Disney.   Stayed just inside the gates and clear site to dd.
800. Group 13.!!!  T-Mobile Android.  Wife got to groups too on her iPhone 11 but I beat her by fraction


----------



## NorthernCalMom

pokee99 said:


> How many of you think this rope drop morning boarding group allocation is NOT a sustainable solution to allocate spots for riding ROTR?
> 
> I realize it's not a permanent solution, but most think it will be in place for months. It's been a week and already we've seen loads of disappointed and angry guests.  EVen those that came prepared.
> 
> Today's late rope drop was the perfect example of a total disaster. They simply can't manage early morning crowds like that for weeks on end.  I think it's only going to get worse! Especially when we get to March and all the spring break vacations.
> 
> I personally feel an advance reservation system is more fair. You get ONE reservation per ticket, hopper pass or say one a month for AP holders & multi- ticket holders (limited to riding once a month means EVERYONE should be able to get a shot at the ride). You could cancel your reservation if you can't make your reserved boarding group, and be put on the back up for the same day. In addition, there would only be 50% advance reservations (for early day BG) and then in park boarding group assignments at a set time in the afternoon for later day rides.  This completely eliminates the morning crowds and line jumping for panicked guests. It also achieves a level of fairness for guests that may not be as tech savvy, or have older phones - or no data plans (which is very common for out of country visitors). I'm from Canada and I'm going to have to upgrade my phone plan JUST to do THIS!!!
> 
> I've been reading this thread for a day and I'm SUPER stressed out about visiting GE because of the DESPERATE NEED for people to visit it and get onto ROTF! There's just gotta be a better way...


Wouldn’t an advance reservation system essentially mean sneakily introducing Disneyworld’s FP+ system to DL? I sincerely doubt that this would be an improvement. Wouldn’t you just take a limited resource that a lot of people trying to access, resulting in happy success by some & disappointment for others, and move that same cruel selection process from in the park to the person’s home (60 days in advance or whenever that deadline would be)? The advantage would be that other guests in the parks won’t have to see the tears, the disadvantage that far more people (not just those hardy and determined enough to come early) would compete (from home) for the same number of slots.

The only improvement I can see would be in a combination of (a) over time working out the current technical issues so that more people get to ride and (b) hoping that the new Marvel-land in California Adventure will open on time and will draw some of the crowds this summer (which of course would only relax the pressure on Ride of the Resistance if it would by then have switched to FP/single rider/standby—if it still uses BGs or any kind of random access advance reservation at that time, the same number of people would still compete for the same number of spaces and those who succeed in getting a ride reservation would simply spend their time waiting to get on in CA).


----------



## MonocularVision

Noooooooooooooooo! Let’s not get sucked into this again.


----------



## CastAStone

pokee99 said:


> How many of you think this rope drop morning boarding group allocation is NOT a sustainable solution to allocate spots for riding ROTR?
> 
> I realize it's not a permanent solution, but most think it will be in place for months. It's been a week and already we've seen loads of disappointed and angry guests.  EVen those that came prepared.
> 
> Today's late rope drop was the perfect example of a total disaster. They simply can't manage early morning crowds like that for weeks on end.  I think it's only going to get worse! Especially when we get to March and all the spring break vacations.
> 
> I personally feel an advance reservation system is more fair. You get ONE reservation per ticket, hopper pass or say one a month for AP holders & multi- ticket holders (limited to riding once a month means EVERYONE should be able to get a shot at the ride). You could cancel your reservation if you can't make your reserved boarding group, and be put on the back up for the same day. In addition, there would only be 50% advance reservations (for early day BG) and then in park boarding group assignments at a set time in the afternoon for later day rides.  This completely eliminates the morning crowds and line jumping for panicked guests. It also achieves a level of fairness for guests that may not be as tech savvy, or have older phones - or no data plans (which is very common for out of country visitors). I'm from Canada and I'm going to have to upgrade my phone plan JUST to do THIS!!!
> 
> I've been reading this thread for a day and I'm SUPER stressed out about visiting GE because of the DESPERATE NEED for people to visit it and get onto ROTF! There's just gotta be a better way...


There are other threads open to discuss this. Please.


----------



## ironband74

Can we just appreciate how ops are killing it today? ( touch  wood!)


----------



## Epicnemesis

Finally created an account after lurking since the 17th to get insights. Going with my wife on the 15th and am super nervous that it’s going to be even more insane than the usual Saturday insanity. But at least I now have a strategy thanks to the info here.

I created an account to add to what causes success vs. failure. I doubt any recent phone would struggle/be the reason the system fails you. Likewise 2-3 mbps should be more than sufficient under regular conditions. The issue is tower congestion/disney’s server load.

For tower congestion. Think of it like the parking line. Sometimes it’s fine because they have more booths open than cars flowing through, but when it backs up it’s a disaster and you have to wait your turn essentially. That’s why it hangs between taps and why you are better off at tower B with 50 people than tower A with 5000 even if the speed at tower A is the same.


----------



## disneyholic family

dina444444 said:


> You can both try on your phones, you will each need to have your entire parties tickets scanned in to both logins on the apps. You can also use one login on both phones.



even though you said that there probably won't be boarding groups in october, i was already trying to figure out how we (you and i) would be able to log in together to be in a boarding group together.  Nothing like advance planning!!    

.


----------



## dina444444

disneyholic family said:


> even though you said that there probably won't be boarding groups in october, i was already trying to figure out how we (you and i) would be able to log in together to be in a boarding group together.  Nothing like advance planning!!
> 
> .


I would scan your ticket media into my account and vice versa.


----------



## disneyholic family

dina444444 said:


> I would scan your ticket media into my account and vice versa.



this is great! this is giving me the opportunity to learn about DL (and the DL app)...
those of us WDW mavens feel totally adrift when it comes to what happens in anaheim!!
.


----------



## HydroGuy

Epicnemesis said:


> Finally created an account after lurking since the 17th to get insights. Going with my wife on the 15th and am super nervous that it’s going to be even more insane than the usual Saturday insanity. But at least I now have a strategy thanks to the info here.


----------



## disneyholic family

i just uploaded the DL app on my phone.  
And i see that ROTR is open and groups 43-61 are now boarding..
cool..
(a whole new world)

.


----------



## montreid

disneyholic family said:


> this is great! this is giving me the opportunity to learn about DL (and the DL app)...
> those of us WDW mavens, feel totally adrift when it comes to what happens in anaheim!!
> .


We felt much the same with something strapped to our wrists for everything we do. But like anything Disney,  we learn the method and adapt


----------



## pharmama

HydroGuy said:


> It seems until today Disney had the queue system outside the turnstiles under control before park opening. And then for whatever reason, they messed it up today. It would seem they know what to do, but did not follow that today. As long as they continue to manage the turnstile queues beore park opening, the current system works.



Agree. Disney has made it apparent that they know how to manage the entry queues. It seems fair to assume that there was a reason they didn’t open the turnstiles as early this morning and I’m sure thy were working hard to open them as soon as they could. The park is a hive of activity in the short hours between when it closes and reopens the next day (or even the same day when Main Steet is open until 1am). They also do private events like weddings etc sometimes before park open, though I doubt that was the case this morning.


----------



## Kellina

NorthernCalMom said:


> The more phones you try on the better your odds (not sure if there is an advantage of several people logging into one account or people using different accounts with linked tickets—seems that more people here do the former rather than the latter). Whichever way you access the system, once one of you gets in & selects a BG for all of you, everybody else will get messages upon trying to select one that there’s already a BG associated with the ticket & you can’t get another.




Thanks everyone! You've answered my question! We already have tickets purchased and linked so no problem there. Sounds like we'll log into one account and try both phones!!


----------



## SirBill

pokee99 said:


> I personally feel an advance reservation system is more fair.



The only difference between the current BG system and and advance reservation system, is all of the sad people who could not get reservations would be tucked out of sight at home, instead of being where Disney could any least try to cheer them up.  Also advanced reservations would greatly open the system to being hacked so that some people would always get boarding groups.

If anything the current system is better because at least only people who make the effort to get into Disneyland/DHS before opening are able to try.  With everyone on Earth able to try remotely?   No thanks!

The only system that is actually FAIR mind you, is where people who get in line early are the first one to get a boarding group.  I've gone to ROTR under both systems now, and the first come first serve system was by the far the one that was most fair and produced fewer unhappy people.  You could know on the way if you had a shot, or by looking at lines to get in.  Now it's just everyone who can cram into the park by 8am and then a battle royale of phone technology skills to determine the winner.  

Now mind you, I'm not sure at this point if the more actually fair system is better.  I think what Disney is doing now, is probably the best compromise (but then being good with phones I can rationalize that since I"ve always managed to get a boarding pass so far).



> You get ONE reservation per ticket, hopper pass or say one a month for AP holders & multi- ticket holders (limited to riding once a month means EVERYONE should be able to get a shot at the ride).



They could do that without changing the current system.  I think you are severely underestimating demand though, I doubt that would help much.


----------



## CastAStone

SirBill said:


> The only difference between the current BG system and and advance reservation system, is all of the sad people who could not get reservations would be tucked out of sight at home, instead of being where Disney could any least try to cheer them up.  Also advanced reservations would greatly open the system to being hacked so that some people would always get boarding groups.
> 
> If anything the current system is better because at least only people who make the effort to get into Disneyland/DHS before opening are able to try.  With everyone on Earth able to try remotely?   No thanks!
> 
> The only system that is actually FAIR mind you, is where people who get in line early are the first one to get a boarding group.  I've gone to ROTR under both systems now, and the first come first serve system was by the far the one that was most fair and produced fewer unhappy people.  You could know on the way if you had a shot, or by looking at lines to get in.  Now it's just everyone who can cram into the park by 8am and then a battle royale of phone technology skills to determine the winner.
> 
> Now mind you, I'm not sure at this point if the more actually fair system is better.  I think what Disney is doing now, is probably the best compromise (but then being good with phones I can rationalize that since I"ve always managed to get a boarding pass so far).
> 
> 
> 
> They could do that without changing the current system.  I think you are severely underestimating demand though, I doubt that would help much.


Here is the thread for debating the merits of BGs and alternative solutions:
https://www.disboards.com/threads/boarding-group-issues-resolution-thoughts.3787676/


----------



## pokee99

CastAStone said:


> There are other threads open to discuss this. Please.



If you're going to chastise someone for posting a legitimate response to today's entry debacle, and demand taking it to a more appropriate thread, at least have the decency to post the link. Please.


Edit: I see your post above.  It's like you read my mind...


----------



## EmJ

ROTR has had a phenomenal day so far, though it appears to be currently down. I've noticed that *if* the ride is going to go down, it seems to happen within the half hour before or after 2:00, or between 4:00 and 6:00. Sometimes both. Sure enough, the mid-afternoon gremlins seemed to have gotten ahold of it around 1:30 today. Hopefully it will be back up and running within the hour. If they can keep it up, there is the possibility of running through a lot of backup groups today.


----------



## ZCarroll

How are the crowds during the day in DCA impacted by this, does anyone know?  I really wish they would just open up BGs an hour after opening, that would make things so much less stressful all around and if they get to a point where they can consistently have the ride running right at opening maybe they could have some amount of backup groups from the day prior ride that first hour.  I cannot stand standing in nonmoving lines, especially ones with people cutting, it's just not worth the stress to me but my husband really wants to try this ride of course, ugh... instead of being happy and excited I just feel sick thinking about it and am actually dreading it... coronavirus doesn't help!


----------



## Ferrellcon

ironband74 said:


> Can we just appreciate how ops are killing it today? ( touch  wood!)


Less than 20 guaranteed groups left and we are almost at 230 pm. Not too bad. Its unfortunate that it broke down.


----------



## ZCarroll

I know it's been mentioned that people were able to scan in to DL and then leave and get BGs elsewhere, like downtown disney and california adventure so I'm assuming it would work to get a boarding group from any of the hotels across the street but I don't think I read of anyone trying that yet, or did I miss that?


----------



## HydroGuy

ZCarroll said:


> I know it's been mentioned that people were able to scan in to DL and then leave and get BGs elsewhere, like downtown disney and california adventure so I'm assuming it would work to get a boarding group from any of the hotels across the street but I don't think I read of anyone trying that yet, or did I miss that?


I have not seen that reported in this thread. 

It has been speculated that no one could see a reason why that would not work.


----------



## vickiea

montreid said:


> The issue is the scanning and picture taking that has traditionally stalled gate entry at Disneyland.  This is why they really should just open both sides and allow entry in early at 730 or do anyway with pictures.   At 759 it became silent....eary sensation. Really .



Do they do pics everyday for every kind of ticket? I can’t see that info on the DL website anywhere and I want to be prepared with the proper documents etc when we go in a week. Thank you 

We will have 4 day park hoopers for Canadian residents.


----------



## SirBill

ZCarroll said:


> I know it's been mentioned that people were able to scan in to DL and then leave and get BGs elsewhere, like downtown disney and california adventure so I'm assuming it would work to get a boarding group from any of the hotels across the street but I don't think I read of anyone trying that yet, or did I miss that?



Yes that was reported a few times here.  A hotel would work as well, the app only cares if you are scanned into Disneyland.  Just make really sure your hotel internet is really better, often hotel WiFi is very bad, and I've found a lot of times cell reception in rooms can be not great.

It still surprises me a little that it works even if you also scan into DCA after you scan into Disneyland but someone did try that and reported that it worked.


----------



## HydroGuy

vickiea said:


> Do they do pics everyday for every kind of ticket? I can’t see that info on the DL website anywhere and I want to be prepared with the proper documents etc when we go in a week. Thank you
> 
> We will have 4 day park hoopers for Canadian residents.


Normally, the first time the ticket is used, a photo is taken and associated with that ticket. I do not recall there ever being a request for a document of any kind. Really they do not care, as long as the same person uses the ticket each day.

For you it will be helpful to write each person's name on each ticket so you know which ticket belongs to each person. It is usually recommended to snap a quick photo of each ticket in case you lose one. And I always write a cell # on the ticket in case it is lost, to improve the chance of being returned.


----------



## HydroGuy

SirBill said:


> Yes that was reported a few times here.  A hotel would work as well, the app only cares if you are scanned into Disneyland.  It still surprises me a little that it works even if you also scan into DCA but someone did try that and reported that it worked.


I thought I read here that scanning into DCA does NOT work. What has been reported is that if you FIRST scan into DL, _then _into DCA, that works.


----------



## SirBill

HydroGuy said:


> I thought I read here that scannng into DCA does NOT work. What has been reported is that if you FIRST scan into DL, _then _into DCA, that works.



I since further clarified my post, I meant scanning into DCA after you had also scanned into Disneyland (as I mentioned in the first half of my post, all the BG distribution system cares about is that you have scanned into Disneyland).


----------



## CastAStone

SirBill said:


> It still surprises me a little that it works even if you also scan into DCA after you scan into Disneyland but someone did try that and reported that it worked.


I just don’t think they programmed any further logic for it. If the 0 turns to a 1 on “scanned into Disneyland”, that’s the end of the check.


----------



## pokee99

HydroGuy said:


> I thought I read here that scannng into DCA does NOT work. What has been reported is that if you FIRST scan into DL, _then _into DCA, that works.



It's too bad this doesn't work, actually. It would really alleviate the morning crowds waiting for the turnstiles to open at DL...


----------



## MonocularVision

CastAStone said:


> I just don’t think they programmed any further logic for it. If the 0 turns to a 1 on “scanned into Disneyland”, that’s the end of the check.



There is an additional check to see how much you’ve argued over the BG process on this thread too.


----------



## OneTrackMind

vickiea said:


> Do they do pics everyday for every kind of ticket? I can’t see that info on the DL website anywhere and I want to be prepared with the proper documents etc when we go in a week. Thank you
> 
> We will have 4 day park hoopers for Canadian residents.


As @HydroGuy said, they only do the picture once. Just remember to have your proof of Canadian residency because they do check that! I think they only checked one person in our group of four but I’m pretty sure I read last year that they sometimes check each person in the group.


----------



## maxacorn

pokee99 said:


> It's too bad this doesn't work, actually. It would really alleviate the morning crowds waiting for the turnstiles to open at DL...


It's my guess that the reason you need to scan into DL is to confirm you have a pass for DL. If you scan into DCA but don't have a Park Hopper, you wouldn't be able to get into DL. They want to ensure people who get BGs can actually use the BGs.


----------



## Aurora0427

CaliforniaGirl09 said:


> Ditto, and just as a comparison, we were 58 yesterday and got our notification at 2:57 pm. There seemed to be one shut down yesterday, and it was stuck on 49 for a long time afterwords as they cycled people through after.
> 
> P.S. Meant to add that we are really glad we decided not to go for a second day. Sounds like even more of a CF out there than yesterday and my stress levels were through the roof with that. I think it was partly that I wasn't expecting it from prior reports, but this weekend the crowds have really arrived. Everything was horribly packed yesterday and last night. Maxpass for CA was gone in the early evening if not before. We were there on Dec. 22-26th and the crowds were much much worse yesterday. I talked to a CM and she said to visit when passes were blocked. I also complained to the Grand about the hotel security line and apparently I wasn't the first. She tried to pass the buck to security, but I told her even if they don't handle it, it is part of the hotel experience that would be reflected on my survey. I must have said the magic words because I was immediately transferred to a very sympathetic manager, LOL.



It was really freaking stressful this morning. I feel like it compromised my morning a bit because I felt off from the stress and even once you get a boarding group, it is such a process getting over there and going through the process when you have kids who are too short or too scared to ride. We are back at the hotel relaxing! Ha! 

I’m glad we did it, but even my husband said he’s good waiting until our almost 4 year old grows and inch and then we’ll just all ride together. Rider swap just takes forever even going through the FP lane.


----------



## Aurora0427

I will say the opening of this ride has definitely affected crowds and wait times on our normally very quiet Sunday morning rope drops. Obviously it’s not Christmas level crowds, but there are definitely a lot more people here to get a BG, and they do affect wait times. I’m ready for the novelty of this ride to wear off, but I think that’s going to take awhile.


----------



## midnight star

Aurora0427 said:


> I will say the opening of this ride has definitely affected crowds and wait times on our normally very quiet Sunday morning rope drops. Obviously it’s not Christmas level crowds, but there are definitely a lot more people here to get a BG, and they do affect wait times. I’m ready for the novelty of this ride to wear off, but I think that’s going to take awhile.


Yeah, looks like doing rope drop isn't a smart idea right now lol . I'm going to try and go Saturday, and will show up around 10am after the morning madness. We'll see how it is then


----------



## pokee99

Aurora0427 said:


> It was really freaking stressful this morning. I feel like it compromised my morning a bit because I felt off from the stress and even once you get a boarding group, it is such a process getting over there and going through the process when you have kids who are too short or too scared to ride. We are back at the hotel relaxing! Ha!
> 
> I’m glad we did it, but even my husband said he’s good waiting until our almost 4 year old grows and inch and then we’ll just all ride together. Rider swap just takes forever even going through the FP lane.



I believe it! I'm stressed out just reading about all of this! I can't even imagine what it'll be like when I'm actually there!


----------



## DLgal

maxacorn said:


> It's my guess that the reason you need to scan into DL is to confirm you have a pass for DL. If you scan into DCA but don't have a Park Hopper, you wouldn't be able to get into DL. They want to ensure people who get BGs can actually use the BGs.



The app knows what kind of ticket you have.


----------



## HydroGuy

OneTrackMind said:


> As @HydroGuy said, they only do the picture once. Just remember to have your proof of Canadian residency because they do check that! I think they only checked one person in our group of four but I’m pretty sure I read last year that they sometimes check each person in the group.


Thanks for clarifying a need for documentation. I cannot recall ever needing that myself but I would not want to mislead anyone that it is never needed.


----------



## midnight star

pokee99 said:


> I believe it! I'm stressed out just reading about all of this! I can't even imagine what it'll be like when I'm actually there!


It's also exhausting. I rode it in WDW. We were jet lagged, woke up at 4:30, got the gates at 5:35, scanned in around 6:20. Found a spot with good service, and waited until 7am opening. Plus it was 35, windy and cold. We left at 2pm. Couldn't make a full day.


----------



## HydroGuy

maxacorn said:


> It's my guess that the reason you need to scan into DL is to confirm you have a pass for DL. If you scan into DCA but don't have a Park Hopper, you wouldn't be able to get into DL. They want to ensure people who get BGs can actually use the BGs.





DLgal said:


> The app knows what kind of ticket you have.


Like MaxPass knows if you have a PH or not. So that should be possible.


----------



## DLgal

ZCarroll said:


> How are the crowds during the day in DCA impacted by this, does anyone know?  I really wish they would just open up BGs an hour after opening, that would make things so much less stressful all around and if they get to a point where they can consistently have the ride running right at opening maybe they could have some amount of backup groups from the day prior ride that first hour.  I cannot stand standing in nonmoving lines, especially ones with people cutting, it's just not worth the stress to me but my husband really wants to try this ride of course, ugh... instead of being happy and excited I just feel sick thinking about it and am actually dreading it... coronavirus doesn't help!



It's hard to say how crowds at DCA are being affected by RotR because the Lunar New Year celebration started the same say RotR opened.  

I can tell you, without a doubt, last Sunday DCA was WAY WAY WAY more crowded than DL was.


----------



## pokee99

Aurora0427 said:


> I will say the opening of this ride has definitely affected crowds and wait times on our normally very quiet Sunday morning rope drops. Obviously it’s not Christmas level crowds, but there are definitely a lot more people here to get a BG, and they do affect wait times. I’m ready for the novelty of this ride to wear off, but I think that’s going to take awhile.



I actually think it's gonna get WORSE as time goes on. Not necessarily because it gets progressively busier in Feb, Mar and Apr - but because once word gets out that you need to be there at rope drop to even have a chance to ride, the morning crowds at some point will become unmanageable.

Sure, they can open the turnstiles earlier on some days - but not ALL days (since they do have other commitments in the park during pre opening times). And maybe they'll even have to increase the space of the "holding area" so people don't get trampled!

And I'm convinced that previous riders will still come early to ride again. Once you're successful in getting a BG, I think you're at a huge advantage. 

I'm going mid March and I've been at this exact time twice before years ago and it's always crazy busy at rope drop. 

It's gonna be nuts this year. My teens aren't really big SW fans so they may just choose to opt out of the 6am wake time!


----------



## Aurora0427

pokee99 said:


> I actually think it's gonna get WORSE as time goes on. Not necessarily because it gets progressively busier in Feb, Mar and Apr - but because once word gets out that you need to be there at rope drop even have a chance to ride, the morning crowds at some point will become unmanageable.
> 
> Sure, they can open the turnstiles earlier on some days - but not ALL days (since they do have other commitments in the park during pre opening times). And maybe they'll even have to increase the space of the "holding area" so people don't get trampled!
> 
> I'm going mid March and I've been at this exact time twice before years ago and it's always crazy busy at rope drop.
> 
> It's gonna be nuts this year. My teens aren't really big SW fans so they may just choose to opt out of the 6am wake time!


Yeah I’m glad we really enjoyed the slow summer last year.... we are definitely going to take a break... we’ve gone a lot since moving to San Diego in June, and I think we are going to spend some time doing other things. 
This ride is really going to affect park attendance and guest experiences.... there is definitely an uptick in adults between the ages of 35-50 decked out in Star Wars gear. I think rope drop is gonna suck until they no longer need to BG system.


----------



## Aurora0427

midnight star said:


> It's also exhausting. I rode it in WDW. We were jet lagged, woke up at 4:30, got the gates at 5:35, scanned in around 6:20. Found a spot with good service, and waited until 7am opening. Plus it was 35, windy and cold. We left at 2pm. Couldn't make a full day.



It is exhausting. We were up at 5:30 and my poor dad has been sleeping for over an hour. It’s cold and damp today too.


----------



## midnight star

Aurora0427 said:


> It is exhausting. We were up at 5:30 and my poor dad has been sleeping for over an hour. It’s cold and damp today too.


lol we slept for 5 hours afterwards


----------



## Lewdannie

pokee99 said:


> Once you're successful in getting a BG, I think you're at a huge advantage.


How so?


----------



## midnight star

Lewdannie said:


> How so?


You know to do things like, turning the wifi off, getting to a place where you have full cell service, loading all tickets into the app, having multiple people choose at once, etc. Or if there's troubleshooting issues. For example, when I went, the join boarding group button didn't light up, so I knew to hit my status and join that way. Others may not know to do that. Granted I knew a lot of these tricks by obsessively stalking these threads lol. But most visitors don't understand how to read up on basic fastpass info, let alone the boarding group system.


----------



## dina444444

midnight star said:


> It's also exhausting. I rode it in WDW. We were jet lagged, woke up at 4:30, got the gates at 5:35, scanned in around 6:20. Found a spot with good service, and waited until 7am opening. Plus it was 35, windy and cold. We left at 2pm. Couldn't make a full day.


Wednesday morning was just brutal for the weather in Florida, but I braved it. It was a good morning to rope drop tsl since sdd was down, got on tsm right away.


----------



## Aurora0427

midnight star said:


> lol we slept for 5 hours afterwards



Hahahahaha. Omg you poor thing. We have a fast pass for Radiator Racers at 5:05-6:05 and I told my mom we are leaving my dad if he’s still asleep. Lol. Ironically, we are watching Empire on TNT right now. I guess you really can’t ever get enough.


----------



## pokee99

midnight star said:


> You know to do things like, turning the wifi off, getting to a place where you have full cell service, loading all tickets into the app, having multiple people choose at once, etc. Or if there's troubleshooting issues. For example, when I went, the join boarding group button didn't light up, so I knew to hit my status and join that way. Others may not know to do that. Granted I knew a lot of these tricks by obsessively stalking these threads lol. But most visitors don't understand how to read up on basic fastpass info, let alone the boarding group system.



^All this!

Plus I'll add that repeat ROTR riders will likely already know where their personal best cell service is, whose phone/cell provider was successful when they've previously scored BGs, how their phone's time was synced with the park's opening times!

They'll also have confidence! Everyone doing it for the first time could be uncertain, forgetful, stressed, flustered and downright panicked! In that state, you don't always perform optimally (like in your practice runs at home!).


----------



## msteddom

I’m calling it quits for today.  We’re stuck at 67 and I’m 105.  I have to work tomorrow!  Next time!


----------



## ironband74

Yeah, today started out promising, but took a sad turn.


----------



## Lewdannie

Curious to see what Disneyland do if those who had Boarding Groups 82 and under who don't get called


----------



## twodogs

HydroGuy said:


> Thanks for clarifying a need for documentation. I cannot recall ever needing that myself but I would not want to mislead anyone that it is never needed.


Another big line slow down last weekend when we were there (besides putting a CM on her apparent first day at the turnstiles for EMH on the second day of opening of ROTR...) was checking ID on every person who was using their SoCal ticket for the first time. I think that issuing that discount ticket simultaneously with the opening of this ride was terrible timing (but maybe not to Disney, since they sold a bunch of these tickets, based on my observation of them checking all of the IDs at the gates).  It slows down the line so much because people have to dig their DL out of their back pack or wallet, and the line is just a standstill.  Some of the CMs also then took the photo for the ticket, though others reported the ID was checked but photo was taken at a later entry into one of the parks, presumably to save time at morning entry and get more people into the parks to try for BGs.


----------



## otten

HydroGuy said:


> Normally, the first time the ticket is used, a photo is taken and associated with that ticket. I do not recall there ever being a request for a document of any kind. Really they do not care, as long as the same person uses the ticket each day.
> 
> For you it will be helpful to write each person's name on each ticket so you know which ticket belongs to each person. It is usually recommended to snap a quick photo of each ticket in case you lose one. And I always write a cell # on the ticket in case it is lost, to improve the chance of being returned.



For Canadian resident tickets you have to show your proof of Canadian residence (ie passport) the first time you use them.


----------



## njchris

I’m assuming it’s down.   I’m at home watching g if it gets closer to 102 then I’ll head back.


----------



## Vysecity

Hmmm I was there last Sunday, and today looking like it regarding boarding groups. I was BG 80 and we got to 81 that day. Got called at 8:20pm got to line at 8:50. Ride broke down while making line. Finished ride around 10:30. Avoid Sundays!!! lol.


----------



## ironband74

This seems to be the longest downtime yet.  If you don't count what looks like a false start around 3pm, it looks almost 5 hours down.

The engineer side of me would love to be on the diagnostic/troubleshooting/repair crew.  I'd love to know what parts are breaking (please no conjecture here to prevent spoilers).  However, I imagine that it is highly stressful.  (Is it fixed yet?  No.  Is it fixed yet?  No  Is it fixed yet?  Yes!  Really?  No...)


----------



## SirBill

pokee99 said:


> Plus I'll add that repeat ROTR riders will likely already know where their personal best cell service is, whose phone/cell provider was successful when they've previously scored BGs, how their phone's time was synced with the park's opening times!



I wandered around the park and found the spot that seemed to have good cell service for me on the day.  It partly depends on where all the people have gone.

Also everyone with a cell connection should have exactly the same time reported by phones, down to the second.  They all operate on a standard network time (as does Disney).  I did see a YouTube video where some poor dad and his kid did not get a BG because the kid was, sadly, using an analog watch of his own to countdown the seconds - he was off by ten or so I think.  Then the app wouldn't open for the dad for a good 20 seconds...  basically only trust a cellular second hand.


----------



## DLgal

ironband74 said:


> This seems to be the longest downtime yet.  If you don't count what looks like a false start around 3pm, it looks almost 5 hours down.
> 
> The engineer side of me would love to be on the diagnostic/troubleshooting/repair crew.  I'd love to know what parts are breaking (please no conjecture here to prevent spoilers).  However, I imagine that it is highly stressful.  (Is it fixed yet?  No.  Is it fixed yet?  No  Is it fixed yet?  Yes!  Really?  No...)



 A 5 hour downtime is serious business. Yikes!


----------



## dina444444

ironband74 said:


> This seems to be the longest downtime yet.  If you don't count what looks like a false start around 3pm, it looks almost 5 hours down.
> 
> The engineer side of me would love to be on the diagnostic/troubleshooting/repair crew.  I'd love to know what parts are breaking (please no conjecture here to prevent spoilers).  However, I imagine that it is highly stressful.  (Is it fixed yet?  No.  Is it fixed yet?  No  Is it fixed yet?  Yes!  Really?  No...)


It did come back up for a bit around then. I had a friend in line when it went down around 1:45 and they were off sometime after 3pm.


----------



## Susie63

vickiea said:


> Do they do pics everyday for every kind of ticket? I can’t see that info on the DL website anywhere and I want to be prepared with the proper documents etc when we go in a week. Thank you
> 
> We will have 4 day park hoopers for Canadian residents.


Take ALL of your passports. We didn't bring our daughters when she was a minor and they would not admit us. We were staying at the PVI  so it wasn't that big a deal. Don't forgot a waterproof bag for them while you are in the parks.


----------



## EmJ

ironband74 said:


> This seems to be the longest downtime yet.  If you don't count what looks like a false start around 3pm, it looks almost 5 hours down.
> 
> The engineer side of me would love to be on the diagnostic/troubleshooting/repair crew.  I'd love to know what parts are breaking (please no conjecture here to prevent spoilers).  However, I imagine that it is highly stressful.  (Is it fixed yet?  No.  Is it fixed yet?  No  Is it fixed yet?  Yes!  Really?  No...)


At this point, do you think they’ll even try to get it back up or just call it a day and try to fix it for tomorrow?


----------



## msteddom

I just got notified that my boarding group (105) won’t be accommodated.


----------



## ironband74

EmJ said:


> At this point, do you think they’ll even try to get it back up or just call it a day and try to fix it for tomorrow?


They'll keep at it.  I think they'll do everything possible to at least accommodate the regular boarding groups.  I wouldn't be surprised if it came back up, they quickly called the remaining 14 groups, and then called it a day.


----------



## CastAStone

EmJ said:


> At this point, do you think they’ll even try to get it back up or just call it a day and try to fix it for tomorrow?


The park is open for 5 more hours. I think they'll _try _to get through regular BGs. There aren't that many more and half the people who were there at 8AM have gone home. No way they call backups.


----------



## dina444444

They just called group 68


----------



## EmJ

dina444444 said:


> They just called group 68


Yay!! I’ll be thinking good ROTR thoughts.


----------



## njchris

msteddom said:


> I just got notified that my boarding group (105) won’t be accommodated.


Me too for 102.  I’m suing!


----------



## dina444444

I wonder if they are going to call any backups tonight. It’s at 68-71 now.


----------



## montreid

900am start tomorrow.  We have midmorning departure so if not low BG again we are back to SD.    We used a lot of pixie dust today so very happy of our results .


----------



## StarGirl11

midnight star said:


> lol we slept for 5 hours afterwards



I see your 5 and raise you nearly sleeping 8 after getting back from the Christmas Party (after being up at 4:30 due to this being pre-change over) and still almost sleeping through my alarm.  And then sleeping another 12 after I got home that day from traveling.


----------



## kyoshi

dina444444 said:


> I wonder if they are going to call any backups tonight. It’s at 68-71 now.


Got the notification 40 minutes ago that my boarding group 88 would not be accommodated tonight. Good thing we left two hours ago.


----------



## CaliforniaGirl09

Aurora0427 said:


> It was really freaking stressful this morning. I feel like it compromised my morning a bit because I felt off from the stress and even once you get a boarding group, it is such a process getting over there and going through the process when you have kids who are too short or too scared to ride. We are back at the hotel relaxing! Ha!
> 
> I’m glad we did it, but even my husband said he’s good waiting until our almost 4 year old grows and inch and then we’ll just all ride together. Rider swap just takes forever even going through the FP lane.


That’s how we all felt yesterday, and why we decided not to go for it today—thank goodness. I got into it a little bit today with a guest relations CM—nicely. She tried to spin today’s fiasco with the crowds at the gates as being better because it took longer to fill the backups. I wasn’t having any of it, and pointed out how well DHS manages to get everyone into the park, etc, and all the angry people with line jumping etc. I also pointed out that they don’t have a great track record with getting through backups, and they aren’t guaranteed. As I’ve said before, I much prefer DLR in general but our DHS experience for RotR was so much better. It’s funny. I was super stressed leading up to that but as soon as I breezed through security and the gates I was very zen. The opposite happened at DLR. I was pretty relaxed going into yesterday, but as soon as I saw the ridiculous line at the grand for security my blood pressure went through the roof. I’m glad we were able to ride, but i won’t be back in a hurry.


----------



## Skyegirl1999

kyoshi said:


> Got the notification 40 minutes ago that my boarding group 88 would not be accommodated tonight. Good thing we left two hours ago.


I guess that confirms they’re not even trying for back-up groups today.  That’s too bad, especially given how the morning went.

At least they’re notifying people so they aren’t hanging around extra hours before finding out they can’t ride.


----------



## socaldisneylover

What they need to do is start work on building Two more identical copies of this attraction, so that they can always have one ready to go when the one currently in use inevitably breaks down.


----------



## kyoshi

Skyegirl1999 said:


> I guess that confirms they’re not even trying for back-up groups today.  That’s too bad, especially given how the morning went.
> 
> At least they’re notifying people so they aren’t hanging around extra hours before finding out they can’t ride.


It seems like the ride always goes down around 2pm.


----------



## montreid

We had  a line jumper right in front of us this morning.  He even tried to explain that he was always there.  Like heck, we would remember that the white family of four didn't quite match his asian features.  He would have been better to sell us that he was our cousin that cousin bob invited to join us.   I was so tempted to grab a CM to have him dragged to Disney jail....but there was no CM to be seen ANYWHERE!  That was the main issue today.  No CM crowd control.   Worse, the soundtrack played "For the first time forever" at around 725.  Just not good timing this morning disney.   

Luckily there was a young child that ran down the line screaming 'it's open!-------aaarrrggggh!' like an avenger he appeared to be imitating.   Raised the mood nicely a notch.


----------



## dina444444

We are on to group 81. I’m going to guess that’s it for the night.


----------



## ten6mom

Here is something I hadn't thought of until just now... (thanks to this thread, I am thinking of all sorts of things that have never occurred to me before!)

My 15 yo, very tall son is going with a friend on President's Day weekend (it was the friend's choice... I could not talk him out of it!!!!) and he does not have any sort of photo ID, and will have a 2 day PH.  (I doubt the friend will have photo ID either, as the 16th is his 16th birthday).  

Will it be a problem for my son, not having ID?  The friend's dad will be with them but I won't be (if that would even make a difference).


----------



## midnight star

ten6mom said:


> Here is something I hadn't thought of until just now... (thanks to this thread, I am thinking of all sorts of things that have never occurred to me before!)
> 
> My 15 yo, very tall son is going with a friend on President's Day weekend (it was the friend's choice... I could not talk him out of it!!!!) and he does not have any sort of photo ID, and will have a 2 day PH.  (I doubt the friend will have photo ID either, as the 16th is his 16th birthday).
> 
> Will it be a problem for my son, not having ID?  The friend's dad will be with them but I won't be (if that would even make a difference).


If you are under 18 you technically don't need to show ID. So they would just say at the gate their ages. I believe Disney goes on the honor system, so they shouldn't question it.


----------



## Susie63

ten6mom said:


> Here is something I hadn't thought of until just now... (thanks to this thread, I am thinking of all sorts of things that have never occurred to me before!)
> 
> My 15 yo, very tall son is going with a friend on President's Day weekend (it was the friend's choice... I could not talk him out of it!!!!) and he does not have any sort of photo ID, and will have a 2 day PH.  (I doubt the friend will have photo ID either, as the 16th is his 16th birthday).
> 
> Will it be a problem for my son, not having ID?  The friend's dad will be with them but I won't be (if that would even make a difference).


Canadian residents are currently being offered a discount ticket(20% off) because our dollar is so pathetic So you have to show your passport to prove your Canadian.


----------



## Aurora0427

Skyegirl1999 said:


> I guess that confirms they’re not even trying for back-up groups today.  That’s too bad, especially given how the morning went.
> 
> At least they’re notifying people so they aren’t hanging around extra hours before finding out they can’t ride.



No wonder the park was so quiet this evening,... last night there were tons of people hanging around everywhere. Tonight was totally different. I realize Sunday nights are always quieter, but I bet since they didn’t even get to group 88, a bunch of people took off.


----------



## Aurora0427

montreid said:


> We had  a line jumper right in front of us this morning.  He even tried to explain that he was always there.  Like heck, we would remember that the white family of four didn't quite match his asian features.  He would have been better to sell us that he was our cousin that cousin bob invited to join us.   I was so tempted to grab a CM to have him dragged to Disney jail....but there was no CM to be seen ANYWHERE!  That was the main issue today.  No CM crowd control.   Worse, the soundtrack played "For the first time forever" at around 725.  Just not good timing this morning disney.
> 
> Luckily there was a young child that ran down the line screaming 'it's open!-------aaarrrggggh!' like an avenger he appeared to be imitating.   Raised the mood nicely a notch.



This morning was chaos at the gates. I still can’t believe we made it in before 8. They have to come up with a way to define the lines better, especially on weekends. This is going to be an issue as long as they have boarding groups. Everyone needs to bombard Rebecca Campbell on Instagram with complaints and suggestions.

If they can build a ride like ROTR, surely they can figure out a gate line schematic.


----------



## dina444444

Aurora0427 said:


> No wonder the park was so quiet this evening,... last night there were tons of people hanging around everywhere. Tonight was totally different. I realize Sunday nights are always quieter, but I bet since they didn’t even get to group 88, a bunch of people took off.


Sunday nights get super quiet after fireworks usually.


----------



## montreid

dina444444 said:


> Sunday nights get super quiet after fireworks usually.


yep - tons of FP available right now.

But -- gotta get my restored sleep for 900A 'running of the gates' - for ROTR


----------



## g_i_titus

I’ve been reading through this thread and can’t find an answer to our situation. My brother and I are going on a siblings only birthday trip Feb 8-10. We have a 7:30 reservation on Saturday Feb 8 for Minnie’s breakfast. Where will we go to ensure we are at our reservation on time? Do they have a breakfast entrance line? Thank you!


----------



## midnight star

midnight star said:


> The issue we came across was the big mess of a line/mob right in front of the ride when it kept breaking down. So if anyone is a DAS user with crowd anxiety, be aware. Also, I know DAS is for non-mobility issues, but there are guests  with mobility issues who use DAS for other needs , so going back and forth to see if the ride is running, or waiting in that big mob can be an issue.
> 
> We rode on 1/22, which was one of the worst days for the ride. When we got an answer from a CM, they were nice and said even if you returned to the ride after your boarding group had ended they would honor it since the ride was doing so poorly.
> 
> During this boarding group process, you def have to bring patience! Be kind to the CM’s. They are doing their best, and with all the uncertainty with this ride, it’s causing a lot of anger with guests.
> (I put some info behind the spoiler thread to be safe)
> the DAS/fastpass line was fine. It didn’t have much in it that I can remember (long morning and I was exhausted by the time we went through)  if there is anyone who has issues with transitions and stimulation you may have problems with the ride itself. It’s pretty long too, on top of the fact it isn’t running reliably can throw you off some. but that’s all I can think of


I'm adding in this quote I posted on the ROTR disability thread. That thread is mostly geared towards WDW, but I thought some of my experience could be helpful for those who use DAS at DL for the new ride. If anyone has any experience using it at DL, please post. The main thing to know is that if you want to use the DAS, you *must* get a boarding group. There is no way around this. I know for some people, that can be a problem.


----------



## midnight star

g_i_titus said:


> I’ve been reading through this thread and can’t find an answer to our situation. My brother and I are going on a siblings only birthday trip Feb 8-10. We have a 7:30 reservation on Saturday Feb 8 for Minnie’s breakfast. Where will we go to ensure we are at our reservation on time? Do they have a breakfast entrance line? Thank you!


If you are facing the DL entrance, the entrance gates on the left will say "Character Breakfast". You enter there. They will scan your tickets and do pictures.


----------



## kirlij

Sorry to read about all those who didn’t make it on today.  Today was the first day of our visit. 
we were in line at 7:15 and thot for sure we were not going to make it thru the gate.Our line went to California adventure and then curved around and we were about 20 back facing CA. But we got thru at 7:58. Raced partway up the Main Street train station steps and saw 4 bars on cell service and had about 30 seconds to get set up and ready. 
Others were counting down so payed close attention but did not press more info until my phone time changed to 8:00.  Got boarding group 30.
Return time was 2 hours and we entered the ride midway thru our window, at 10:30 am.  We were off at 11:25.  
the ride was amazing and we were amazed to have been so lucky to get a BG. Thank you to everyone posting over the last week, that allowed us to give it the best try. 
it is stressful, so will not be trying tomorrow,  but will again later on in the week.


----------



## senorhiney

sammybk said:


> Got BG 15 this morning from the train station on Tmobile. Noticeable lag from clicking the red button to being able to select group.
> 
> Line was full but moved well. 40 minutes start of queue to end of ride


did you start from having the app open already or closed? on the app home page?


----------



## theluckyrabbit

Skyegirl1999 said:


> ... (I’m recovering from surgery, so no parks for me this weekend.)


Wishing you a very speedy and smooth recovery!



ZCarroll said:


> ... I'm assuming it would work to get a boarding group from any of the hotels across the street but I don't think I read of anyone trying that yet, or did I miss that?


No one has yet posted about doing this. Anyone care to try this for the team? 



HydroGuy said:


> Normally, the first time the ticket is used, a photo is taken and associated with that ticket. I do not recall there ever being a request for a document of any kind. Really they do not care, as long as the same person uses the ticket each day.
> 
> For you it will be helpful to write each person's name on each ticket so you know which ticket belongs to each person. It is usually recommended to snap a quick photo of each ticket in case you lose one. And I always write a cell # on the ticket in case it is lost, to improve the chance of being returned.


Just to clarify, as other posters have done already, if you are using the SoCal Promo Tickets, you will be asked for photo ID. Canadians using the special Canadian tickets will be asked for a passport. If you take a photo of your tickets as a safeguard, make sure to have a clear image of the barcode and numbers on the back. The photos can help you replace the tickets easily and quickly at Guest Services should they be lost/stolen/destroyed/etc. 



midnight star said:


> Yeah, looks like doing rope drop isn't a smart idea right now lol . I'm going to try and go Saturday, and will show up around 10am after the morning madness. We'll see how it is then


If you do this, please report back on how it was and what happened! 



midnight star said:


> It's also exhausting... We left at 2pm. Couldn't make a full day.


This has me worried and is a major reason we haven't attempted to ride at DL yet. I don't think I could try for a BG, then (assuming we get one) make it through the day until we actually ride. Really looking forward to reading about more people's experiences with DAS and how they managed to adjust their day around ROTR. 



midnight star said:


> I'm adding in this quote I posted on the ROTR disability thread. That thread is mostly geared towards WDW, but I thought some of my experience could be helpful for those who use DAS at DL for the new ride. If anyone has any experience using it at DL, please post. The main thing to know is that if you want to use the DAS, you *must* get a boarding group. There is no way around this. I know for some people, that can be a problem.


Thank you for posting this -- the more information we can get for DAS users, the better!


----------



## Mathmagicland

g_i_titus said:


> I’ve been reading through this thread and can’t find an answer to our situation. My brother and I are going on a siblings only birthday trip Feb 8-10. We have a 7:30 reservation on Saturday Feb 8 for Minnie’s breakfast. Where will we go to ensure we are at our reservation on time? Do they have a breakfast entrance line? Thank you!





midnight star said:


> If you are facing the DL entrance, the entrance gates on the left will say "Character Breakfast". You enter there. They will scan your tickets and do pictures.



Additional info -Saturday’s are Magic Mornings at Disneyland. For us this past Saturday, as you faced the Disneyland entrance, the left entrances were for those those with regular tickets and the right entrances were the MM and the character breakfast entrances.  Things appear to be switched at the moment due to ROTR.

You don’t say if you are staying onsite or if you’d:be coming  in from the Harbor side or the downtown Disney side.  

So I’d suggest getting to the gates by just after 7:00 a.m. in case the esplanade is crazy, so you have time to locate your gate.  And also ask The first CM you aee in the esplanade where it is, as things may change from day to day if any adjustments are made.  It is definitely not business as usual right now,


----------



## cuteinnocent

Less than 2 weeks away from our one day in the park,  and with this thread, practicing on the app daily,  and constantly thinking about how it's gonna be getting or not getting a boarding group is stressful! I feel like this one ride I haven't yet been on has taken over my life,  lol.  I need help.


----------



## Mathmagicland

cuteinnocent said:


> Less than 2 weeks away from our one day in the park,  and with this thread, practicing on the app daily,  and constantly thinking about how it's gonna be getting or not getting a boarding group is stressful! I feel like this one ride I haven't yet been on has taken over my life,  lol.  I need help.


No kidding!  It was almost like going through withdrawals yesterday NOT trying for a BG...the temptation was there to try again just to see which one we might get...but somewhat relieving of not having the minute or so of the associated stress.


----------



## disneyholic family

VandVsmama said:


> Right now, boarding groups are the only way to get on ROTR. There are no special accommodations for groups with impacted schedules. Even people paying thousands of dollars for VIP tours must be at the park at 8:00 am and have to get a boarding group like everyone else. No standby line. No FP. No single rider line. Only boarding groups.



really? they're not taking VIPs in?  i find that hard to believe....



Aurora0427 said:


> It was really freaking stressful this morning. I feel like it compromised my morning a bit because I felt off from the stress and even once you get a boarding group, it is such a process getting over there and going through the process when you have kids who are too short or too scared to ride. We are back at the hotel relaxing! Ha!
> 
> I’m glad we did it, but even my husband said he’s good waiting until our almost 4 year old grows and inch and then we’ll just all ride together. Rider swap just takes forever even going through the FP lane.



i'm stressed just reading these posts, so i can only imagine the stress levels when having to navigate the gate lines and then the app....
i'd be a basket case for sure.....
what's the height limit?  i'm guessing our youngest grandchild isn't going to be tall enough (when we all make it to DHS together in 2021)...



midnight star said:


> It's also exhausting. I rode it in WDW. We were jet lagged, woke up at 4:30, got the gates at 5:35, scanned in around 6:20. Found a spot with good service, and waited until 7am opening. Plus it was 35, windy and cold. We left at 2pm. Couldn't make a full day.



My husband and i will be at DL in october after a 15 hour non-stop flight.....that's jet lag on steroids!!!
although we'll have to wait until the next day to ride ROTR...
My best friend is at WDW now.
They were at DHS yesterday.  She said they left the park in the afternoon as they were totally exhausted from getting up early and the stress of getting their boarding group (14).
She'd planned to do so many things at GE, but they had to go back to the resort to rest.

.


----------



## VandVsmama

disneyholic family said:


> really? they're not taking VIPs in?  i find that hard to believe....
> 
> 
> 
> i'm stressed just reading these posts, so i can only imagine the stress levels when having to navigate the gate lines and then the app....
> i'd be a basket case for sure.....
> what's the height limit?  i'm guessing our youngest grandchild isn't going to be tall enough (when we all make it to DHS together in 2021)...
> 
> 
> 
> My husband and i will be at DL in october after a 15 hour non-stop flight.....that's jet lag on steroids!!!
> although we'll have to wait until the next day to ride ROTR...
> My best friend is at WDW now.
> They were at DHS yesterday.  She said they left the park in the afternoon as they were totally exhausted from getting up early and the stress of getting their boarding group (14).
> She'd planned to do so many things at GE, but they had to go back to the resort to rest.
> 
> .


Someone earlier on this thread reported that he/she was in a VIP group at DL on opening weekend and the VIP tour guide said that EVERYONE including VIP your guests would have to use the boarding group method otherwise they were NOT getting on the ride. No idea if that will be the case a few weeks from now but at least at that particular time, that was what happened.


----------



## BigOHawk

So is there is a quick list of noted good spots in DL with good internet connectivity? Maybe just a quick hitter of locations that have worked? Crowd dependent of course I know but was just curious, thanks!


----------



## CastAStone

BigOHawk said:


> So is there is a quick list of noted good spots in DL with good internet connectivity? Maybe just a quick hitter of locations that have worked? Crowd dependent of course I know but was just curious, thanks!


There is no one best spot, although @WDWFigment has made a list of some good ones in his ROTR strategy post on his blog (disneytouristblog). 

I think the best advice is to be as far away from everyone else as you can get.


----------



## Mark_E

“Real world” attempt number one for me today, have been playing along at home for a few days and hoping my phone will react the same way it has there!


----------



## Malcon10t

> really? they're not taking VIPs in?  i find that hard to believe....


It is true.  Saturday, Christina Aguilera was in the line with her guide and yesterday Sam Heughan was in the regular line with both of his guides.


----------



## Jkpark

Wanted to share our experience yesterday. Like a lot of people, I have been reading the reports and they seemed to be handling the lines at the gates well. I heard Saturday had been crowded at the parks and looked for updates but the morning still seemed to work getting people on. We arrived to the lines about 7:15 and like most we couldn’t figure out where the lines were. We ended up about 10 people back facing DCA. Tensions were high. We saw one man shove and swear at another man who grazed him while passing through the mass of people. Lines started moving and we made it to under the monorail at 7:46. We noticed a ton of people who had enjoyed EE at DCA running to meet their families in line just before 8. We noticed some people just cutting into lines and the clock was ticking. The guy in front of us had a friend join him at the last second and then that friend had ticket issues which took a few seconds to revolve but raised stress levels again.  We were a group of 10 and 8 of us needed photos, 4 with SoCal tickets. Thankfully they weren’t taking photos or checking IDs.
We got in with 3 minutes to go. We went into Main St. 3 of us went up the stairs to try and the rest of the group staying near the flag pole. People were counting down seconds which were 3 seconds behind my analog seconds on my phone. My daughters got to the screen where you confirm your party but had error messages at the bottom telling them to reload. My app wasn’t opening. People around us were cheering. My nephew came up to say nobody could get it to work. Then my app opened and it told me I had a BG already. We think the AT&T phone got it as all of us on Verizon we’re struggling with different issues. BG 19. The entire morning was so stressful, I was ready for a nap at 8:01. We rode Indy and were called a few minutes later. Walk through line. Amazing! The adrenaline of the morning finally wore off and we were all exhausted. Back to nap before the evening. We are planning on trying again today and will arrive earlier just in case.


----------



## Aurora0427

Today is our last day in the parks and all I have to say is thank you God for the 9am opening and that I don’t have to get a boarding group this morning! Ha! It’s my daughter’s fourth birthday and we are doing the BBB and lunch at Blue Bayou and arriving at 9:15 and not going near Galaxy’s Edge. Good luck to those of you fighting the good fight this morning!!!!!


----------



## Aurora0427

dina444444 said:


> Sunday nights get super quiet after fireworks usually.



This was over an hour before fireworks. We were back at the hotel before fantasmic even started!


----------



## Ladyslug

disneyholic family said:


> what's the height limit?  i'm guessing our youngest grandchild isn't going to be tall enough (when we all make it to DHS together in 2021)...


The height limit for ROTR is 40 inches (102 cm) for both parks.


----------



## ironband74

cuteinnocent said:


> Less than 2 weeks away from our one day in the park,  and with this thread, practicing on the app daily,  and constantly thinking about how it's gonna be getting or not getting a boarding group is stressful! I feel like this one ride I haven't yet been on has taken over my life,  lol.  I need help.


I don't even know if I'm going to get to the park this year, yet here I am!  This is the best support group you'll find, though.


----------



## dina444444

The Chart:


----------



## disneyholic family

Jkpark said:


> Wanted to share our experience yesterday. Like a lot of people, I have been reading the reports and they seemed to be handling the lines at the gates well. I heard Saturday had been crowded at the parks and looked for updates but the morning still seemed to work getting people on. We arrived to the lines about 7:15 and like most we couldn’t figure out where the lines were. We ended up about 10 people back facing DCA. Tensions were high. We saw one man shove and swear at another man who grazed him while passing through the mass of people. Lines started moving and we made it to under the monorail at 7:46. We noticed a ton of people who had enjoyed EE at DCA running to meet their families in line just before 8. We noticed some people just cutting into lines and the clock was ticking. The guy in front of us had a friend join him at the last second and then that friend had ticket issues which took a few seconds to revolve but raised stress levels again.  We were a group of 10 and 8 of us needed photos, 4 with SoCal tickets. Thankfully they weren’t taking photos or checking IDs.
> We got in with 3 minutes to go. We went into Main St. 3 of us went up the stairs to try and the rest of the group staying near the flag pole. People were counting down seconds which were 3 seconds behind my analog seconds on my phone. My daughters got to the screen where you confirm your party but had error messages at the bottom telling them to reload. My app wasn’t opening. People around us were cheering. My nephew came up to say nobody could get it to work. Then my app opened and it told me I had a BG already. We think the AT&T phone got it as all of us on Verizon we’re struggling with different issues. BG 19. The entire morning was so stressful, I was ready for a nap at 8:01. We rode Indy and were called a few minutes later. Walk through line. Amazing! The adrenaline of the morning finally wore off and we were all exhausted. Back to nap before the evening. We are planning on trying again today and will arrive earlier just in case.



OMG - i had to take a nap after reading that!!!  talk about stress!!!!!!!!!!!!!
i would have had a nervous breakdown!!!! 
you said you think it was the ATT phone that got in....what kind of phone was it?  iphone? android? recent? old?  inquiring minds want to know..LOL....

.


----------



## disneyholic family

dina444444 said:


> The Chart:
> 
> View attachment 468759



wow, they only got through 72 boarding groups yesterday?  
what happens to the people not called? 
do they get to come back the next day?

.


----------



## dina444444

disneyholic family said:


> wow, they only got through 72 boarding groups yesterday?
> what happens to the people not called?
> do they get to come back the next day?
> 
> .


They got through all the guaranteed groups. If you were in a backup group there is no guest recovery. They do guest recovery for the guaranteed groups only if they don't load all of them, but that has yet to happen at Disneyland and it's only happened a handful of time at DHS.


----------



## disneyholic family

dina444444 said:


> They got through all the guaranteed groups. If you were in a backup group there is no guest recovery. They do guest recovery for the guaranteed groups only if they don't load all of them, but that has yet to happen at Disneyland and it's only happened a handful of time at DHS.



thanks Dina...i love that term, "guest recovery"...
.


----------



## harmon54

That chart is great - but not very promising - hope things change a bit by March!  Bet Disney does also!


----------



## disneyholic family

harmon54 said:


> That chart is great - but not very promising - hope things change a bit by March!  Bet Disney does also!



i'm sure disney is pleased as punch at this situation..
after all the criticism they got over the low response to the opening of galaxy's edge, they have to be happy about this...
.


----------



## ironband74

Looking at the numbers, this is the first time we've seen two days in a row in a downward trend for both load rate and guests served.

The fact that the two worst days so far have both been Sundays is probably coincidental. Or perhaps their best technician is off on Sunday. It will be interesting to see how the trend goes.

This will be the first non-holiday Monday for the attraction. Being not a magic morning, it will be interesting to see if the trend of non-MM weekdays having back-up groups last beyond the first couple of minutes continues.


----------



## ironband74

disneyholic family said:


> i'm sure disney is pleased as punch at this situation..
> after all the criticism they got over the low response to the opening of galaxy's edge, they have to be happy about this...
> .


I'm sure they are pleased with the response and demand.

I'm sure they would like to see better performance out of the attraction, though.  Happy people spend more money, after all.


----------



## KPeterso

midnight star said:


> I'm adding in this quote I posted on the ROTR disability thread. That thread is mostly geared towards WDW, but I thought some of my experience could be helpful for those who use DAS at DL for the new ride. If anyone has any experience using it at DL, please post. The main thing to know is that if you want to use the DAS, you *must* get a boarding group. There is no way around this. I know for some people, that can be a problem.



I have a DAS for Disneyland. When we went on Saturday 1/18, we were in Boarding group 84. We were called about 4:45 in the afternoon. I asked about the DAS as I went up to the ride and was directed to the fastpass line. I went to scan and it was turning blue. I was then asked if I had gotten a return time which I had not. I did not know I needed one for this. Instead of getting a return time, we got in the regular line as we did not want to now have to wait even longer for a return time. The line moved pretty consistently, so it was actually ok for me, and it only took about 30-35 minutes. This past Saturday, I had a much lower boarding group and saw the line looked less backed up than last week, so I just got in the regular line with my boarding pass, and was on in about 20-25 minutes. So honestly, I am still not 100% sure what the DAS process is for the new ride.


----------



## CastAStone

harmon54 said:


> That chart is great - but not very promising - hope things change a bit by March!  Bet Disney does also!


Hollywood Studios's daily Boarding Group count improved considerably after about 2 weeks. Still not great, but it's doing much better than the first 2 weeks. So hopefully DL's ROTR will do the same.


----------



## bethwc101

Has anyone used the monorail entrance while trying to get a BG? What was your experience?


----------



## CastAStone

TouringPlans owner @lentesta (who has a staff of people who count guests exiting rides to use in their data crunching) gave some stats on his podcast this morning, some of which have been posted here before, some of which are new:

*Rise of The Resistance*

THRC (a theoretically perfect hour)2100 Riders/HourOHRC (what Disney expects to average once everything is running right)1700 Riders/HourInitial actual Riders/Hour @ DL700 Riders/HourRiders/Hour @ DL after a week1000 Riders/Hour (excluding obvious downtime)DHS Current Riders/HourUp to 1400 Riders/Hour (excluding obvious downtime)

It's getting better and it will get better.


----------



## Gaugersaurus

ironband74 said:


> Looking at the numbers, this is the first time we've seen two days in a row in a downward trend for both load rate and guests served.
> 
> The fact that the two worst days so far have both been Sundays is probably coincidental. Or perhaps their best technician is off on Sunday. It will be interesting to see how the trend goes.
> 
> This will be the first non-holiday Monday for the attraction. Being not a magic morning, it will be interesting to see if the trend of non-MM weekdays having back-up groups last beyond the first couple of minutes continues.


Backups lasted about 20 mins yesterday so I think the trend is that non-magic morning days have boarding groups available longer regardless of the day of the week. Although I think it's still to early to call it a definite trend. For all we know it could become the opposite as word gets out that BGs last longer on non-magic morning day, much like all the other Disneyland "wisdom" that is out there.


----------



## Skyegirl1999

disneyholic family said:


> i'm sure disney is pleased as punch at this situation..
> after all the criticism they got over the low response to the opening of galaxy's edge, they have to be happy about this...
> .


Oh, I don’t think that’s very true at all.

Yes, they have to be happy that their ride is so in-demand and getting mostly glowing reaction from those able to ride. But the whole thing is a logistical nightmare for them on MANY levels, there’s a lot of unhappy people in the parks and on social media, AND it’s not necessarily juicing park attendance much. In fact, MLK weekend almost certainly would have had more people there if the ride *hadn’t* opened. They’re also just hemorrhaging money on this attraction, and have been for over a year.  It’s expensive to staff, expensive to run, expensive maintenance, causing a lot of other costs (early staffing, IT work, etc.)  Big-picture, there’s a lot of downside, honestly. 

“Relieved it’s not a failure,” sure, and it’s a feather in their cap in some key ways.  “Pleased as punch,” I think, definitely not.


----------



## Skyegirl1999

Gaugersaurus said:


> Backups lasted about 20 mins yesterday so I think the trend is that non-magic morning days have boarding groups available longer regardless of the day of the week. Although I think it's still to early to call it a definite trend. For all we know it could become the opposite as word gets out that BGs last longer on non-magic morning day, much like all the other Disneyland "wisdom" that is out there.


I think it’s just because of how long it takes them to process people into the park.

New topic: Did anyone see that WDW is supposedly giving out return times now?  This is what IG tells me...


----------



## JWelch62

It seems that there were some lessons learned yesterday. Gates were open at 8 today. The lines did not get nearly as long as yesterday.


----------



## ironband74

Looks like the gates opened pretty early today.


----------



## franandaj

One thing that I'm curious about that I dont see on the chart or on the thrill data site is how long after guaranteed BGs close does the ride normally start operating?  I know it depends on whether the park opens at 8 or 9, but has anyone been keeping track of that?


----------



## ironband74

Gaugersaurus said:


> Backups lasted about 20 mins yesterday so I think the trend is that non-magic morning days have boarding groups available longer regardless of the day of the week.


Yesterday was something of an anomaly because they didn't open the gates until much later.  The lines were stacked and not everyone got in by 8.


----------



## ironband74

franandaj said:


> One thing that I'm curious about that I dont see on the chart or on the thrill data site is how long after guaranteed BGs close does the ride normally start operating?  I know it depends on whether the park opens at 8 or 9, but has anyone been keeping track of that?


So far there doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason to when the attraction starts boarding.  We've seen it start boarding before BGs even closed, and we've seen it take just over an hour after park opening, and various points in between.  I think the intention is always to start boarding right away, but mechanical checks and morning shakedowns sometimes delay the opening.


----------



## DLgal

Aurora0427 said:


> This morning was chaos at the gates. I still can’t believe we made it in before 8. They have to come up with a way to define the lines better, especially on weekends. This is going to be an issue as long as they have boarding groups. Everyone needs to bombard Rebecca Campbell on Instagram with complaints and suggestions.
> 
> If they can build a ride like ROTR, surely they can figure out a gate line schematic.



They are fans of laying down tape for this kind of thing. Kinda surprised they haven't done that yet. We did see tape laid down last weekend to create a queue, but I can't for the life of me remember where. I only remember because my son pointed out it was a certain color and that was for lines. Apparently the use a different color for parade crowd control, which he also knew. Kids..

Anyway, they also frequently lay tape for the tram boarding at night on weekends as well as lay down tape to extend the ticket booth queues, so it's not something they shy away from. 

That said, there is NEVER any type of CMs monitoring the line situation in the esplanade in the mornings. You might see security or Anaheim PD, but never Disney CMs.


----------



## ironband74

DLgal said:


> They are fans of laying down tape for this kind of thing.



I was thinking the same thing.  At the same time, between Christmas and New Year's they had tape down for a lot of the food carts.  The tape went largely ignored by guests.

But I'd love to see how they worked the tape.  Those planters make it hard to form a cohesive line at some of the gates.  The lines to get in in the morning have always been a touch chaotic.  It would be a very interesting experiment.


----------



## nutshell

Any reports on how this morning’s lines are going?


----------



## queso2992

nutshell said:


> Any reports on how this morning’s lines are going?


The security and park entry lines were moving relatively well. Still waiting for rope drop to spread out.


----------



## ironband74

nutshell said:


> Any reports on how this morning’s lines are going?


Reports are that the gates opened at 8.  I haven't seen any complaints in the twitter-sphere, so I assume folks are in the park (though pics of main street looked pretty packed...)


----------



## JWelch62

nutshell said:


> Any reports on how this morning’s lines are going?


They opened the gates at 8:00 today, a full hour before park opening. The lines are moving quickly.


----------



## Susie63

My first day  in the park was supposed to be President's day. I think we will wait till Tuesday and use our mm for our first day. Hopefully we will get to ride before the weekend. The downside...the parks open everyday at 8


----------



## SirBill

Skyegirl1999 said:


> Oh, I don’t think that’s very true at all.
> 
> Yes, they have to be happy that their ride is so in-demand and getting mostly glowing reaction from those able to ride. But the whole thing is a logistical nightmare for them on MANY levels, there’s a lot of unhappy people in the parks and on social media, AND it’s not necessarily juicing park attendance much. In fact, MLK weekend almost certainly would have had more people there if the ride *hadn’t* opened. They’re also just hemorrhaging money on this attraction, and have been for over a year.  It’s expensive to staff, expensive to run, expensive maintenance, causing a lot of other costs (early staffing, IT work, etc.)  Big-picture, there’s a lot of downside, honestly.
> 
> “Relieved it’s not a failure,” sure, and it’s a feather in their cap in some key ways.  “Pleased as punch,” I think, definitely not.



How do you figure this is "hemorrhaging money"?  You have no idea what total earrings are.  None of us do.

For one thing, morning attendance over the past week has been juiced a great deal.  Just because the attendance patterns have changed does not mean there are not more people overall.  People that may not have been there in the afternoon were still probably there in the morning.  The massive crowds that you never normally see in the mornings are spending money on food and merch.  Dok Ondor's has had lines to get in, something you almost never saw before...

None of us have information enough to say how much extra money this is bringing in, but we can tell for sure that to date it has caused shifts in how the park is attended.

Also anecdotally it seems like more passes have been sold as a result of this (I bought one, never had a Disney annual pass before now).  Over the long term that is not just passes sold, but more people in more parks buying things more often.

As for social media, you claim there are many unhappy people on social media.  Where are they?  I follow Twitter pretty carefully and even people who didn't get a BG don't seem that worked up by it, and greatly outweighed by the huge positive reaction.  Try following the #RiseOfTheResistance tag for a few days and see what I mean:

https://twitter.com/hashtag/riseoftheresistance?lang=en


----------



## ironband74

Regulars gone at 60 seconds


----------



## queso2992

Group 3!!! Y'all helped me so much! Thank you thank you!


----------



## dieumeye

Playing from home and got the backup notification at 9:01. Very curious when we’ll see even just 5 minutes for regular BGs.


----------



## CastAStone

SirBill said:


> How do you figure this is "hemorrhaging money"? You have no idea what total earrings are. None of us do.


People in the know do post here and on other boards and we do know that SW:GE went about $600MM over budget _per park_, We don't know how much of that is ROTR but read the tea leaves - everything else opened on time or early vs Disney's announced dates, this is still requiring daily troubleshooting. Other insiders have noted that attendance has barely budged at DHS, while at DL it appears thousands of APs are leaving right after park opening every day (either to go to work and come back just for their ride later or because they didn't get a BG); they will count in attendance but Disney isn't getting extra $$ from them that day.

The good news is next Tuesday Disney reports earnings and the 2 things I am certain they will be drilled on ad nauseam by the big investors are Theme Park attendance and Disney+.


----------



## Disney Lvr of Old

My back up notification did not start until 9:03:22.   Do you think it's amount of people in your boarding groups that could make it go faster for others?  I'm a group of 2 playing from home.  Every other time before today I have matched back up times with others.


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## crystal1313

I was playing at work, not on wifi.  It still isn't popping up about being in a backup group for me....  It's 9:08


----------



## DLgal

Disney Lvr of Old said:


> My back up notification did not start until 9:03:22.   Do you think it's amount of people in your boarding groups that could make it go faster for others?  I'm a group of 2 playing from home.  Every other time before today I have matched back up times with others.



No, because you don't select your group until after they determine if they are still on regular or backup groups. I got the backup group note at 9:01. It's still active  as of 9:09.


----------



## Mark_E

Group 16!
Thanks everyone for all the tips.


----------



## DLgal

crystal1313 said:


> I was playing at work, not on wifi.  It still isn't popping up about being in a backup group for me....  It's 9:08



I don't always get an actual pop up. In fact, today is the first time I have. But on the ride status page, the first sentence should tell you they are now issuing backups. See what yours says there.

EDIT: backups gone as of 9:12


----------



## senorhiney

From home: Regulars gone in 1 minute and have been getting a backup group popup message for 9 minutes. Now the button is greyed out finally. My wife never got a popup mentioning the backup groups, so I am wondering if this phenomenon of some people getting the backup message and some not has to do with phone type and/or popup settings.


----------



## ironband74

Looks like backups are gone as of 9:11.  First backup of the day is 72


----------



## senorhiney

Unfortunately we booked through Get Away Today and the tickets are very specific about not being able to load them into the app until they have been scanned at the turnstiles. Kind of a bummer but we will have a great chance the 3rd day we're there during MM.


----------



## ironband74

senorhiney said:


> From home: Regulars gone in 1 minute and have been getting a backup group popup message for 9 minutes. Now the button is greyed out finally. My wife never got a popup mentioning the backup groups, so I am wondering if this phenomenon of some people getting the backup message and some not has to do with phone type and/or popup settings.



I find on my Android that the pop up is very inconsistent.  For me it only seems to show up in the case of extended backups (like 20 minutes after opening).

However, I do see the change in message that "regular distribution has completed yada yada yada"


----------



## dina444444

Backups are gone. Boarding is starting today with group 1 and 71 is last regular group.


----------



## ironband74

senorhiney said:


> Unfortunately we booked through Get Away Today and the tickets are very specific about not being able to load them into the app until they have been scanned at the turnstiles. Kind of a bummer but we will have a great chance the 3rd day we're there during MM.


Other than yesterday, they've been opening the turnstiles plenty early.  If you get there early enough, you should have plenty of time to scan your tix in to the app and try for a boarding group on day one, if that is your desire.


----------



## ironband74

Ooh, good sign,  Boarding 1 and 2 now at 9:15!


----------



## DLgal

senorhiney said:


> From home: Regulars gone in 1 minute and have been getting a backup group popup message for 9 minutes. Now the button is greyed out finally. My wife never got a popup mentioning the backup groups, so I am wondering if this phenomenon of some people getting the backup message and some not has to do with phone type and/or popup settings.



It seems totally random. I have been playing from home for a week and just today finally got an actual popup. I was wondering what people meant when they were saying they were getting "backup popups." My phone did do a software update over the weekend (Android), but the Disney app hasn't updated lately.


----------



## DLgal

senorhiney said:


> Unfortunately we booked through Get Away Today and the tickets are very specific about not being able to load them into the app until they have been scanned at the turnstiles. Kind of a bummer but we will have a great chance the 3rd day we're there during MM.



Scanning tickets into the app takes literally a minute. You will be fine.


----------



## SirBill

CastAStone said:


> People in the know do post here and on other boards and we do know that SW:GE went about $600MM over budget _per park_, We don't know how much of that is ROTR but read the tea leaves - everything else opened on time or early vs Disney's announced dates, this is still requiring daily troubleshooting.



The build going over budget is a totally different issue than ongoing park earnings.

Also many other Disney rides have downtime, all the time.  I don't think the troubleshooting this ride has to go through, is that extraordinarily expensive compared to the other rides even though it's a more complex system overall.

In fact because this ride is trackless, over time it probably has lower ongoing maintenance issues because they can easily pull individual cars out of service.  What happens if the primary track dies in Pirates or Haunted Mansion?  Not going to be working out of that one with an hour reset.



> Other insiders have noted that attendance has barely budged at DHS, while at DLP it appears thousands of APs are leaving right after park opening every day (either to go to work and come back just for their ride later or because they didn't get a BG); they will count in attendance but Disney isn't getting extra $$ from them that day.



You even said either because they didn't get in, or to come back later.

The ones coming back later, will also spend money.

But even just the morning crowds are spending a ton on food and drinks.

Just from everything I have seen in person at the parks there is no way this whole new ride is not driving more sales for Disney, and in particular the boarding group system is helping that by allowing you to shop/eat when you would otherwise be waiting in line.



> The good news is next Tuesday Disney reports earnings and the 2 things I am certain they will be drilled on ad nauseam by the big investors are Theme Park attendance and Disney+.



I predict pretty good reports from both areas.


----------



## senorhiney

ironband74 said:


> Other than yesterday, they've been opening the turnstiles plenty early.  If you get there early enough, you should have plenty of time to scan your tix in to the app and try for a boarding group on day one, if that is your desire.


Yeah I saw that. That is encouraging. So I am a first timer coming in this weekend. Go ahead and explain it to me as you would a child, if you are so willing, good sir. If the turnstiles open early (talking about a non-magic morning day like Sunday), does that mean my tickets get scanned and I have as much time between that moment and rope drop at 9am to upload my tickets into the app? Or is it a mad dash at 9am to upload and then drill into ROR?


----------



## katyringo

When I played along at home today my red button actually turned red when I was on the page... 

I would rely on that tho..


----------



## crystal1313

DLgal said:


> I don't always get an actual pop up. In fact, today is the first time I have. But on the ride status page, the first sentence should tell you they are now issuing backups. See what yours says there.
> 
> EDIT: backups gone as of 9:12


Oh, thanks!  Will look for that tomorrow when I play along from work! I got the pop ups last week on my phone so I just assumed the same thing today.  =)


----------



## Skyegirl1999

SirBill said:


> How do you figure this is "hemorrhaging money"?  You have no idea what total earrings are.  None of us do.
> 
> For one thing, morning attendance over the past week has been juiced a great deal.  Just because the attendance patterns have changed does not mean there are not more people overall.  People that may not have been there in the afternoon were still probably there in the morning.  The massive crowds that you never normally see in the mornings are spending money on food and merch.  Dok Ondor's has had lines to get in, something you almost never saw before...
> 
> None of us have information enough to say how much extra money this is bringing in, but we can tell for sure that to date it has caused shifts in how the park is attended.
> 
> Also anecdotally it seems like more passes have been sold as a result of this (I bought one, never had a Disney annual pass before now).  Over the long term that is not just passes sold, but more people in more parks buying things more often.
> 
> As for social media, you claim there are many unhappy people on social media.  Where are they?  I follow Twitter pretty carefully and even people who didn't get a BG don't seem that worked up by it, and greatly outweighed by the huge positive reaction.  Try following the #RiseOfTheResistance tag for a few days and see what I mean:
> 
> https://twitter.com/hashtag/riseoftheresistance?lang=en


Your response feels a little intense to me... I was just providing some counterpoints to the idea that Disney is super-pleased with how this is all going down. I think the extra 24/7 work (over months) to get the ride running was pretty generally known to involve “hemorrhaging money.”  And the last couple of weeks have been more stressful than celebratory, by the accounts I’ve heard. 

I’m not as well-connected as some on the boards, but I’m acquaintances with lot of people who work for Disney, including a fair number of executives.  They’re not people I know well enough to contact on my own, so it’s not like I have a direct pipeline to insider info on a regular basis (nor would I pester someone that way!), but we end up at lot of the same social gatherings, especially over the holidays. People talk.

And a lot of my former students are CMs now (one is now a handler for R2D2, for instance), so while CMs are notoriously poorly-informed in many regards, they do have some idea of what’s going on on the ground level, and we chat over social media and such.

So I’m not entirely speculating, is all I’m saying... but it’s not that serious; I’m just here to make conversation on a boring Monday morning! ☺


----------



## best_day_ever

Hello! I’ve been following this thread leading up to my trip this past weekend and just wanted to add a timeline report from Sunday 1/26/20!

*DEPARTURE*
My boyfriend and I were staying at the Hilton Anaheim (convention center area; right across from the Toy Story Lot). We were not sure how early they were going to start running the Toy Story shuttles so we decided to walk from the hotel. We left our hotel room around 6:15, went downstairs to store our luggage and get Starbucks, and were out the door by about 6:30am.

*ARRIVAL* _(8am DL opening, DCA EMH)_
We arrived at security around 6:50am and there were virtually no lines at security, so we breezed on through and were in line by 6:55am. By that point, the lines were just about under the monorail line. By around 7:10am, the lines were about halfway to DCA and by 7:20am, they looked to be all the way to DCA. They started letting people into the park at 7:30am. Once scanned in, we walked down Main Street and decided to settle down at  a table outside the Refreshment Corner.

*BG SELECTION*
Just before 8am, we made sure to close out all our apps and had it open to the Disneyland app for all of 7:59am. Once 8am hit, we both selected the “Find out More” button and my bf was able to snag us boarding group 18! His phone is an iPhone 11 Pro and he’s on AT&T. A couple sitting right next to us was able to get group 19. I’m not sure how fast regular boarding groups ran out, but backup groups seemed to last for about 20 min.

*CALL TIME*
I believe they started with BG 10, and they seemed to be moving pretty fast that morning. We had an 8:45am FP for Radiator Springs Racers and got in line at 8:40am. Our BG was called right as we were getting on the ride and we had about a 2 hour return window. Immediately after we got off RSR we went back over to Disneyland and got scanned in for RotR around 9:25ish. We were off RotR at 10am on the dot!

It’s been great following this thread and best of luck to everyone trying to get a boarding group!


----------



## SOCALMouseMommy

Skyegirl1999 said:


> I think it’s just because of how long it takes them to process people into the park


Do you think it’s better to go on a MM day (if you don’t have MM) versus non-MM day since they start processing people through the gates earlier?


----------



## Skyegirl1999

SOCALMouseMommy said:


> Do you think it’s better to go on a MM day (if you don’t have MM) versus non-MM day since they start processing people through the gates earlier?


Depends how early you’re going to get there.  If you’re going to be early enough to ensure you’re in, a NON-MM day gives you less competition.  But a MM day may be less crazy at the gates... hard to tell since they’ve been opening early most days so far.


----------



## JadeDarkstar

senorhiney said:


> Unfortunately we booked through Get Away Today and the tickets are very specific about not being able to load them into the app until they have been scanned at the turnstiles. Kind of a bummer but we will have a great chance the 3rd day we're there during MM.


we have the same tickets and won't be off flight for the first day but if you are early enough you should be able to get in on time to try for the boarding groups.


----------



## ironband74

senorhiney said:


> Yeah I saw that. That is encouraging. So I am a first timer coming in this weekend. Go ahead and explain it to me as you would a child, if you are so willing, good sir. If the turnstiles open early (talking about a non-magic morning day like Sunday), does that mean my tickets get scanned and I have as much time between that moment and rope drop at 9am to upload my tickets into the app? Or is it a mad dash at 9am to upload and then drill into ROR?



Short answer:  The first thing you said.

Longer Answer, as I explain it to my child:

When you have a digital ticket or a printed ticket with a barcode on it (if it doesn't have a barcode, you have to go to the ticket booth to exchange), the first time you enter the park through a turnstile they scan that ticket, take it from you, and give you a little cardstock ticket with a barcode on it. That barcode is the thing you scan into the app, scan at fastpass machines, scan to get into the park, etc. Typically, they also take your picture so that your likeness is attached to that ticket (to prevent you from buying a 5 day ticket, using 3 days, and giving the other 2 days to someone else). That ticket becomes your friend for the duration of your visit, and you carry it around. However, you can also scan the ticket into your Disneyland App, and then use the app to display your ticket for entry, or for getting fast passes, or for scanning into fast pass attractions to use your fast pass.

So, prior to ROTR, on a non magic morning day the normal procedure is to open the turnstiles about 30 minutes before park opening.  So if the park opens at 8AM, at about 7:30AM they will begin scanning guests into the park.  There is a rope strung across the hub and the entrances to the various lands, so you basically have access to Main St.  At opening time, they "drop the rope" and you can enter the lands.

Now, since ROTR opened, they have typically been opening the turnstiles a bit earlier (yesterday not withstanding).  Today, for a 9AM open, they opened the turnstiles at 8AM.  The rope is in place, you can't go ride anything, but you can shop on Main St. or wait in line for Starbucks.  So you have as much as an hour to do your housekeeping - scan your tickets in, buy MaxPass and book a fast pass (if you like), and basically chill on Main St. until the time comes to try for a BG.  In addition, actual rope drop has been happening 10-15 minutes prior to "official" park opening.  This allows folks to get into the park and spread out so that you aren't just in a crush of people on Main St. trying to get your BG.  

Let me know if you need more detail


----------



## HydroGuy

senorhiney said:


> Yeah I saw that. That is encouraging. So I am a first timer coming in this weekend. Go ahead and explain it to me as you would a child, if you are so willing, good sir. I*f the turnstiles open early (talking about a non-magic morning day like Sunday), does that mean my tickets get scanned and I have as much time between that moment and rope drop at 9am to upload my tickets into the app?* Or is it a mad dash at 9am to upload and then drill into ROR?


Yes. And test everything out.



ETA: Here are some tips posted in this thread which I have saved:

https://www.disboards.com/threads/r...read-posts-1-3.3784461/page-138#post-61481540
https://www.disboards.com/threads/r...read-posts-1-3.3784461/page-138#post-61481500
https://www.disboards.com/threads/r...read-posts-1-3.3784461/page-110#post-61467660


----------



## ironband74

Just over an hour in, and we're 23 BGs called.  Strong start, the queue pre loaded 20 groups in the first 45, chilled for 15 minutes, and now has settled in to about a group every 5 minutes.  I like that despite the very rough day yesterday they got an early start.  Almost a third of the regular groups have already been called.  Now to do some real work


----------



## SOCALMouseMommy

Skyegirl1999 said:


> Depends how early you’re going to get there.  If you’re going to be early enough to ensure you’re in, a NON-MM day gives you less competition.  But a MM day may be less crazy at the gates... hard to tell since they’ve been opening early most days so far.


We are planning on going tomorrow. I say “planning” because now my youngest is sick with what my oldest had last week when we had to postpone this and reschedule for this week. So fingers crossed the baby is feeling better enough tomorrow to go to the grandparents.

Anyway, it’s a MM and park opens at 9am. I’m planning to arrive at the parking structure at 7:30, so 90 minutes ahead of park opening. Hopefully that will be early enough to get through security and through the gate without too much stress!


----------



## HydroGuy

I have gathered from this thread that it is vitally important to have an exact timer so you know exactly when it hits 8/9/10AM when the park opens. If you launch the BG process too soon, you apparently get kind of locked out for awhile as you try to refresh and get the buttons to work. So that is bad.

I do not have an Apple Watch. Can one trust the time on one's phone? Or is a special app needed? (I have heard people using app/data from NIST). My iPhone shows a second hand on the Clock app on my home screen. I assume I can just use that, right? Or watch that until the last few seconds, and have an alarm on my phone for the exact right time, and be in the app when the alarm goes off and then off to the races. Right?

FWIW, I just brought up on my laptop www.time.gov from NIST and looked at its time, and compared that to my Clock app and it matched. So I guess I answered my own question that I can use the Clock app and my iPhone's displayed time.

These screen shots do not match below as they were taken a few minutes apart....but show what I was looking sat.

*Clock app on iPhone 11 - the red line shows seconds*


*time.gov from NIST*


----------



## njchris

Why are people loading the app so close to 8?  I think that's just paranoia to think that makes a difference.  It's doing more talk back and forth to the servers at loading, and if everyone is doing that, it's going to be slower and could cost you a BG.

I do that like 15 mins ahead.  Red button always comes up.  I really don't do anything special.  I still say it's the PING to the server that matters more than having super speed.  Plus I've had multiple phone types (older iphone 5s and my newer Xs Max) and both seem to work just fine.


----------



## Skyegirl1999

HydroGuy said:


> I have gathered from this thread that it is vitally important to have an exact timer so you know exactly when it hits 8/9/10AM when the park opens. If you launch the BG process too soon, you apparently get kind of locked out for awhile as you try to refresh and get the buttons to work. So that is bad.
> 
> I do not have an Apple Watch. Can one trust the time on one's phone? Or is a special app needed? (I have heard people using app/data from NIST). My iPhone shows a second hand on the Clock app on my home screen. I assume I can just use that, right? Or watch that until the last few seconds, and have an alarm on my phone for the exact right time, and be in the app when the alarm goes off and then off to the races. Right?
> 
> FWIW, I just brought up on my laptop www.time.gov from NIST and looked at its time, and compared that to my Clock app and it matched. So I guess I answered my own question that I can use the Clock app and my iPhone's displayed time.
> 
> These screen shots do not match below as they were taken a few minutes apart....but show what I was looking sat.
> 
> *Clock app on iPhone 11 - the red line shows seconds*
> View attachment 468831
> 
> *time.gov from NIST*
> View attachment 468832


I am actually not at all sure all the timing stuff makes any difference.  It doesn’t when I’m playing along from home.  On opening day, when we got group 46, I had the app open by 7:50 and was continually pull-down refreshing the “my status” page from 7:58 on until I realized other people were getting groups and backed onto the previous page and had the red button to join a BG.


----------



## BigOHawk

FWIW, my smartwatch seems to be 4 seconds slower consistently with NIST so not sure what's up with that...wonder which one is correct?


----------



## HydroGuy

BigOHawk said:


> FWIW, my smartwatch seems to be 4 seconds slower consistently with NIST so not sure what's up with that...wonder which one is correct?


Hmm. NIST is, well, NIST. National Institute of Standards (and Technology). They say what the time officially is. If their website is slow or the internet is slow, that would affect things. But my phone and their website were exactly in sync. So it would seem your watch is off?


----------



## ironband74

Skyegirl1999 said:


> I am actually not at all sure all the timing stuff makes any difference.  It doesn’t when I’m playing along from home.  On opening day, when we got group 46, I had the app open by 7:50 and was continually pull-down refreshing the “my status” page from 7:58 on until I realized other people were getting groups and backed onto the previous page and had the red button to join a BG.


Again, I suspect that behavior is a little different between Apple and Android with regard to the app.

When playing at home on my Android, if I go into the "Find out more" even a few seconds before the appointed time, I find myself locked out until I close the app and restart. Status and Find out more show grey until I do.. However, if I go at time, I get the red button immediately.

Apple folks seem to have better luck with the Find Out More/Status cha-cha of going between those two screens until one of the buttons shows active.

As for timing, my phones seem to lag NIST by 2-3 seconds. I'm not sure where Disney's server gets its time cues from, It would be fun to line up a bunch of phones and hit them one second apart starting at 5 seconds 'til and see which one goes red. Since my phones lag NIST, when testing I've been hitting the button at 1 second 'til and finding that I get the button.

I'm guessing that the apple version pings the server to see if things are active each time you enter a status/find out more screen, and that the Android version pings the server to see if things are active the first time you open the screen in a given instance of the app.


----------



## montreid

Update.
815 arrived harbor security.  Bags 2 deep
818 gate entry all open. Backed to just short of the monorail.
845 group support arrives.  Are are 11 strong now.
850 created new group since couldn't remove three people from last note!  Pressure is on
900 drop
900:01.   BG1.


----------



## SirBill

njchris said:


> Why are people loading the app so close to 8?  I think that's just paranoia to think that makes a difference.  It's doing more talk back and forth to the servers at loading, and if everyone is doing that, it's going to be slower and could cost you a BG.



It's not opening, so much as resuming.  At least in my case I suspended the app, did not kill it...

The reason for all of these various approaches is simply to get the app to re-check if it can join boarding groups as soon as possible once the time has past.  Resuming an app probably has it going to update some data.  I know for sure that just going in and out of the Find Out More screen does not refresh the data with every back and forth.  This is also why using "My Status" on the Find Out More screen works for a lot of people, because that seems to also trigger a refresh and offers the same potentially red button - so if you went in a little early My Status is a good second attempt. 

I totally agree it's not a great idea to be loading the app from scratch right at BG time (where you see the splash screen for a while and then the fireworks).  At the time BG's are being released, that part is extra slow and you could be waiting 20-30 seconds or more for the app to load from scratch.



> I do that like 15 mins ahead.  Red button always comes up.  I really don't do anything special.  I still say it's the PING to the server that matters more than having super speed.  Plus I've had multiple phone types (older iphone 5s and my newer Xs Max) and both seem to work just fine.



The latency to the server is important also, but not as important as just getting the app into a state where it know it's OK to let you join a boarding group.  If you have found an approach that works for you every time, that is great!   For me the only consistent results I had in the park, was having the app suspended, re-opening at a second until the time they were issuing boarding groups.


----------



## VandVsmama

HydroGuy said:


> I have gathered from this thread that it is vitally important to have an exact timer so you know exactly when it hits 8/9/10AM when the park opens. If you launch the BG process too soon, you apparently get kind of locked out for awhile as you try to refresh and get the buttons to work. So that is bad.
> 
> I do not have an Apple Watch. Can one trust the time on one's phone? Or is a special app needed? (I have heard people using app/data from NIST). My iPhone shows a second hand on the Clock app on my home screen. I assume I can just use that, right? Or watch that until the last few seconds, and have an alarm on my phone for the exact right time, and be in the app when the alarm goes off and then off to the races. Right?
> 
> FWIW, I just brought up on my laptop www.time.gov from NIST and looked at its time, and compared that to my Clock app and it matched. So I guess I answered my own question that I can use the Clock app and my iPhone's displayed time.
> 
> These screen shots do not match below as they were taken a few minutes apart....but show what I was looking sat.
> 
> *Clock app on iPhone 11 - the red line shows seconds*
> View attachment 468831
> 
> *time.gov from NIST*
> View attachment 468832



I just installed an app on my phone called Atomic Clock.


----------



## Mark_E

Very slick experience through the queue and whole experience. About 40 mins from joining the queue to exiting I’d say.
Did as many advised, closed all apps around 8:58 and reloaded DL app. Hit find out more immediately at 9, hit my status and clicked through join boarding group and group members. Was stood on Main Street.


----------



## SirBill

JWelch62 said:


> This cheat relies on the CMs not scanning everyone's boarding pass. I have been able to ride twice, and the CMs are scanning everyone's pass. I think this method only worked the first day.



Even the first day they were scanning my pass (and the second).  I could say maybe there was some brief period where they were too busy to scan passes?  But I don't think it was even a whole day.  It sure seems like this was just an idea someone had.  Given the risks of what Disney might do if they caught you, it sure seems like a bad idea to try...


----------



## ironband74

Better than halfway through regular groups at 11:52...


----------



## HydroGuy

SirBill said:


> It's not opening, so much as resuming.  *At least in my case I suspended the app, did not kill it...*
> 
> The reason for all of these various approaches is simply to get the app to re-check if it can join boarding groups as soon as possible once the time has past.  Resuming an app probably has it going to update some data.  I know for sure that just going in and out of the Find Out More screen does not refresh the data with every back and forth.  This is also why using "My Status" on the Find Out More screen works for a lot of people, because that seems to also trigger a refresh and offers the same potentially red button - so if you went in a little early My Status is a good second attempt.
> 
> I totally agree it's not a great idea to be loading the app from scratch right at BG time (where you see the splash screen for a while and then the fireworks).  At the time BG's are being released, that part is extra slow and you could be waiting 20-30 seconds or more for the app to load from scratch.
> 
> 
> 
> The latency to the server is important also, but not as important as just getting the app into a state where it know it's OK to let you join a boarding group.  If you have found an approach that works for you every time, that is great!   For me the only consistent results I had in the park, was having the *app suspended*, re-opening at a second until the time they were issuing boarding groups.


By "suspended" I assume you mean you just have the app loaded?


----------



## JWelch62

SirBill said:


> Even the first day they were scanning my pass (and the second).  I could say maybe there was some brief period where they were too busy to scan passes?  But I don't think it was even a whole day.  It sure seems like this was just an idea someone had.  Given the risks of what Disney might do if they caught you, it sure seems like a bad idea to try...


Totally agree. It seems to me the penalty for failure is pretty big. Would they kick you out? Who knows, but wouldn't want to test it out.


----------



## JeriLee

We are planning an impromptu 2 day visit this Friday and Saturday for my daughter’s 21st birthday.  We will get the Southern CA 3 day pass and stay at the Tropicana for 1 night.

1) Where does one enter security if staying at the Trop?  I’ve only used the large parking structure in the past.  My plan is to drop my daughter off as close to the park entrance as possible so she can get in line while I check-in and park at the Trop.  We should arrive there at about 6:30 am.

2) This pass should allow us to enter the turnstiles like any other pass and not hold us up any.  Is this correct?

3) From this thread, it sounds like we just start hitting the app and keep our fingers crossed for a BG.  I have read several posts in this long thread, but not all, so I could have missed something.

Thank you all!  It has been a long time since we have been to DL and we are SUPER excited!


----------



## baozi

Disney's native apps are not of good quality. The issue is more apparent on Android version. Typically experiences should be identical on IOS and Android, but implementation wise, and because that Android and IOS provide APIs with sort of different philosophy, it is often the case that for the same app, IOS version behaves differently from Android version.
Specifically here is that Android version seems unable (or more precisely, it is hard to figure out what is the trigger) to update itself to the red button.



njchris said:


> Why are people loading the app so close to 8?  I think that's just paranoia to think that makes a difference.  It's doing more talk back and forth to the servers at loading, and if everyone is doing that, it's going to be slower and could cost you a BG.
> 
> I do that like 15 mins ahead.  Red button always comes up.  I really don't do anything special.  I still say it's the PING to the server that matters more than having super speed.  Plus I've had multiple phone types (older iphone 5s and my newer Xs Max) and both seem to work just fine.


----------



## longtimedisneylurker

JeriLee said:


> We are planning an impromptu 2 day visit this Friday and Saturday for my daughter’s 21st birthday.  We will get the Southern CA 3 day pass and stay at the Tropicana for 1 night.
> 
> 1) Where does one enter security if staying at the Trop?  I’ve only used the large parking structure in the past.  My plan is to drop my daughter off as close to the park entrance as possible so she can get in line while I check-in and park at the Trop.  We should arrive there at about 6:30 am.
> 
> 2) This pass should allow us to enter the turnstiles like any other pass and not hold us up any.  Is this correct?
> 
> 3) From this thread, it sounds like we just start hitting the app and keep our fingers crossed for a BG.  I have read several posts in this long thread, but not all, so I could have missed something.
> 
> Thank you all!  It has been a long time since we have been to DL and we are SUPER excited!




Considering where the Tropicana is located, I wouldn't waste extra time using the passenger drop-off area at DL and having to maneuver through Anaheim traffic for additional valuable minutes. I would drive straight to the Tropicana. Your daughter can hop out of the car the moment you roll to a stop in the parking lot/check-in area and she can head to the parks while you get checked in. I would say the difference in the walk between that and the drop-off area for a young healthy person is at most 2 minutes.


----------



## Teal03

Question, what’s given to people who aren’t selected? People I follow keep posting about the line at city hall but won’t say why they are there.


----------



## Skyegirl1999

I appreciate those of you explaining the iPhone/Android app distinction.  Just to clarify for those reading along, it seems like the need for very precise timing is mostly relevant for those using the Android app.  Is that fair to say?  

I (and most of my friends) have iPhones, but I do have an Android friend trying for a BG this Saturday, so I will pass along this info to her.


----------



## otten

Teal03 said:


> Question, what’s given to people who aren’t selected? People I follow keep posting about the line at city hall but won’t say why they are there.



Nothing official if you get a back up group and don't get called to ride or don't get a group at all. At most the people who really complain at GS MIGHT get a fp or two if GS is feeling generous but even that is doubtful.


----------



## Skyegirl1999

Teal03 said:


> Question, what’s given to people who aren’t selected? People I follow keep posting about the line at city hall but won’t say why they are there.


There’s nothing standard.  At the discretion of the CM you talk to, you can pretty regularly get something like some anytime FPs.  

I do know one person who I trust who reported actually being given a BG after explaining a number of extenuating circumstances to a CM while her entire family was in tears... it was a complicated situation. I expect that sort of thing is very rare.

This was 5+ years ago, but one of my co-teachers spent a day at DCA and was all fired up about a bunch of ride breakdowns, poor CM behavior, etc.  She went to guest services at the end of the day and got complimentary tickets to come back another day for her entire family of seven (including the grandparents)!  Blew my mind.  She could be... intense, but I never would have expected that they’d do that.


----------



## ironband74

JeriLee said:


> We are planning an impromptu 2 day visit this Friday and Saturday for my daughter’s 21st birthday.  We will get the Southern CA 3 day pass and stay at the Tropicana for 1 night.
> 
> 1) Where does one enter security if staying at the Trop?  I’ve only used the large parking structure in the past.  My plan is to drop my daughter off as close to the park entrance as possible so she can get in line while I check-in and park at the Trop.  We should arrive there at about 6:30 am.
> 
> 2) This pass should allow us to enter the turnstiles like any other pass and not hold us up any.  Is this correct?
> 
> 3) From this thread, it sounds like we just start hitting the app and keep our fingers crossed for a BG.  I have read several posts in this long thread, but not all, so I could have missed something.
> 
> Thank you all!  It has been a long time since we have been to DL and we are SUPER excited!



I would check with the Tropicana prior to arrival just to make sure they are cool with you coming that early and parking etc.  Most of the hotels on Harbor don't do check in until afternoon.  One year we stayed at the Best Western Park Place and they would not give us our parking permit until check in, so my family walked over while I parked at M&F.  Assuming all is well there, you just cross the street by Captain Kidd's and go through security at the end of the Bus Drop off.  I agree with the above person that you would be better served going straight to the Tropicana and not messing with the drop off.

On the SoCal pass, yes, you can use them at the turnstiles. They will likely ask for proof of residency to show you are eligible for the pass, but other than that you shouldn't be held up. Just have your Driver's License ready.

The proven method is to scan your tickets into the app, open the app a few minutes before opening (8AM in your case), and wait until opening to click the "find out more" button.

Have a great trip!


----------



## ironband74

Skyegirl1999 said:


> I appreciate those of you explaining the iPhone/Android app distinction.  Just to clarify for those reading along, it seems like the need for very precise timing is mostly relevant for those using the Android app.  Is that fair to say?
> 
> I (and most of my friends) have iPhones, but I do have an Android friend trying for a BG this Saturday, so I will pass along this info to her.


That's how it appears from this outsider looking in.


----------



## HydroGuy

JeriLee said:


> We are planning an impromptu 2 day visit this Friday and Saturday for my daughter’s 21st birthday.  We will get the Southern CA 3 day pass and stay at the Tropicana for 1 night.
> 
> 1) Where does one enter security if staying at the Trop?  I’ve only used the large parking structure in the past.  My plan is to drop my daughter off as close to the park entrance as possible so she can get in line while I check-in and park at the Trop.  We should arrive there at about 6:30 am.


Cross the cross-walk at Harbor (in front of Captain Kidd's) and walk past the bus loading area.

This link may help: http://wikimapia.org/#lang=en&lat=33.809495&lon=-117.918899&z=18&m=w




JeriLee said:


> 2) This pass should allow us to enter the turnstiles like any other pass and not hold us up any.  Is this correct?


I don't know, but if there is a hold up it should be minor as long as you have all your ID ready upon request.



JeriLee said:


> 3) From this thread, it sounds like we just start hitting the app and keep our fingers crossed for a BG.  I have read several posts in this long thread, but not all, so I could have missed something.


The last few pages of this thread give some precise advice based on Android or iPhones. This link may also help: https://www.disneytouristblog.com/star-wars-rise-resistance-disneyland-strategy-guide/


----------



## asumom

I played along at home this morning with a galaxy a70. Was on the my status page. Went back to find out more and then got a red button.


----------



## Teal03

Thanks for the responses. This just seems like a mess to me. I feel for both the cms having to deal with something out of their control and the guest on their once in a lifetime trip to DL. Hopefully it gets better.


----------



## JeriLee

You are all beyond helpful and deserve lots of pixie dust! 

One more question: Should I purchase our tickets through the DL app on my phone?  Does that buy me anything?  Or could this hold us up?  Would it be better for each of us to have something separate to scan?


----------



## pokee99

ironband74 said:


> Short answer:  The first thing you said.
> 
> Longer Answer, as I explain it to my child:
> 
> When you have a digital ticket or a printed ticket with a barcode on it (if it doesn't have a barcode, you have to go to the ticket booth to exchange), the first time you enter the park through a turnstile they scan that ticket, take it from you, and give you a little cardstock ticket with a barcode on it. That barcode is the thing you scan into the app, scan at fastpass machines, scan to get into the park, etc. Typically, they also take your picture so that your likeness is attached to that ticket (to prevent you from buying a 5 day ticket, using 3 days, and giving the other 2 days to someone else). That ticket becomes your friend for the duration of your visit, and you carry it around. However, you can also scan the ticket into your Disneyland App, and then use the app to display your ticket for entry, or for getting fast passes, or for scanning into fast pass attractions to use your fast pass.



Thanks - this helped me, too!  Question:

Can you tell me if you buy your tickets from the app itself, are you able to scan/load your ticket right away at home,  and link your family's tickets together? 

Or do you still have you exchange them for a separate card on your first park day, and then do all of your scanning and linking as you've described at the park?

Also, I have teens with phones that are going to try to help get BGs for ROTR. Do they need to create their own accounts and then they scan the tickets I have loaded? If so, can they do this at home,  or do they have to wait until day 1 after entering the park? If not, should they just log in to my account, and we all compete for BGs using one account?

Thanks!


----------



## SirBill

HydroGuy said:


> By "suspended" I assume you mean you just have the app loaded?



It means I have the app opened to the main screen, then go back to the phone home screen (app icons) before I open it again (which just wakes the app from sleep/unsuspends).   As opposed to closing the app, and killing it off via the task manager.

Another way to put that is - when I re-open the app I do not see the app splash screen with the fireworks, as it's already loaded past that earlier.

I'm an iOS developer and re-opening an app is pretty common point when an application might do some data refreshing.


----------



## montreid

Park at Tropicana.   When. You pull in you have to stop at valet right at the beginning.   She can jump out and cross harbor at the light.   That won't cost you any time really especially if you're coming from the south.   It will save you a ton of time.


----------



## SirBill

Skyegirl1999 said:


> I appreciate those of you explaining the iPhone/Android app distinction.  Just to clarify for those reading along, it seems like the need for very precise timing is mostly relevant for those using the Android app.  Is that fair to say?
> 
> I (and most of my friends) have iPhones, but I do have an Android friend trying for a BG this Saturday, so I will pass along this info to her.



The need for precise timing is important for all!  The official spreadsheet says the normal boarding groups are gone in a minute for each day, but it's been more like 30 seconds at times.  Also it's better if you can get an earlier boarding group to avoid later possible breakdowns, so the earlier you are joining the better.

So it doesn't matter if you are using iPhone or Android, try to check for boarding groups as soon after they release them as possible.  It is a great idea to try at home at some point before you go just so you can try out whatever plan you have.


----------



## pokee99

HydroGuy said:


> The last few pages of this thread give some precise advice based on Android or iPhones. This link may also help: https://www.disneytouristblog.com/star-wars-rise-resistance-disneyland-strategy-guide/



I've read this sooo many times! I think I have it memorized. 

One thing I'm curious about is strategically placing ourselves in an area that has good reception, but also has easy access to the manual BG machines (in case of an app crash). Before official rope drop, everyone is cordoned off, so where should we stand if we want to be closer to the manual machines?


----------



## PHXscuba

pokee99 said:


> Thanks - this helped me, too!  Question:
> 
> Can you tell me if you buy your tickets from the app itself, are you able to scan/load your ticket right away at home,  and link your family's tickets together?
> 
> If you buy your tickets through the app you will NAME THEM immediately and they will be in your account. They can all be a "party" together.
> 
> Or do you still have you exchange them for a separate card on your first park day, and then do all of your scanning and linking as you've described at the park?
> 
> They will give you a physical card but it will be the same as what you have scanned and already linked. So no difference. They will take your picture that first morning, but you have to do that no matter how you buy the tickets.
> 
> Also, I have teens with phones that are going to try to help get BGs for ROTR. Do they need to create their own accounts and then they scan the tickets I have loaded? If so, can they do this at home,  or do they have to wait until day 1 after entering the park? If not, should they just log in to my account, and we all compete for BGs using one account?
> 
> My recommendation would be to have everyone log into the same Disney account through the app. They can all download the app and you can help them all be signed in, in advance. I would show them where they are going from the home screen and what buttons to push. But I pick one person (probably you) to make all the MaxPass reservation or they will all end up with different times or partial groups.
> 
> Thanks!



See my responses in blue above.


----------



## EmJ

Everyone hold their breath. The ROTR witching hour is nearly upon us


----------



## Mathmagicland

pokee99 said:


> I've read this sooo many times! I think I have it memorized.
> 
> One thing I'm curious about is strategically placing ourselves in an area that has good reception, but also has easy access to the manual BG machines (in case of an app crash). Before official rope drop, everyone is cordoned off, so where should we stand if we want to be closer to the manual machines?


I would not try to use the machines,  on Sunday, the rope dropped early (I don’t know when and believe it has done so each day since ROTR opening) and the lines for the FP machines in Tomorrowland were at least 40 people.  With as fast as the regular BGs fill, I’d guess at most 3 or 4 people get BGs with the machines, one person per machine, maybe two people per machine if someone was really fast & so was the next person.    The tickets can only be fed in so fast, though someone reported here earlier seeing someone feed 8 passes and get BGs for all in less than a minute.


----------



## Mathmagicland

EmJ said:


> Everyone hold their breath. The ROTR witching hour is nearly upon us
> 
> View attachment 468870


This is a most fascinating observation and tendency being tracked here....


----------



## VandVsmama

longtimedisneylurker said:


> Considering where the Tropicana is located, I wouldn't waste extra time using the passenger drop-off area at DL and having to maneuver through Anaheim traffic for additional valuable minutes. I would drive straight to the Tropicana. Your daughter can hop out of the car the moment you roll to a stop in the parking lot/check-in area and she can head to the parks while you get checked in. I would say the difference in the walk between that and the drop-off area for a young healthy person is at most 2 minutes.



Exactly.  Here's a picture from Google Maps to demonstrate what @longtimedisneylurker is talking about:
The long blue line is the walking path using the cross walk that is right at the BWPPI hotel.  When you exit the drop-off/pick-up area, you can't immediately make a left turn in order to head back to the Tropicana.  You'd have to turn right onto Harbor Blvd and continue until you get to Disney Way and then make a U-turn in order to get back to the Tropicana.

Also, just to be on the safe side of things, you might want to call the Tropicana before your trip in order to confirm that you can park your car in their lot at that early hour when you're checking in. It would really stink if you had to waste time going to the Toy Story lot and all of that if Tropicana doesn't let you park there until the official 3-4pm check in time later in the day.


----------



## VandVsmama

JeriLee said:


> You are all beyond helpful and deserve lots of pixie dust!
> 
> One more question: Should I purchase our tickets through the DL app on my phone?  Does that buy me anything?  Or could this hold us up?  Would it be better for each of us to have something separate to scan?



1. Buy your tickets ahead of time BEFORE you get to Disneyland.  Either through the app on your phone or directly through the Disneyland website.
2. If you buy them through the website, you can link the tickets to your account on the Disneyland phone app.  This can all be done before you arrive at the parks.
3.  If possible, have everybody in your group download the DL app to their phone ahead of time.
4.  You can have everybody login to the DL app using one login ID or separate unique login IDs.  It's your choice.
5.  The reason you want as many people in your group with the DL app on their phone is to increase your odds of getting a boarding group.  So 3 people logged into the DL app on their smart phones w/their tickets linked (requires a DL login ID to do that) means better odds than only 1 person in your group doing this.  That's why on YouTube videos, you see packs of people all standing around with literally EVERY PERSON looking at his/her own phone.


----------



## LeiaOfAlderaan

I was finally up early enough to play along at home today, lol. I have an iPhone 6s, and on home WiFi so of course that probably made a difference. I launched the app about 8:57, and sat and stared at the “find out more” screen until my phone showed it was 9:00. Was just about to click on my status when “join a boarding group” button turned orange. I’m guessing that is the ideal situation when in the parks? And if it doesn’t turn orange, you should click on “my status”?


----------



## HydroGuy

SirBill said:


> It means I have the app opened to the main screen, then go back to the phone home screen (app icons) before I open it again (which just wakes the app from sleep/unsuspends).   As opposed to closing the app, and killing it off via the task manager.
> 
> Another way to put that is - when I re-open the app I do not see the app splash screen with the fireworks, as it's already loaded past that earlier.
> 
> I'm an iOS developer and re-opening an app is pretty common point when an application might do some data refreshing.


Thanks. That is what I thought.


----------



## VandVsmama

VandVsmama said:


> Exactly.  Here's a picture from Google Maps to demonstrate what @longtimedisneylurker is talking about:
> The long blue line is the walking path using the cross walk that is right at the BWPPI hotel.  When you exit the drop-off/pick-up area, you can't immediately make a left turn in order to head back to the Tropicana.  You'd have to turn right onto Harbor Blvd and continue until you get to Disney Way and then make a U-turn in order to get back to the Tropicana.
> 
> Also, just to be on the safe side of things, you might want to call the Tropicana before your trip in order to confirm that you can park your car in their lot at that early hour when you're checking in. It would really stink if you had to waste time going to the Toy Story lot and all of that if Tropicana doesn't let you park there until the official 3-4pm check in time later in the day.
> View attachment 468871



Another reason to just go directly to the Tropicana is the whole drop-off thing and make a U-turn can really take time.  Based on traffic, timing of lights, having to wait at the light at the cross-walk for people to cross, and then finally get to the Tropicana...that could take upwards of 10 minutes.  Then if you figure 15 min to check in, park your car, store your luggage...followed by 5 min to walk to the security bag check, maybe 15 min or more to get through the security bag check...and now you're looking at 45 min have passed from the time that you dropped your family member off to when you are reunited in line at the Esplanade.

AND if they open the main gate 1 hour ahead of rope drop (like I think they did today?) instead of 30 min beforehand (like they did on Saturday), then you might get separated.  Of course, this is all totally over-the-top detailed and anal retentive, but heck, we're on a 150+ page thread all about how to get on ONE ride, so we're all in this together, right?  And you need to increase your odds whatever way you can!


----------



## senorhiney

Does it really matter if we have each in our party use one master login rather than individual ones? An advantage/disadvantage one way or the other?


----------



## VandVsmama

This is all of us.


----------



## HydroGuy

senorhiney said:


> Does it really matter if we have each in our party use one master login rather than individual ones? An advantage/disadvantage one way or the other?


No to both.


----------



## ironband74

EmJ said:


> Everyone hold their breath. The ROTR witching hour is nearly upon us
> 
> View attachment 468870


----------



## VandVsmama

ironband74 said:


>




 Hilarious!


----------



## EmJ

ironband74 said:


>


Bwahahahahahaha! Keep up the good fight; it's working!


----------



## ironband74

Actually, may have spoken too soon...stalled at 63 for fifteen minutes or so...


----------



## EmJ

ironband74 said:


> Actually, may have spoken too soon...stalled at 63 for fifteen minutes or so...


RIGHT before 2:30. I'm telling you. Every day. 1:30-2:30. Look out. 

Here's hoping it gets up and going soon!


----------



## njchris

Maybe they are doing a mid-day check on it while it's still in it's infancy.


----------



## HydroGuy

EmJ said:


> RIGHT before 2:30. I'm telling you. Every day. 1:30-2:30. Look out.
> 
> Here's hoping it gets up and going soon!


Isn't 1:30-2:30 when the Jawas come out looking for scrap materials and basically tearing things down?


----------



## DLgal

SirBill said:


> It means I have the app opened to the main screen, then go back to the phone home screen (app icons) before I open it again (which just wakes the app from sleep/unsuspends).   As opposed to closing the app, and killing it off via the task manager.
> 
> Another way to put that is - when I re-open the app I do not see the app splash screen with the fireworks, as it's already loaded past that earlier.
> 
> I'm an iOS developer and re-opening an app is pretty common point when an application might do some data refreshing.



When I do this on my Samsung Galaxy S10, I have to wait for the splash screen with the fireworks. It doesn't just relaunch immediately.


----------



## wowsmom

DLgal said:


> When I do this on my Samsung Galaxy S10, I have to wait for the splash screen with the fireworks. It doesn't just relaunch immediately.



I have the S9 and it seems to vary for me.  Sometimes it will open right back and other times, it will start over with the fireworks.  There doesn't seem to be any reason.


----------



## ironband74

So it came back after about half an hour.  I wouldn't rule out mid-day diagnostics. 

As of 3:40, all regular groups have called.  That leaves about 5 hours for backup groups.  Can we see a new record today?


----------



## EmJ

ironband74 said:


> So it came back after about half an hour.  I wouldn't rule out mid-day diagnostics.
> 
> As of 3:40, all regular groups have called.  That leaves about 5 hours for backup groups.  Can we see a new record today?


That’s really interesting that it only went down for 30 minutes today rather than the70-90 we’ve been seeing that is needed to cycle the system and bring it back online. I wonder if Disney’s also noted the mid-day gremlins and took it down on purpose for diagnostics like you said, in order to avoid another longer downtime, or worse, another yesterday.


----------



## dina444444

EmJ said:


> That’s really interesting that it only went down for 30 minutes today rather than the70-90 we’ve been seeing that is needed to cycle the system and bring it back online. I wonder if Disney’s also noted the mid-day gremlins and took it down on purpose for diagnostics like you said, in order to avoid another longer downtime, or worse, another yesterday.


It depends on what broke when it broke down. The longer breaks are related to a certain part of the ride.


----------



## ten6mom

CastAStone said:


> There is no one best spot, although @WDWFigment has made a list of some good ones in his ROTR strategy post on his blog (disneytouristblog).


Mind=blown.

I did not know about @WDWFigment's alter ego!


----------



## montreid

4pm:  61-74 -- into the backup groups.   Nice.  Spread isn't too hot though unless only 1 hour returns


----------



## katyringo

I am noticing a new trend in the disneyland Facebook groups I’m in. People are posting pictures of the morning crowds of everyone stuck on Main Street. People aren’t realizing that the crowds disperse once rope is dropped and a good number of people leave too.  
This is why this group is helpful to have the true information.


----------



## Lewdannie




----------



## senorhiney

Got reservations to build a droid and to get a drink in the cantina, both in the late afternoon next Tuesday. I guess it would just be silly to cancel the reservations, but I am wondering if I am able to get a BG that morning, and if it overlaps with the reservations, how I might handle it. Not honoring the reservations costs a little scratch, but I guess if I think of it as the cost of getting on the ride, IDK.

ETA, also if I am successful on Sunday in getting on ROR then maybe I'll not be so anxious about it on Tuesday.


----------



## Kender

katyringo said:


> I am noticing a new trend in the disneyland Facebook groups I’m in. People are posting pictures of the morning crowds of everyone stuck on Main Street. People aren’t realizing that the crowds disperse once rope is dropped and a good number of people leave too.
> This is why this group is helpful to have the true information.



I'm still in some (friends added me), but I mostly ignore them. I used to try to be helpful like all of us are here, but the reaction I got was not pretty. No one really seems to care about having correct information. Tell them something that contradicts "what they read from some clearly salty blogger who is spreading incorrect information"? You're wrong and how dare you! 

I've offered privately to a couple friends the tips and tricks from this thread (if they want them) and the rest of the forum, but I just stay silent in those groups now. Not worth my time.

On the other hand the misinformation being spread as gospel is hilarious


----------



## brightlined

senorhiney said:


> Got reservations to build a droid and to get a drink in the cantina, both in the late afternoon next Tuesday. I guess it would just be silly to cancel the reservations, but I am wondering if I am able to get a BG that morning, and if it overlaps with the reservations, how I might handle it. Not honoring the reservations costs a little scratch, but I guess if I think of it as the cost of getting on the ride, IDK.


Other folks in this thread have mentioned that, at least with Dining reservations, they told the restaurant's check-in staff that they had BGs coming up, and the staff told them to prioritize ROTR - that they would be seated when they returned. If you manage to get a BG on Tuesday (and I'd suggest trying for one), just stop by Oga's and Droid Depot if it looks like the reservation might conflict - I'd bet they'd be willing to accommodate you. (You could even check with them on Monday and ask to make sure.)


----------



## ironband74

senorhiney said:


> Got reservations to build a droid and to get a drink in the cantina, both in the late afternoon next Tuesday. I guess it would just be silly to cancel the reservations, but I am wondering if I am able to get a BG that morning, and if it overlaps with the reservations, how I might handle it. Not honoring the reservations costs a little scratch, but I guess if I think of it as the cost of getting on the ride, IDK.
> 
> ETA, also if I am successful on Sunday in getting on ROR then maybe I'll not be so anxious about it on Tuesday.


They've been very accommodating to others in your situation.   If you have a conflict, just swing by and let the CM checking folks in know and they'll work with you.


----------



## senorhiney

brightlined said:


> Other folks in this thread have mentioned that, at least with Dining reservations, they told the restaurant's check-in staff that they had BGs coming up, and the staff told them to prioritize ROTR - that they would be seated when they returned. If you manage to get a BG on Tuesday (and I'd suggest trying for one), just stop by Oga's and Droid Depot if it looks like the reservation might conflict - I'd bet they'd be willing to accommodate you. (You could even check with them on Monday and ask to make sure.)


Yeah that makes sense. And I'm sure many, many things have been explained multiple times at this point, but I sure appreciate it from everyone. Going to have a blast!!


----------



## senorhiney

For a first timer, I am not missing Pirates of the Caribbean, Splash Mountain, Space Mountain, and am a little bummed Haunted Mansion will be closed, along with Grizzly Peak. I plan to ride the Falcon as many times as is practical, and to fastpass the heck out of California Adventure the one day we're there. I'll be shocked if my young ones can make it three days with as much as we have in store for them, though. They're lazy couch kids, not lying. I may just shove sugar down their mouths. I used to walk 2 miles to get to the bus stop when I was a kid, then another 45 minute ride to school. And in the 110 afternoon sun it was up like 2 small hills, 2 moderates ones, and I think 3 holy cow this is terrible (and at the end) kind of hills. I really am that cliche. My kids just don't have that so we will see how this goes. Boy is 7 and girl is 4. She is braver than he is. I think we're going to be going more for the "let's have a great experience" than "how many rides can we cram in a day", but we are all very, very excited!!


----------



## Skyegirl1999

katyringo said:


> I am noticing a new trend in the disneyland Facebook groups I’m in. People are posting pictures of the morning crowds of everyone stuck on Main Street. People aren’t realizing that the crowds disperse once rope is dropped and a good number of people leave too.
> This is why this group is helpful to have the true information.


That’s been happening since day 1.  It’s unfortunate because I know a lot of people buying the 3-day tickets, but they are staying away from the “crazy crowds” right now, so they’ll all come later and jam the parks at some unsuspecting time!  They’re convinced those Main Street pictures = reality all day.


----------



## longtimedisneylurker

senorhiney said:


> I think we're going to be going more for the "let's have a great experience" than "how many rides can we cram in a day", but we are all very, very excited!!



I think prioritizing "let's have a great experience" over the "how many rides can we cram in a day" is the smart move since the latter only infrequently leads to the former. Have a great first trip!


----------



## Etonduf

senorhiney said:


> For a first timer, I am not missing Pirates of the Caribbean, Splash Mountain, Space Mountain, and am a little bummed Haunted Mansion will be closed, along with Grizzly Peak. I plan to ride the Falcon as many times as is practical, and to fastpass the heck out of California Adventure the one day we're there. I'll be shocked if my young ones can make it three days with as much as we have in store for them, though. They're lazy couch kids, not lying. I may just shove sugar down their mouths. I used to walk 2 miles to get to the bus stop when I was a kid, then another 45 minute ride to school. And in the 110 afternoon sun it was up like 2 small hills, 2 moderates ones, and I think 3 holy cow this is terrible (and at the end) kind of hills. I really am that cliche. My kids just don't have that so we will see how this goes. Boy is 7 and girl is 4. She is braver than he is. I think we're going to be going more for the "let's have a great experience" than "how many rides can we cram in a day", but we are all very, very excited!!



Sounds like you're going to have a great trip. Our kids were pretty much that age during our last trip to Disneyland. What I thought would be "let's have a great experience" became "how many rides can we cram in a day" at their insistence. 

Have fun, and hope you are able to get on ROTR!


----------



## kyoshi

senorhiney said:


> Got reservations to build a droid and to get a drink in the cantina, both in the late afternoon next Tuesday. I guess it would just be silly to cancel the reservations, but I am wondering if I am able to get a BG that morning, and if it overlaps with the reservations, how I might handle it. Not honoring the reservations costs a little scratch, but I guess if I think of it as the cost of getting on the ride, IDK.
> 
> ETA, also if I am successful on Sunday in getting on ROR then maybe I'll not be so anxious about it on Tuesday.


If you think your boarding group time will overlap with your reservations, go to Oga's and Droid Depot a little earlier and let them know. We had Oga's reservations at the same time and they told us to make the boarding pass the priority and to come back anytime after. They were extremely helpful.


----------



## queso2992

I'll just add my two cents to the Android/iPhone differences. In preparation for our trip, I practiced from home a couple mornings and figured out that for my Android Galaxy S10, it worked best to open the app fresh right before/at the hour. I discovered that using my smart watch clock with the second hand worked well.

Today we got to the DLP for our last day. We had to leave around 3, so I knew we couldn't get a high BG. We were in the gates by about 8:40 for a 9:00 opening. We went towards Tomorrowland. They finally rope dropped about 8:55 to disperse the crowds. Even in the rope drop crowd, I had good signal (AT&T). When the rope dropped, we went towards Space Mountain, but I saw that there was a big open area with benches between Space and the Launch Bay. We just hung out there until after BG release. I was watching the seconds on my watch. At about 2-3 seconds before 9, I opened the app and clicked learn more. As soon as I did that the button went from gray to red. I clicked instantly and ended up getting BG 3 for my party of 4. I was shocked since I knew the BGs often start at 10-11.

We got called at 9:14 to ride with the window until 11:14. We got in line ~9:30 and were off at 10:11. Amazing ride. Easily all of our favorite. I had a smile on my face the whole time. That hasn't happened in a while at DL.


----------



## VandVsmama

senorhiney said:


> Got reservations to build a droid and to get a drink in the cantina, both in the late afternoon next Tuesday. I guess it would just be silly to cancel the reservations, but I am wondering if I am able to get a BG that morning, and if it overlaps with the reservations, how I might handle it. Not honoring the reservations costs a little scratch, but I guess if I think of it as the cost of getting on the ride, IDK.
> 
> ETA, also if I am successful on Sunday in getting on ROR then maybe I'll not be so anxious about it on Tuesday.



I have the same dilemma for when we go in March.  What I've decided to do is if we do snag a boarding group and IF it overlaps with our Oga's Cantina reservation or with our droid build reservation time, I'll just go to that location and tell them and see if they can cancel the reservation or reschedule it without a penalty.  I'd swear I saw somebody report something about that several pages ago here on this thread.


----------



## MonocularVision

wowsmom said:


> I have the S9 and it seems to vary for me.  Sometimes it will open right back and other times, it will start over with the fireworks.  There doesn't seem to be any reason.



I work on a mobile development team. While I am an iOS engineer, I hear from complaints from the Android developers often about Samsung devices because Samsung implements a lot of custom behavior in their fork of Android. One that I am aware of is the operating system being way more aggressive at killing applications in order to save battery. In iOS when an app is put into the background it can’t really execute anything (without special background permissions like GPS, VoIP, etc) so there isn’t really any battery savings from closing suspended apps. It is a different story on Android.


----------



## dina444444

If they get to 114 we will set a new record for number of groups processed in a day.


----------



## DisneyDork1969

queso2992 said:


> *We got called at 9:14 to ride with the window until 11:14.* We got in line ~9:30 and were off at 10:11. Amazing ride. Easily all of our favorite. I had a smile on my face the whole time. That hasn't happened in a while at DL.



They might be changing that 2hr window soon. They just did it for DHS and when I was there on opening weekend for Sunday my return window was only 1hr...make sure you read how long your return window is as soon as you get your BG...


----------



## montreid

MonocularVision said:


> I work on a mobile development team. While I am an iOS engineer, I hear from complaints from the Android developers often about Samsung devices because Samsung implements a lot of custom behavior in their fork of Android. One that I am aware of is the operating system being way more aggressive at killing applications in order to save battery. In iOS when an app is put into the background it can’t really execute anything (without special background permissions like GPS, VoIP, etc) so there isn’t really any battery savings from closing suspended apps. It is a different story on Android.


Maybe true, but been using Samsung Note 10+ and S10 and both have been outperforming the iphones in our group.   The Max11 has been a close runner to the Samsung a few times and i think it probably on same level as I was the more experienced user with the buttons.  We had quite a few in our group that got to the final 'error' message of already in a group


----------



## Skyegirl1999

dina444444 said:


> If they get to 114 we will set a new record for number of groups processed in a day.


Up to 113!


----------



## StarGirl11

DisneyDork1969 said:


> They might be changing that 2hr window soon. They just did it for DHS and when I was there on opening weekend for Sunday my return window was only 1hr...make sure you read how long your return window is as soon as you get your BG...



I thought I saw some people reporting a two hour window still depending on when they were called? 

Personally not a fan of them shrinking the window. I get why they are probably do it. Doesn't make it happier. But lets just give a hypothetical scenario here. Lets say you've been in line for Soarin for a while and your now in the main building. Now the BG comes up right as you're riding. But due to the fact Soarin has never had great cell service in my experience you don't know so you don't leave the line. So you go ride Soarin' and then meander on out. There's about half of the 1 hour window right there. Now you got to get all the way back over to Galaxy's Edge which means rescanning into another park. And lets be real sometimes the lines to get into DL even not in the morning are not small. And there's another _minimum _10 minute walk once your through the gates. 

Oh and if your like me and have a mobility device. Have fun! Cause everyone likes to cut you off without realizing they are doing so and it can take you twice as long to get from A to B. 

So there's almost all of your window right there just to get from point on ride to ROTR. And not everyone can move fast. 

I just really don't like it because there are spots in the park with dead zones or close to being dead (looking at you Indiana Jones). And if you don't realize your BG is being called and it takes longer to walk for you then the average person. You could accidentally miss the window without meaning to. 

Its just if your in line for something else and don't get the notification immediately this could really screw you over.


----------



## Vysecity

114!! wooo!


----------



## midnight star

KPeterso said:


> I have a DAS for Disneyland. When we went on Saturday 1/18, we were in Boarding group 84. We were called about 4:45 in the afternoon. I asked about the DAS as I went up to the ride and was directed to the fastpass line. I went to scan and it was turning blue. I was then asked if I had gotten a return time which I had not. I did not know I needed one for this. Instead of getting a return time, we got in the regular line as we did not want to now have to wait even longer for a return time. The line moved pretty consistently, so it was actually ok for me, and it only took about 30-35 minutes. This past Saturday, I had a much lower boarding group and saw the line looked less backed up than last week, so I just got in the regular line with my boarding pass, and was on in about 20-25 minutes. So honestly, I am still not 100% sure what the DAS process is for the new ride.


I don't even think Disney knows the DAS process either lol. Outside of the fact that all riders need a boarding group to get on. When I initially got a boarding group at WDW. I went to a guest services kiosk to ask if I would need a return time for ROTR. They said it will depend on the ride CM's. So when I got there, I asked if I would need a return time, and they said no b/c it would've held the DAS up for much of the day.  So they just scanned us into the fastpass entrance then we got on pretty fast since no one was in that line. I honestly think it's because not many DAS users have done the ride yet.


----------



## StarGirl11

midnight star said:


> I don't even think Disney knows the DAS process either lol. Outside of the fact that all riders need a boarding group to get on. When I initially got a boarding group at WDW. I went to a guest services kiosk to ask if I would need a return time for ROTR. They said it will depend on the ride CM's. So when I got there, I asked if I would need a return time, and they said no b/c it would've held the DAS up for much of the day.  So they just scanned us into the fastpass entrance then we got on pretty fast since no one was in that line. I honestly think it's because not many DAS users have done the ride yet.



When I rode in WDW they just scanned my band to confirm the DAS. They didn't make me grab a return time and come back.

Honestly without an established standby that should be the procedure of not getting a return. Because by Disney's own system return times are *supposed *to be based on whatever the current standby time is. There is no established standby since the ride doesn't have a normal standby. And the only times they bypass the wait time in my experience is using a visual gauge (talking about character M&Gs on occasion). Which you can't do with ROTR queue. It doesn't make sense to get a return for ROTR since there is no way to actually gauge what the normal queue wait time is.


----------



## Skyegirl1999

They’re up to 120!  This was a good day.


----------



## EmJ

Skyegirl1999 said:


> They’re up to 120!  This was a good day.


Look at the pretty graph! What a day!


----------



## VandVsmama

Re: DAS & ROTR - 
I read somewhere (can't remember right now where I read this, so that's not very helpful!) that DAS guests need both a boarding group and a DAS time in order to get on ROTR.  So you have to do the whole "click and pray in the Jedi temple" thing at park opening with the rest of humanity.  And then when your boarding group is called, you go to the DAS kiosk in Galaxy's Edge (I have no idea yet where this is because I haven't been to Galaxy's Edge yet) and tell them what you need.

It sounds like what DAS guests are being told in the park varies a bit.  I'm going to email Disneyland to inquire because somebody in our group will have a DAS pass because of a disability.  I'll report back in this thread once I have more info from DL.


----------



## ironband74

It looks like they are done for the day at 122.  Our best day yet.  122 groups called, only about a half hour of downtime.  Encouraging progress?  Or total fluke?  We shall see...


----------



## midnight star

VandVsmama said:


> Re: DAS & ROTR -
> I read somewhere (can't remember right now where I read this, so that's not very helpful!) that DAS guests need both a boarding group and a DAS time in order to get on ROTR.  So you have to do the whole "click and pray in the Jedi temple" thing at park opening with the rest of humanity.  And then when your boarding group is called, you go to the DAS kiosk in Galaxy's Edge (I have no idea yet where this is because I haven't been to Galaxy's Edge yet) and tell them what you need.
> 
> It sounds like what DAS guests are being told in the park varies a bit.  I'm going to email Disneyland to inquire because somebody in our group will have a DAS pass because of a disability.  I'll report back in this thread once I have more info from DL.


Yes, when asked Disney is very clear DAS holders need a boarding group. And yes, the click and pray at park opening is a real thing lol. So far it seems like both WDW and DL have the same rules.


----------



## ironband74

I meant to say:


----------



## SirBill

EmJ said:


> Look at the pretty graph! What a day!
> 
> View attachment 469108



Pretty awesome!  What would be interesting to know is, and I'm not sure if the data there has this detail - what time was boarding group 122 distributed by?   That is to say, the normal BG were all gone in a minute today as per usual, but how long was it before all of the boarding groups that got to go were distributed.... if average reliability keeps improving like it has at WDW, it'a almost like there is a decent shadow period after official groups are gone, that you are very likely to get to ride anyway for many minutes after.


----------



## Ferrellcon

ironband74 said:


> It looks like they are done for the day at 122.  Our best day yet.  122 groups called, only about a half hour of downtime.  Encouraging progress?  Or total fluke?  We shall see...


I would like to say encouraging progress but it probably is a fluke. It was a good day today.


----------



## montreid

midnight star said:


> Yes, when asked Disney is very clear DAS holders need a boarding group. And yes, the click and pray at park opening is a real thing lol. So far it seems like both WDW and DL have the same rules.


DAS can be assigned at any of the Guest services umbrellas.  GET CM at WDW or maroon ones in Disneyland....at dlr..  it's the hub, haunted house,  dumbo, tomrrowland, and the middle entrance to ge under the railroad crossing. Between ge and big thunder


----------



## montreid

SirBill said:


> Pretty awesome!  What would be interesting to know is, and I'm not sure if the data there has this detail - what time was boarding group 122 distributed by?   That is to say, the normal BG were all gone in a minute today as per usual, but how long was it before all of the boarding groups that got to go were distributed.... if average reliability keeps improving like it has at WDW, it'a almost like there is a decent shadow period after official groups are gone, that you are very likely to get to ride anyway for many minutes after.


We aren't there yet and simply not enough reporting data points for this.    

122 is a new high for dlr.  
We dont know that top reported bg, but I believe it has gone as high as 160...but nothing really reported lately that I recall...let alone where 122 was in that timeline.

It is nice to see the throughput today.    The CM were in great form this morning.  Quite in character.


----------



## Peachy0118

Maybe this is an easy question I am just missing...
I see they stopped BG at 122 tonight... but that is before the park closes.
Can someone explain to me why they didn't continue BG?


----------



## dina444444

Peachy0118 said:


> Maybe this is an easy question I am just missing...
> I see they stopped BG at 122 tonight... but that is before the park closes.
> Can someone explain to me why they didn't continue BG?


They may have only given out 122 boarding groups today and if they did they got through all of them.


----------



## MonocularVision

montreid said:


> Maybe true, but been using Samsung Note 10+ and S10 and both have been outperforming the iphones in our group.   The Max11 has been a close runner to the Samsung a few times and i think it probably on same level as I was the more experienced user with the buttons.  We had quite a few in our group that got to the final 'error' message of already in a group



My comment wasn’t meant to be a general statement about the efficacy of using a Samsung device to get a BG. I was just explaining why some folks may see the app launching from scratch after backgrounding it.


----------



## pokee99

Can anyone confirm if single riders (so one ticket, one account- no linked/grouped tickets) have an easier time getting low boarding group numbers?

It would seem logical, say, if BGs have 100 spots, and the system allocated 99 guests in several BGs, and tacked on single riders here and there. 

It would be less likely of course,  if BGs are assigned randomly using some other algorithm -- maybe because single riders are quite common? Or perhaps because BG numbers are just approximate?

Hoping some single riders can provide some data points.

*I'm asking because my teen kids aren't really SW fans, and while I'm sure they'd enjoy the ride, I'm thinking of taking a crack at it on day 1 by myself and let then sleep in. We have a 4 day hopper.


----------



## dina444444

pokee99 said:


> Can anyone confirm if single riders (so one ticket, one account- no linked/grouped tickets) have an easier time getting low boarding group numbers?
> 
> It would seem logical, say, if BGs have 100 spots, and the system allocated 99 guests in several BGs, and tacked on single riders here and there.
> 
> It would be less likely of course,  if BGs are assigned randomly using some other algorithm -- maybe because single riders are quite common? Or perhaps because BG numbers are just approximate?
> 
> Hoping some single riders can provide some data points.
> 
> *I'm asking because my teen kids aren't really SW fans, and while I'm sure they'd enjoy the ride, I'm thinking of taking a crack at it on day 1 by myself and let then sleep in. We have a 4 day hopper.


I was a single rider 4 out of 5 days in DHS this past week. My boarding group numbers were all over the board for the 3 days I was in before park opening, it’s all how fast your phone gets through.


----------



## Vysecity

After the initial BGs are distributed(randomly) are backup BGs first come 1st served???


----------



## ironband74

Peachy0118 said:


> Maybe this is an easy question I am just missing...
> I see they stopped BG at 122 tonight... but that is before the park closes.
> Can someone explain to me why they didn't continue BG?


Keep in mind that the return window at the end of the day is typically an hour.  On late nights (where the park closes at 12am, for instance), they typically stop calling at 8:30.  This allows folks to board the attraction as late as 9:30...and with the queue and the length of the experience, this gets them done by about 10PM.  This allows for overnight maintenance, debugging, resetting, and prepping for the next day of operations.  I'm sure they also do post mortems on any issues that arose during the day and possibly stress test any fixes that are made.

On early nights like tonight (where the park closes at 9pm), They stop calling shortly after 8pm.  I assume that the return window for these BGs ends at 9pm when the park closes.


----------



## ironband74

Vysecity said:


> After the initial BGs are distributed(randomly) are backup BGs first come 1st served???


I know it is a common theory that the initial BGs are a random distribution, but I really think it is all sequentially distributed.  I think that the return message from the server telling folks what BG they got sometimes gets delayed by all the network traffic, and this gives the appearance of random distribution even though it's not.  

But, if I'm wrong and the initial BGs are random, then for sure the backups are, especially when the window lasts more than a minute or two.


----------



## Aurora0427

Ok, this is a tad off topic, but I feel like this thread is full of my kind of people, so I just had to share.... we rode Smugglers Run today for the first time... our four year old is tall enough to ride! She was my co pilot and when the ride was over she screamed “Mommy! Let’s do it again!” It was amazing. She actually thought we left Earth and went to space. Her only disappointment was that Han Solo wasn’t there.  She is going to LOVE ROTR. I cannot wait for her to grow that one pesky inch. She also loved the roaming stormtroopers... she’d waltz right up to them while my almost nine year old hid. 

Anyway, it was a magical afternoon at Galaxy’s Edge!


----------



## StarGirl11

Well if we go by DHSs distribution in the past it’s definitely not random. I went pre changeover and got BG 16. And when I was there during the full first week in January I got to the park and got 106. Which was not a backup.

Just because they go fast doesn’t mean it’s random. It just depends on how quick you get through the queue.


----------



## dina444444

I present the chart!:


----------



## theluckyrabbit

bethwc101 said:


> Has anyone used the monorail entrance while trying to get a BG? What was your experience?


This is addressed in the FAQs on page one of this superthread:

You must enter Disneyland Park to join a boarding group, you do not have to stay inside Disneyland once you are scanned in. You can hop over to DCA or head into Downtown Disney. P*lease note that the Monorail entrance is not advisable for use as it typically does not open until the park officially opens.*
I don't think anyone wants to risk losing their chance at a BG by trying this.



midnight star said:


> I don't even think Disney knows the DAS process either lol... I honestly think it's because not many DAS users have done the ride yet.


And that's why it's so hard to get reliable first hand information about DAS for this ride! I think you're right that many DAS users are staying away to avoid the initial chaos or not getting BGs.



VandVsmama said:


> Re: DAS & ROTR -
> I read somewhere (can't remember right now where I read this, so that's not very helpful!) that DAS guests need both a boarding group and a DAS time in order to get on ROTR...
> It sounds like what DAS guests are being told in the park varies a bit.  I'm going to email Disneyland to inquire because somebody in our group will have a DAS pass because of a disability.  I'll report back in this thread once I have more info from DL.


Please report back once you hear the official spiel from Disney. We do know that DAS users will need to have a BG before requesting a DAS return time. There have been different answers about where the return time can be requested. Some say it must be requested in SWGE (the podium is right at the tunnel entrance by the Droid Depot). Others say it can be requested at any Information Kiosk.


----------



## Mathmagicland

SirBill said:


> What would be interesting to know is, and I'm not sure if the data there has this detail - what time was boarding group 122 distributed by? That is to say, the normal BG were all gone in a minute today as per usual, but how long was it before all of the boarding groups that got to go were distributed.


I don’t know about Monday but on Sunday morning I pulled BG 123 at 8:16 a.m. 16 minutes after published park opening.

added BGs started at 10 or 11 that morning


----------



## montreid

theluckyrabbit said:


> ...
> Please report back once you hear the official spiel from Disney. We do know that DAS users will need to have a BG before requesting a DAS return time. There have been different answers about where the return time can be requested. Some say it must be requested in SWGE (the podium is right at the tunnel entrance by the Droid Depot). Others say it can be requested at any Information Kiosk.


Not official policy, but a data point, but we got our sons return time for rotr at the dumbo location.   While awaiting a return time for another ride at the HH site, a family ahead of us got a return time for their BGF there.   So it appears to be okay for the CM to do this.


----------



## ironband74

Twitter reports that MM lines are to the DCA gates.  Regular lines are to the monorail.  All wings report in!  Who's on a mission today?


----------



## SOCALMouseMommy

ironband74 said:


> Twitter reports that MM lines are to the DCA gates.  Regular lines are to the monorail.  All wings report in!  Who's on a mission today?


Me! We are in line to get into Mickey and Friends. Very short lines right now.


----------



## Skyegirl1999

SOCALMouseMommy said:


> Me! We are in line to get into Mickey and Friends. Very short lines right now.


You made it!  I’m excited for you!


----------



## SOCALMouseMommy

Skyegirl1999 said:


> You made it!  I’m excited for you!


Me toooooooooooo!!! Now if we can only get a boarding group!


----------



## SOCALMouseMommy

Walked over to DTD. Security lines about 5-10 minutes. They are scanning hotel guests only into monorail.


----------



## Skyegirl1999

SOCALMouseMommy said:


> Me toooooooooooo!!! Now if we can only get a boarding group!


I will have all of my fingers and toes crossed for you!


----------



## SOCALMouseMommy

Esplanade is slammed. Lines back to DCA and curving around as they reach the gates. I got into line at 8:20. We’ll see what happens.


----------



## senorhiney

hmmmm I am beginning to wonder if I should just forgo using my MM entry and do DCA on Tuesday next. Try for ROR on Sunday and Monday. I was going to do ROR Sunday, DCA Monday and then leverage MM on Tuesday for ROR, but if that is what the zaggers are doing, perhaps I'll zig. 

Are they opening the turnstiles early again today?


----------



## ironband74

senorhiney said:


> hmmmm I am beginning to wonder if I should just forgo using my MM entry and do DCA on Tuesday next. Try for ROR on Sunday and Monday. I was going to do ROR Sunday, DCA Monday and then leverage MM on Tuesday for ROR, but if that is what the zaggers are doing, perhaps I'll zig.
> 
> Are they opening the turnstiles early again today?


From the sounds of it, they opened MM at 8 as originally planned.  

Hopefully they start letting the "regular" crowd in soon if they haven't already!  Otherwise it's gonna be a mess...


----------



## SOCALMouseMommy

Opened the turnstiles right around 8:20. I was in line back to DCA and scanned in at 8:38.


----------



## ironband74

Alright, good luck @SOCALMouseMommy !  Lock S-Foils in attack position!


----------



## ironband74

Woof...30 seconds and the regulars are gone.  On to backups...


----------



## JadeDarkstar

red button opened three times for me from home


----------



## ironband74

Button went grey at 9:01:45 for me.


----------



## wonderfuller

It was almost exactly 60 seconds for me playing along from home before I got the backup notification.


----------



## SOCALMouseMommy

21!


----------



## VandVsmama

A few seconds after 9:00, I got a red button from home.  9:02 - "Join boarding group" button was gray.  They went fast again today!


----------



## ironband74

SOCALMouseMommy said:


> 21!


So happy for you!  It was brutal today, 21 is a great grab!


The Force is strong with this one!


----------



## asumom

At home, didn't get red button today but when I press my status it brought me to join boarding group and then link tickets. is that another way to get one?


----------



## ironband74

81 is the first backup today.  It will be interesting to see if they start calling at 1 today...


----------



## DLgal

asumom said:


> At home, didn't get red button today but when I press my status it brought me to join boarding group and then link tickets. is that another way to get one?



Yes. I didn't get any red buttons today playing from home. Crazy.


----------



## ironband74

asumom said:


> At home, didn't get red button today but when I press my status it brought me to join boarding group and then link tickets. is that another way to get one?


Yes.


----------



## Pickles2000

This was my best practice day. Wasn’t even looking at the clock. Noticed it was 9:00 and opened app to check. Was able to go in and out 5 times until it was close to 9:02. Never saw back-up group pop-up though.


----------



## HydroGuy

I am at home and today was the first day I tried to get a BG on the app when the park opened. At exactly 9AM PT I clicked on the "Find Out More" and got a red button like everyone talks about and clicked through on that to join a BG. 

Just making sure I understand, but if one has scanned in at DL and gets to that point and clicks through on that button, one will for sure get a BG? But it may be a primary/regular group or it may be a backup group? If it happens right away like for me it will be a primary/regular group?


----------



## HydroGuy

SOCALMouseMommy said:


> 21!


----------



## Peachy0118

Maybe someone can help me... I tried to play along at home today... but I thought you needed to be signed into the park before the button goes from grey to red?


----------



## HydroGuy

Peachy0118 said:


> Maybe someone can help me... I tried to play along at home today... but I thought you needed to be signed into the park before the button goes from grey to red?


Nope. This was my first day of practice. I am in Colorado. I do have an AP linked ot my account but that apparently does not matter.


----------



## ironband74

Pickles2000 said:


> This was my best practice day. Wasn’t even looking at the clock. Noticed it was 9:00 and opened app to check. Was able to go in and out 5 times until it was close to 9:02. Never saw back-up group pop-up though.


I'm on Android, and don't usually see the back-up pop up unless we get really extended time.  However, the verbiage on the "Find Out More" page changes to say that "Due to the overwhelming popularity...we are distributing backup groups at this time"


----------



## SOCALMouseMommy

ironband74 said:


> So happy for you!  It was brutal today, 21 is a great grab!
> 
> 
> The Force is strong with this one!


Thank you, that was so stressful. I’m still shaky lol.


----------



## SOCALMouseMommy

By the way, the red button didn’t light up for me. I had to click Find out more as fast as I could and I was able to join from there.


----------



## ironband74

HydroGuy said:


> I am at home and today was the first day I tried to get a BG on the app when the park opened. At exactly 9AM PT I clicked on the "Find Out More" and got a red button like everyone talks about and clicked through on that to join a BG.
> 
> Just making sure I understand, but if one has scanned in at DL and gets to that point and clicks through on that button, one will for sure get a BG? But it may be a primary/regular group or it may be a backup group? If it happens right away like for me it will be a primary/regular group?


There's one more step, where you confirm the group.  Things can still go sideways at this point - some people get the "something went wrong" error and whatnot.  

So Red button, confirm group, and then the magic happens and hopefully you get the message that you are in a group.


----------



## HydroGuy

ironband74 said:


> 81 is the first backup today.  It will be interesting to see if they start calling at 1 today...


Out of curiosity, how do you find out the backup BG #?


----------



## dina444444

HydroGuy said:


> Out of curiosity, how do you find out the backup BG #?


----------



## Skyegirl1999

HydroGuy said:


> Out of curiosity, how do you find out the backup BG #?



They put it on the info page once all of the backups are gone.


----------



## Mark_E

Seems much busier today! Got boarding group 27 so very happy with that.
Ride not yet open it seems


----------



## ironband74

HydroGuy said:


> Out of curiosity, how do you find out the backup BG #?


^^^What they said


----------



## ironband74

With the delayed start, I expect BG to start at 10 today.  (This is a guess...I don't know anything)


----------



## HydroGuy

dina444444 said:


> View attachment 469203





Skyegirl1999 said:


> View attachment 469204
> They put it on the info page once all of the backups are gone.


LOL, I have never read the fine print there carefully enough before! Thanks!


----------



## SirBill

HydroGuy said:


> I am at home and today was the first day I tried to get a BG on the app when the park opened. At exactly 9AM PT I clicked on the "Find Out More" and got a red button like everyone talks about and clicked through on that to join a BG.
> 
> Just making sure I understand, but if one has scanned in at DL and gets to that point and clicks through on that button, one will for sure get a BG? But it may be a primary/regular group or it may be a backup group? If it happens right away like for me it will be a primary/regular group?



It is possible they could run out of boarding groups if you are slow enough. That's why when you get to that selection screen you want to finish the request ASAP, which means you want to make sure you don't have anyone linked in your app who is not with you - because it takes time to un-select people, and everyone who is in your linked group will automatically be selected when you hit the red button. 

If you hit the red button it soon enough after they opened the groups, it's pretty certain you'll get a BG if you tap through the next screen reasonably fast.  It's not until you see the final screen saying that you have a boarding group that you know for sure what you got.


----------



## emilymad

We are heading to Disneyland next Tuesday.  We are staying at DGC so we will do MM.  What time should we get to the park 7:30?  I have been trying to follow this thread but lots of data points.  We would like to ride ROTR but we will be in DHS in June so not a huge deal if we don’t get a BG.


----------



## MonocularVision

So it appears that Disney has decided to allow the lines to get out of control on Disneyland’s early entry days. Good to know.


----------



## DLRExpert

Details from today.
Entered Mickey and Friends at 820. Very little line
Was on tram by 835
Picked up my Mobile Order coffee at Starbucks at 840
Got in line at the entrance at 845
Line was just pass the monorail tracks, again went to the secret planter line, left side. Didn't work as it normally does as the line was only for one turnstile and did not split into two like it usually is.
Got in the park by 852
Tested my ticket eligibility by booking a Fastpass. Good to go

Rope drop opened 5 minutes early at 855
Walked to the castle and grabbed a spot on the right side of the castle across from the Pixie Hollow entrance at 858.
Closed all Apps

at 859 and 50 seconds I opened up the Disneyland App.
at 9am hit Find Out More.
Got to the My Status screen and Join Boarding Group Button turned solid after about a second on this screen.
Using Pixel 4 XL, Google Fi. No WiFi

Got boarding group 23
at 937 nothing has been called.

ME


----------



## VandVsmama

Disneyland just called me regarding my question about ROTR and DAS access. They said everyone including the disabled guest needs to get a ROTR boarding group. And then when your boarding group is called, see a Guest Relations CM in the land (or anywhere at one of the kiosks in DL) to get it linked to the DAS pass. And THEN you go to get on the ride.


----------



## Keacooke

I’m at Disneyland today.  Scored BG 51.  But it doesn’t appear that they’ve started boarding yet.  Am I seeing this right?  Is there a delay?


----------



## montreid

ironband74 said:


> With the delayed start, I expect BG to start at 10 today.  (This is a guess...I don't know anything)


Still holding onto the theory that special special VIPs (not the plaids) get them with delayed openings and Grp 10 start.


----------



## nutshell

Keacooke said:


> I’m at Disneyland today.  Scored BG 51.  But it doesn’t appear that they’ve started boarding yet.  Am I seeing this right?  Is there a delay?


I think you’re right. Doesn’t look like they’re boarding yet.


----------



## senorhiney

Probably off topic but what are the best phone charging sticks out there for the money?


----------



## JWelch62

Bright suns, everyone. I just wanted to share my experiences from the last three days at DL.

First, don't get discouraged. I have been able to get BG12, BG7, and BG10 the last three days. It's my opinion that if you read the thread, and follow the techniques described, you WILL get a BG.

The key is timing. Having a clock with seconds display on your phone is crucial. And use the network time. Don't use any kind of atomic clock program that is synced to NIST. That is not necessarily the same time. Mobile networks use GPS time so that everyone's on the network is on the same time. 

Anyway...practice switching from the clock app to the DL app at open. Have your DL app open to the "Find out more" page. Time your switch so that you are on the app at open. It's not that difficult. If you've done it right it will be red when you get there.

As I've said, I'm 3 for 3 with this technique.

I'm on a pixel 2XL on VZW.

Best of luck to all.

(Forgive any typos or rambling thoughts. I'm typing this from Docking Bay 7 waiting for boarding to start)

John


----------



## JWelch62

senorhiney said:


> Probably off topic but what are the best phone charging sticks out there for the money?


I really like Anker


----------



## JWelch62

nutshell said:


> I think you’re right. Doesn’t look like they’re boarding yet.


First BGs just called


----------



## dina444444

We are now boarding. Group 10 to start that day.


----------



## JWelch62

dina444444 said:


> We are now boarding. Group 10 to start that day.


We just stopped...


----------



## Ferrellcon

Apparently Disney is trying to find out what guests prefer. There are surveys going around asking if they prefer standby or the virtual queue.


----------



## vickiea

Ferrellcon said:


> Apparently Disney is trying to find out what guests prefer. There are surveys going around asking if they prefer standby or the virtual queue.



Interesting. At least they are asking for feedback, even if the options are somewhat limited. At this point they really are in a tough spot. No one solution will please everyone.


----------



## ironband74

dina444444 said:


> We are now boarding. Group 10 to start that day.


Called it!


----------



## Kender

Ferrellcon said:


> Apparently Disney is trying to find out what guests prefer. There are surveys going around asking if they prefer standby or the virtual queue.



Or at least they're checking with WDW guests. Would love to see that pop up as a survey for DLR too. Maybe the responses would be similar or they might be drastically different


----------



## montreid

ironband74 said:


> Called it!


Yep ---  still saying Special VIPs ---


----------



## ironband74

montreid said:


> Yep ---  still saying Special VIPs ---


I'll go with morning shake-down sometimes needed sometimes not.  

9 BGs would be (if we estimate BGs at 80 people per) 720 people.  How many special VIPs could they possibly have on a given morning?


----------



## JWelch62

JWelch62 said:


> We just stopped...


Got escorted off. We were given a fast pass that we can use to reboard anytime.

We saw a cast member go by with a long grip tool, if you know what I mean. Used to pick up trash, etc. I swear someone must have dropped their phone.


----------



## ironband74

(though if it was a morning shake down, it didn't go so well judging by the whopping 7 BGs called so far...)


----------



## SOCALMouseMommy

JWelch62 said:


> I really like Anker


I have this and I also really like it.


----------



## montreid

ironband74 said:


> (though if it was a morning shake down, it didn't go so well judging by the whopping 7 BGs called so far...)


Yeah, that's why I think it's like a convention group or something that comes in for rides --- cause if that shakedown -- why start later groups to count?  That just doesn't make sense from a logistical maintenance issue.  

And breaking down after 7     sounds like another Sunday gremlin got into the machinery


----------



## MommyLove

Oh dear, downtime already. 

My DH and I played from home for the first time this morning. He had his Apple watch with second hand at the ready and his iPhone on our WiFi. I have an Android and was using 4G. We both opened the app 15-ish seconds before park opening. After clicking 'Find Out More' right at park opening, we both got the orange 'Join Boarding Group' button on the next page. So that was encouraging. We're thinking about trying for real tomorrow...


----------



## Skyegirl1999

montreid said:


> Yeah, that's why I think it's like a convention group or something that comes in for rides --- cause if that shakedown -- why start later groups to count?  That just doesn't make sense from a logistical maintenance issue.


If convention groups - or anyone - were getting in early, it’d be all over social media.


----------



## SOCALMouseMommy

So I have a moment and wanted to share what I did to secure a boarding group this morning.

Arrived at Mickey and Friends at 7:45. Re-routed through M&F to Pixar Pals.

Walked to DTD security. 5-10 minute wait.

DL lines back to DCA at 8:20 and curving back around. Hard to find the end of the line.

pened the gates around 8:20(?). It was hard to tell from so far back.

Through the DL gate in less than 20 minutes. Our line was moving well.

Immediately left DL and crossed the esplanade trying to look for a good connection. Settled on just outside the DCA gate all the way to the left (Harbor side). Had a great connection here and not many people around.

Restarted my phone around 8:40. Closed all apps around 8:55. Opened the DL app only at 8:58. When my phone’s time switched to 8:59, I started counting in my head. Right at 9:00 clicked on main boarding group page “find out more”. No red button so clicked My Status. Where I was able to click Join Boarding Group.

Got BG 21. I’m on Verizon with an iPhone 7.


----------



## ironband74

JWelch62 said:


> Got escorted off. We were given a fast pass that we can use to reboard anytime.
> 
> We saw a cast member go by with a long grip tool, if you know what I mean. Used to pick up trash, etc. I swear someone must have dropped their phone.


On the one hand, I get that everybody thinks they have to record everything.

On the other, aren't there enough freakin' videos of this thing on youtube by now? When I eventually go...all my stuff will be in my pockets/backpack.


----------



## crystal1313

ironband74 said:


> On the one hand, I get that everybody thinks they have to record everything.
> 
> On the other, aren't there enough freakin' videos of this thing on youtube by now? When I eventually go...all my stuff will be in my pockets/backpack.


I never get this either.  Usually the videos online are better than what I could record myself.  I prefer to be in the "moment!"


----------



## Tinkerbell19672

Ferrellcon said:


> Apparently Disney is trying to find out what guests prefer. There are surveys going around asking if they prefer standby or the virtual queue.



I prefer virtual queue but an idea I had is if they would do it twice a day. Meaning, at opening for BGs into early afternoon. Then open up more BGs in afternoon for riding later in the day. That would make it less crowded in the morning and give those of us who don’t like getting there early a better time


----------



## pokee99

Ferrellcon said:


> Apparently Disney is trying to find out what guests prefer. There are surveys going around asking if they prefer standby or the virtual queue.



Like I've said before, this BG solution is NOT sustainable.  They need a solution that is going to alleviate the morning entry chaos. It's going to get worse before it gets better. 

I think they're trying to approach the issue as "what is fair? what would make guests happier?", because of all the complaints. But really, if they can't consistently start opening the turnstiles earlier each morning, they need better crowd managment processes in place at the main entrance.


----------



## midnight star

ironband74 said:


> On the one hand, I get that everybody thinks they have to record everything.
> 
> On the other, aren't there enough freakin' videos of this thing on youtube by now? When I eventually go...all my stuff will be in my pockets/backpack.


Gotta get those pics and videos for Instagram


----------



## pokee99

Tinkerbell19672 said:


> I prefer virtual queue but an idea I had is if they would do it twice a day. Meaning, at opening for BGs into early afternoon. Then open up more BGs in afternoon for riding later in the day. That would make it less crowded in the morning and give those of us who don’t like getting there early a better time



I had the same idea, but to completely eliminate the morning BG distribution frenzy with reservations, and use the current method for BG backup in the late afternoon.

The morning's are ALREADY insane enough with diehards getting there early for FastPass distribution! People are going insane! The fact that this thread is so long and there's graphs and spreadsheets analyzing entry data is MADNESS!!!


----------



## NorthernCalMom

Tinkerbell19672 said:


> I prefer virtual queue but an idea I had is if they would do it twice a day. Meaning, at opening for BGs into early afternoon. Then open up more BGs in afternoon for riding later in the day. That would make it less crowded in the morning and give those of us who don’t like getting there early a better time


Why do you think there would be less people coming in the morning? What I would instead expect is the same amount of people coming in the morning and competing for less BG-spots, hence more heartbroken, disappointed people. There’s actually a thread specifically dedicated to brainstorming and speculation about this:
https://www.disboards.com/threads/boarding-group-issues-resolution-thoughts.3787676/


----------



## LeiaOfAlderaan

JWelch62 said:


> Anyway...practice switching from the clock app to the DL app at open.



I’ve read this tip from many people (or they say they watch the second hand on an Apple Watch, etc). Why wouldn’t you just keep your phone on the DL app and look at the time on your phone (top of the screen) from there? Shouldn’t that time be the same as the time on your home screen or Apple Watch?


----------



## montreid

LeiaOfAlderaan said:


> I’ve read this tip from many people (or they say they watch the second hand on an Apple Watch, etc). Why wouldn’t you just keep your phone on the DL app and look at the time on your phone (top of the screen) from there? Shouldn’t that time be the same as the time on your home screen or Apple Watch?


you don't a second countdown.   that's the problem -- you're guessing on the turn of the minute.

2secs literally can be: 20-40 group spread in the first initial secs.


----------



## Mark_E

Moving again, up to 24! Heading over soon


----------



## LeiaOfAlderaan

montreid said:


> you don't a second countdown.   that's the problem -- you're guessing on the turn of the minute.
> 
> 2secs literally can be: 20-40 group spread in the first initial secs.



But you can see the second it changes to the hour—and it seems like toggling between the home screen and the app would waste even more time? Anyways just wondering if I was missing something.


----------



## JWelch62

LeiaOfAlderaan said:


> I’ve read this tip from many people (or they say they watch the second hand on an Apple Watch, etc). Why wouldn’t you just keep your phone on the DL app and look at the time on your phone (top of the screen) from there? Shouldn’t that time be the same as the time on your home screen or Apple Watch?


Possibly. But this worked for me 3 out of 3 tries. Just my experience


----------



## NorthernCalMom

LeiaOfAlderaan said:


> But you can see the second it changes to the hour—and it seems like toggling between the home screen and the app would waste even more time? Anyways just wondering if I was missing something.


That’s actually what I did in my at home practice (ancient iPhone here...5s with AT&T service ). I guess this only works for those of us whose app refreshes in the background, while we wait for the clock to strike, do to speak. If you have one of the android phones that need the app restarted at just the right moment BEFORE the BG distribution starts, then maybe being able to tell the exact time down to the second can come in handy.

In my case, with an app that does refresh, even when run in the background, the main question is not if I can tell to the last second what time it is but if my venerable granddaddy of iPhones can hold its own against all those that are much newer, fancier, and slicker within those first 30 to 50 secs (after the clock has jumped to 8:00 or 9:00 or whatever the official opening time is that day) when it comes to getting enough signal strength for doing its thing (so exact knowledge of the time down to the second or lack thereof is not MY bottleneck and toggling between the Disney app & a virtual clock may in my case hurt rather than help).

So, I guess the answer is “it depends.”


----------



## katyringo

Do you all know that the clock app icon on iPhones actually display the seconds. Like the icon is a real clock.

im playing at home, but at home I’ve been able to click on the red BG button many times before getting back up notification.

I close all other apps and open only disneyland app. I then go back to home home screen and watch the seconds had tick down on the clock icon then right before it hits time I use the double click my home button to re open my disneyland app and then click on find out more.


----------



## Aurora0427

SOCALMouseMommy said:


> 21!



Yes!!!!! I came to this thread just to see if you got a boarding group. We were lucky #21 as well on Sunday! So happy for you!


----------



## DLgal

pokee99 said:


> Like I've said before, this BG solution is NOT sustainable.  They need a solution that is going to alleviate the morning entry chaos. It's going to get worse before it gets better.
> 
> I think they're trying to approach the issue as "what is fair? what would make guests happier?", because of all the complaints. But really, if they can't consistently start opening the turnstiles earlier each morning, they need better crowd managment processes in place at the main entrance.



I agree with you. In fact, they should open the gates no less than an hour before official park open, AND THEN ENCOURAGE guests to leave the park and spread out, for a better chance. A large number of people in the park at opening are leaving immediately anyway. The exodus is kind of amusing.


----------



## DLgal

Ferrellcon said:


> Apparently Disney is trying to find out what guests prefer. There are surveys going around asking if they prefer standby or the virtual queue.



I got a question like this right after GE opened.


----------



## senorhiney

I can't figure out how to get my android to show the seconds on the clock display without having a secondary clock app open. But honestly, the times I've played at home I have been watching the clock roll to 8:59 or 7:59 and just counted 1 Mississippi 2 Mississippi and so on until I'm about 10 seconds away and then everyone in the group then knows it is super close and has their trigger finger ready. If I can figure out how to display it on the default clock at the top of my screen then cool but I don't think it's going to matter much.


----------



## LeiaOfAlderaan

NorthernCalMom said:


> In my case, with an app that does refresh, even when run in the background, the main question is not if I can tell to the last second what time it is but if my venerable granddaddy of iPhones can hold its own against all those that are much newer, fancier, and slicker within those first 30 to 50 secs (after the clock has jumped to 8:00 or 9:00 or whatever the official opening time is that day) when it comes to getting enough signal strength for doing its thing (so exact knowledge of the time down to the second or lack thereof is not MY bottleneck and toggling between the Disney app & a virtual clock may in my case hurt rather than help).



This is almost my exact situation! DH and I both have 6s iPhones, DD has SE which is basically a 6s and we are on AT&T. (Well DD is actually on Simple mobile, haven’t even heard of a single person using that for a BG so she will try being near a Wifi hotspot.) I am also mostly concerned about my phone being slow or malfunctioning. 

I think I finally understand about watching the second hand—it seems some phones don’t refresh automatically so you have to launch right when the clock hits the hour. Playing from home it looks like I just need the app open and then I can click through at the appropriate time. Of course this is on home WiFi so who knows what will happen in the parks.  ¯\_(ツ)_/¯


----------



## Aurora0427

I used a clock app on my phone and got the BG from my dad’s phone. At 7:59:59 I launched the app and clicked find out more and went through the process. BG 21 and it was fast. I definitely think using the clock app helped.


----------



## Tinkerbell19672

NorthernCalMom said:


> Why do you think there would be less people coming in the morning? What I would instead expect is the same amount of people coming in the morning and competing for less BG-spots, hence more heartbroken, disappointed people. There’s actually a thread specifically dedicated to brainstorming and speculation about this:
> https://www.disboards.com/threads/boarding-group-issues-resolution-thoughts.3787676/



I think less people would show up at opening knowing they could try later in the day. Thanks for the link I’ll check it out


----------



## montreid

We never relaunch my app within 10minutes of drop in fear of disney server doing weird things.

Using:  Primary Phone:  Samsung Note 10+;      2ndary Phone:  Samsung S10;     3rd backup:  ipad mini4 (slowest performer and rarely keeps up)
Party group other members:  iphone 11Max x2;  iphone 8

Prep: Morning routine:
Get to gates
Find fast ping and download times with open signal
hard restart phone
launch time.gov to verify phone timing
10min prior:  relaunch Disney app - double check tickets refreshed and populated
5min prior;  close out Bluetooth;  wifi; close out all apps except time.gov and disney app
30sec prior watch time.gov to
10sec;  start my head metronome counting
5sec; switch to app
0sec;  find out more > Join Boarding Group  > (if not red) hit Mystatus and  Join a Boarding Group ==== had to do the last step once to date.  


--worked for me 3of3 times on site with groups 1-26.    Sticking with it until it fails


----------



## VandVsmama

montreid said:


> We never relaunch my app within 10minutes of drop in fear of disney server doing weird things.
> 
> Prep:
> Morning routine:
> Get to gates
> Find fast ping and download times with open signal
> hard restart phone
> launch time.gov to verify phone timing
> 10min prior:  relaunch Disney app - double check tickets refreshed and populated
> 5min prior;  close out Bluetooth;  wifi; close out all apps except time.gov and disney app
> 30min prior watch time.gov to
> 10sec;  start my head metronome counting
> 5sec; switch to app
> 0sec;  find out more
> 
> --worked for me 3of3 times on site with groups 1-26.    Sticking with it until it fails


THANK YOU!!


----------



## Etonduf

Tinkerbell19672 said:


> I think less people would show up at opening knowing they could try later in the day. Thanks for the link I’ll check it out



I do think many people might see this another way: if I show up early, I get two cracks at getting a BG.

But it would be nice for people who can't or won't get to the park at opening time.


----------



## Mark_E

Tomorrow should be an interesting one. An anomaly with the park opening at 8am midweek, I’m guessing due to the DL after dark event in the evening.


----------



## dina444444

Mark_E said:


> Tomorrow should be an interesting one. An anomaly with the park opening at 8am midweek, I’m guessing due to the DL after dark event in the evening.


Yes, and the park is closing at 8pm for the 9pm after hours events. ROTR will not be open for the party.


----------



## bcla

senorhiney said:


> Probably off topic but what are the best phone charging sticks out there for the money?



There's one from Walmart that's less than $10.  It's pretty simple - just a couple of batteries in parallel and a simple charging circuit.  If it's lost or stops working it's just $10 for another one.

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Onn-Portable-Battery-Power-Bank-6700-Mah-Black/945288001
It doesn't look fancy and I had to fix mine up (long story) but I think mine just had an assembly problem where a wire's connection to the battery broke after I dropped it.


----------



## EmJ

bcla said:


> There's one from Walmart that's less than $10.  It's pretty simple - just a couple of batteries in parallel and a simple charging circuit.  If it's lost or stops working it's just $10 for another one.
> 
> https://www.walmart.com/ip/Onn-Portable-Battery-Power-Bank-6700-Mah-Black/945288001
> It doesn't look fancy and I had to fix mine up (long story) but I think mine just had an assembly problem where a wire's connection to the battery broke after I dropped it.


I got this one from Amazon. So far so good, and it can charge my iPhone 7 two and a half times before it has to be recharged. https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B01CU1EC6Y?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_title


----------



## Mathmagicland

EmJ said:


> I got this one from Amazon. So far so good, and it can charge my iPhone 7 two and a half times before it has to be recharged. https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B01CU1EC6Y?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_title


I also have this same one from Amazon, get the same 2.5 charges for an iPhone X.  Another plus for me is it will charge an iPad Mini for about half a full charge, which some portable chargers cannot do.


----------



## Etonduf

EmJ said:


> I got this one from Amazon. So far so good, and it can charge my iPhone 7 two and a half times before it has to be recharged. https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B01CU1EC6Y?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_title





Mathmagicland said:


> I also have this same one from Amazon, get the same 2.5 charges for an iPhone X.  Another plus for me is it will charge an iPad Mini for about half a full charge, which some portable chargers cannot do.



We had this one, too--or perhaps the previous generation of this model? (it was only 3300 mAh I think).  It crapped out on us earlier that we'd have liked, but it got heavy use. I'd consider it again, but we ended up getting a cheaper brand this time around.


----------



## JadeDarkstar

we use fule rods


----------



## senorhiney

We snagged an Insignia with two ports so we can charge two devices at once. It says 3 times before needing recharging. 8600 Mah. $19 guess we'll see.


----------



## Blue32

I wonder what kind of boarding groups people are getting by being in the hub or on Main Street. Is being far away from other guests extremely crucial? I’m just so used to enjoying that position way up in the hub at rope drop for our first attraction. But I guess for many people this is the most importance. Securing that BG.


----------



## Lewdannie

Don't want to jinx it.... but 83 before 6pm!


----------



## ironband74

Blue32 said:


> I wonder what kind of boarding groups people are getting by being in the hub or on Main Street. Is being far away from other guests extremely crucial? I’m just so used to enjoying that position way up in the hub at rope drop for our first attraction. But I guess for many people this is the most importance. Securing that BG.


They've been dropping the rope a little before park open (10-15 minutes)...so depending on where your first attraction is, if there is good service there, you can position yourself to grab a BG and then ride.


----------



## ironband74

Lewdannie said:


> Don't want to jinx it.... but 83 before 6pm!


Not stellar, but considering that they didn't really get started in earnest until just before noon, the day has gone pretty well.


----------



## IsleofDisney

ironband74 said:


> On the one hand, I get that everybody thinks they have to record everything.
> 
> On the other, aren't there enough freakin' videos of this thing on youtube by now? When I eventually go...all my stuff will be in my pockets/backpack.



I have to say when you go I want to go to!! And I'm going to record you as you're experiencing ROTR for the first time.


----------



## IsleofDisney

senorhiney said:


> I can't figure out how to get my android to show the seconds on the clock display without having a secondary clock app open. But honestly, the times I've played at home I have been watching the clock roll to 8:59 or 7:59 and just counted 1 Mississippi 2 Mississippi and so on until I'm about 10 seconds away and then everyone in the group then knows it is super close and has their trigger finger ready. If I can figure out how to display it on the default clock at the top of my screen then cool but I don't think it's going to matter much.



I've got an Android phone, OnePlus 7pro. I was able to switch the clock to show the seconds by the following: 
Settings - Display - Status Bar (I had to scroll to the bottom) - Time - Select Show hours, minutes, and seconds 

Hope that helps!


----------



## IsleofDisney

IsleofDisney said:


> I have to say when you go I want to go to!! And I'm going to record you as you're experiencing ROTR for the first time.



Okay that may have come off as creepy but @ironband74 should be nominated as the play by play reporter for a ROTR BG Olympics if there ever was one. Along with @EmJ  & @CastAStone, they would make quite a team. Imagine the back stories they can share of folks from all walks of life vying for their chance at getting a Boarding Group? 

I really enjoy reading the light-hearted comments from the forum members when the stress of getting a BG can be intense, even for just us observers let alone the ones at DLR trying.


----------



## CastAStone

IsleofDisney said:


> Okay that may have come off as creepy but @ironband74 should be nominated as the play by play reporter for a ROTR BG Olympics if there ever was one. Along with @EmJ  & @CastAStone, they would make quite a team. Imagine the back stories they can share of folks from all walks of life vying for their chance at getting a Boarding Group?
> 
> I really enjoy reading the light-hearted comments from the forum members when the stress of getting a BG can be intense, even for just us observers let alone the ones at DLR trying.


I actually still haven't been for ROTR! I went to SWGE a few months ago but I'll be at DLP in May to attempt this madness myself! I would definitely be better suited as the color guy than the play by plan announcer!


----------



## EmJ

CastAStone said:


> I actually still haven't been for ROTR! I went to SWGE a few months ago but I'll be at DLP in May to attempt this madness myself! I would definitely be better suited as the color guy than the play by plan announcer!


March here!  I'll be the one with my Excel data sheet folded up in my back pocket and protected from Splash Mountain with a Ziploc.


----------



## VandVsmama

Between now and 3/8, I'm pretty much going to be stalking this thread every day.  Every time I read a post where somebody says they got a boarding group that's less than 85, inside my head, I think, "YES!" and I'm so excited for them.    It's like having a friend win the lottery or something.  Haha!


----------



## Peachy0118

I'm just crossing all my fingers and toes that it will be calmed down a little bit by the time we are there in April. Even a 5 minute window would be less stressful than this matter-of-seconds situation (especially since there are only 2 of us and I will be relying solely on wifi...)


----------



## VandVsmama

On the way home from school today, I told my kids that some Saturday or Sunday morning between now and March, we are going to do a practice run on their phones at the DL park opening time.  LOL


----------



## NorthernCalMom

> People are going insane! The fact that this thread is so long and there's graphs and spreadsheets analyzing entry data is MADNESS!!!


You’re dealing with the Star Wars fan community. Being obsessed with all things Star Wars to the point of MADNESS (!!!) and being willing to, if necessary, camp out for it is kind of our default setting...


----------



## LisL

We are on our way home from 4 days at DL/DCA. We had a great trip and thanks to the advice here (I’ve been lurking since before the ride opened) we got low boarding groups (for 8-9 people) all 3 days we tried.

Day 1, Sat: used MM got in by 7:00, tested ping time around the park (DH swears this is the important #). Best ping time by Mad Hatters. BIL got BG 25 (using an iPhone 11 on Verizon). I was by IASW, much lower ping times, and no one around me reported a BG less than 100.
Day 2, Sun: arrived about 7:20, Lines were to DCA and curving back, a total mess. Gates opened at 7:34 and we assumed we wouldn’t make it. Got in at 7:58, stood near entrance w/ tons of people. DH got boarding group 15 (using iPhone X on AT&T).
Day 3, Mon: can’t remember arrival/gate opening times, but it was much better than Sun. Waited for rope drop in hub, good ping times so stayed there. DS ended up getting BG 4 from the line for Peter Pan (using iPhone 8 on AT&T) 

A few other notes: We were worried as 3 of the 4 phones trying to get a BG each day are AT&T, but we got it with an AT&T phone 2/3 days. 
We don’t have apple watches and didn’t bother w/ a second timer. When the clock switched to 8:59 we all just started counting seconds in our heads so we’d be close and watched closely for the clock to change to 8:00. 
Our group changed daily, so we made my account the primary (scanned all tix into it 1st, it appears they can’t be deleted from here). Then scanned them all into a separate account for DH where they could be deleted. Each morning in line we’d add/subtract people on his account and use it to get the BG.
Lastly, we all LOVED the ride. But I think it’a interesting that my DSs 10 & 13 both prefer MFSR maybe because it’s interactive.


----------



## Varty Yo

Ok here is my expierience as a canadian for all those canucks heading down.

Day 1 Mon: 4yr old and 2yr old were slow rolling so didnt get to park till 9:10 so lucked out
Day 2 Tues: Arrived early and were inside park at 8:40 so had 20 mins to kill so we visited some characters. 8:55 me and the 4 yr old went up top of the train station boaring area and had eyes glued on the time. Had App open then when 9:00 hit hit find out more and was red so blasted through asap and ended up with BG 30. Ride was slow moving i could tell we didnt get called till 12:30.

The ride was amazing and worth every once of stress or nervous excitement leading up to the day!!!

My canadian provider uses AT&T for roaming down south here and i used my Android note 10


----------



## CastAStone

EmJ said:


> March here!  I'll be the one with my Excel data sheet folded up in my back pocket and protected from Splash Mountain with a Ziploc.


Same here but instead of an Excel spreadsheet it's an insulin pump!


----------



## dina444444

Up to 112. I’m guessing only a few more groups if any will be called tonight with a 9pm closing.


----------



## Peachy0118

Varty Yo said:


> Ok here is my expierience as a canadian for all those canucks heading down.
> 
> Day 1 Mon: 4yr old and 2yr old were slow rolling so didnt get to park till 9:10 so lucked out
> Day 2 Tues: Arrived early and were inside park at 8:40 so had 20 mins to kill so we visited some characters. 8:55 me and the 4 yr old went up top of the train station boaring area and had eyes glued on the time. Had App open then when 9:00 hit hit find out more and was red so blasted through asap and ended up with BG 30. Ride was slow moving i could tell we didnt get called till 12:30.
> 
> The ride was amazing and worth every once of stress or nervous excitement leading up to the day!!!
> 
> My canadian provider uses AT&T for roaming down south here and i used my Android note 10



Super helpful!!! Thank you so much!


----------



## senorhiney

IsleofDisney said:


> I've got an Android phone, OnePlus 7pro. I was able to switch the clock to show the seconds by the following:
> Settings - Display - Status Bar (I had to scroll to the bottom) - Time - Select Show hours, minutes, and seconds
> 
> Hope that helps!


Nah mine doesn't do that, but thanks for the effort. I have tested my clock app and I really don't think it's going to be an issue to have my trigger finger ready when the official clock rolls over, but I was curious if I could change my clock settings, but I am convinced I can't. LG Stylo 4.


----------



## ten6mom

Another "ticket link" question if you'd all indulge me, please...

My son is going with a friend in a couple of weeks.  He (and the rest of his party) will be getting the DL app to each have on their phones.  I already have the DL app on my phone and I have an AP so of course my ticket is always on my phone.

I am going to purchase a parkhopper for him, through UCT.  I've only done that once before (for my other son) but I THOUGHT that it automatically put the PH on my DL app.

If it happens this way again, (automatically putting the PH on my app), when I go to add that PH to HIS phone/app, will mine be there on his phone?  I don't want my extraneous ticket to mess them up.


----------



## senorhiney

LisL said:


> We are on our way home from 4 days at DL/DCA. We had a great trip and thanks to the advice here (I’ve been lurking since before the ride opened) we got low boarding groups (for 8-9 people) all 3 days we tried.
> 
> Day 1, Sat: used MM got in by 7:00, *tested ping time around the park (DH swears this is the important #). Best ping time by Mad Hatters.* BIL got BG 25 (using an iPhone 11 on Verizon). I was by IASW, much lower ping times, and no one around me reported a BG less than 100.
> Day 2, Sun: arrived about 7:20, Lines were to DCA and curving back, a total mess. Gates opened at 7:34 and we assumed we wouldn’t make it. Got in at 7:58, stood near entrance w/ tons of people. DH got boarding group 15 (using iPhone X on AT&T).
> Day 3, Mon: can’t remember arrival/gate opening times, but it was much better than Sun. Waited for rope drop in hub, good ping times so stayed there. DS ended up getting BG 4 from the line for Peter Pan (using iPhone 8 on AT&T)
> 
> A few other notes: We were worried as 3 of the 4 phones trying to get a BG each day are AT&T, but we got it with an AT&T phone 2/3 days.
> We don’t have apple watches and didn’t bother w/ a second timer. When the clock switched to 8:59 we all just started counting seconds in our heads so we’d be close and watched closely for the clock to change to 8:00.
> Our group changed daily, so we made my account the primary (scanned all tix into it 1st, it appears they can’t be deleted from here). Then scanned them all into a separate account for DH where they could be deleted. Each morning in line we’d add/subtract people on his account and use it to get the BG.
> Lastly, we all LOVED the ride. But I think it’a interesting that my DSs 10 & 13 both prefer MFSR maybe because it’s interactive.


What kind of values were you getting? I'm getting 39ms on my couch in Oregon.


----------



## Aurora0427

NorthernCalMom said:


> You’re dealing with the Star Wars fan community. Being obsessed with all things Star Wars to the point of MADNESS (!!!) and being willing to, if necessary, camp out for it is kind of our default setting...



Yeah considering that there are old blogs and message boards that went on for hundreds of pages debating and freaking out when George Lucas inserted Hayden Christensen in for Sebastian Shaw for Anakin’s Force ghost at the end of Jedi; I am not surprised at all there are charts/graphs and data on ROTR!


----------



## ironband74

Looks like 115 is the likely endpoint for the night.  105 groups is not bad considering the late start. Seems like once they got it running, it ran well.  I think that despite the rough morning, 8 hours of continuous run time is a good sign.


----------



## ironband74

IsleofDisney said:


> I have to say when you go I want to go to!! And I'm going to record you as you're experiencing ROTR for the first time.


And you'll drop the phone and break the ride!


----------



## EmJ

ironband74 said:


> Looks like 115 is the likely endpoint for the night.  105 groups is not bad considering the late start. Seems like once they got it running, it ran well.  I think that despite the rough morning, 8 hours of continuous run time is a good sign.


Not a bad day at all. The late start slowed them down, but the good performance through the day meant they were able to end (barely) above the trend line.


----------



## SOCALMouseMommy

I wanted to report back on boarding group return times conflicting with reservations times. My boarding group was called when we were in the Droid Depot building a droid. We had a reservation for Oga’s Cantina immediately following our droid build. I didn’t want to delay boarding the ride in case it went down so I basically blew off our Oga’s reservation and went to the ride. Afterward, we went to Oga’s and hopped in line. This was an hour after our reservation time. As I started to explain that we were late due to riding ROTR, the CM stopped me and said absolutely don’t worry, we know and it’s no problem whatsoever. Oga’s line moved fast and a kind CM even moved us from our original standing table (above my son’s head) to the low counter at the bar in front of DJ R3X. It was perfect!


----------



## Aurora0427

SOCALMouseMommy said:


> I wanted to report back on boarding group return times conflicting with reservations times. My boarding group was called when we were in the Droid Depot building a droid. We had a reservation for Oga’s Cantina immediately following our droid build. I didn’t want to delay boarding the ride in case it went down so I basically blew off our Oga’s reservation and went to the ride. Afterward, we went to Oga’s and hopped in line. This was an hour after our reservation time. As I started to explain that we were late due to riding ROTR, the CM stopped me and said absolutely don’t worry, we know and it’s no problem whatsoever. Oga’s line moved fast and a kind CM even moved us from our original standing table (above my son’s head) to the low counter at the bar in front of DJ R3X. It was perfect!



I’m so glad you guys had such a magical day!!


----------



## ironband74

IsleofDisney said:


> Okay that may have come off as creepy but @ironband74 should be nominated as the play by play reporter for a ROTR BG Olympics if there ever was one. Along with @EmJ  & @CastAStone, they would make quite a team. Imagine the back stories they can share of folks from all walks of life vying for their chance at getting a Boarding Group?
> 
> I really enjoy reading the light-hearted comments from the forum members when the stress of getting a BG can be intense, even for just us observers let alone the ones at DLR trying.




It's quite the crowd here at the Disneyland Resort today.  Excitement and anticipation hang in the air, thicker than the morning fog which should burn off before mid-morning.  The clock turns 7:59 and an expectant hush falls over the fans as they form clusters around their friends and loved ones.  Fingers are poised and ready, eyes are fixed on the second hands of watches.  I can hear some of them reviewing their strategies, ensuring that everyone is operating from the same playbook.  Moments from now we expect shouts of joy to mix with the expressions of the crestfallen.  30 seconds to go...who will emerge victorious?  Who will go home?  And who will be forced to endure the horror of a day at the happiest place on earth without enjoying the most desired attraction in the universe?  We're moments away now...10...9...8...Look at that concentration!  5...4...3...

*CUT TO COMMERCIAL*


----------



## amfunsize

IsleofDisney said:


> I've got an Android phone, OnePlus 7pro. I was able to switch the clock to show the seconds by the following:
> Settings - Display - Status Bar (I had to scroll to the bottom) - Time - Select Show hours, minutes, and seconds
> 
> Hope that helps!




Awsome, thank you!


----------



## SOCALMouseMommy

Aurora0427 said:


> I’m so glad you guys had such a magical day!!


It truly was! Everything fell into place today, very magical and so much fun!


----------



## theluckyrabbit

montreid said:


> Not official policy, but a data point, but we got our sons return time for rotr at the dumbo location.   While awaiting a return time for another ride at the HH site, a family ahead of us got a return time for their BGF there.   So it appears to be okay for the CM to do this.


Thank you. It is helpful to know that once a BG has been obtained, a DAS return time can be acquired from any Information Kiosk.


----------



## theluckyrabbit

SOCALMouseMommy said:


> 21!


Way to go! Congratulations and glad to hear that you and the birthday boy (hooray for getting better! Hope his little brother gets better soon!) had a super fun day! 



DLRExpert said:


> ... Got boarding group 23...


Congratulations!



VandVsmama said:


> Disneyland just called me regarding my question about ROTR and DAS access. They said everyone including the disabled guest needs to get a ROTR boarding group. And then when your boarding group is called, see a Guest Relations CM in the land (or anywhere at one of the kiosks in DL) to get it linked to the DAS pass. And THEN you go to get on the ride.


Thank you for reporting back! Whichever line your group chooses to use upon checking in for your return time (regular or FP/DAS), please report back on any details (non-spoiler, of course) that you think might be noteworthy for DAS users. TIA!



pokee99 said:


> ... The fact that this thread is so long and there's graphs and spreadsheets analyzing entry data is MADNESS!!!


You say that like it's a bad thing! They're really nice graphs and spreadsheets. And this thread may be long, but it's very friendly!


----------



## disneyholic family

senorhiney said:


> Probably off topic but what are the best phone charging sticks out there for the money?



i use the POWERADD EnergyCell brand.  Absolutely fantastic.
highly recommended.
you can buy them on amazon.

.


----------



## theluckyrabbit

ironband74 said:


> It's quite the crowd here at the Disneyland Resort today.  Excitement and anticipation hang in the air, thicker than the morning fog which should burn off before mid-morning.  The clock turns 7:59 and an expectant hush falls over the fans as they form clusters around their friends and loved ones.  Fingers are poised and ready, eyes are fixed on the second hands of watches.  I can hear some of them reviewing their strategies, ensuring that everyone is operating from the same playbook.  Moments from now we expect shouts of joy to mix with the expressions of the crestfallen.  30 seconds to go...who will emerge victorious?  Who will go home?  And who will be forced to endure the horror of a day at the happiest place on earth without enjoying the most desired attraction in the universe?  We're moments away now...10...9...8...Look at that concentration!  5...4...3...
> 
> *CUT TO COMMERCIAL*


LOL. Does it totally date me that I hear Jim McKay in my head, "... the THRILL of VICTORY and the AGONY of DEFEAT!" All at the happiest place on earth... At least no one has to careen off the top of the Main Street train station while skiing.


----------



## Peachy0118

Aurora0427 said:


> Yeah considering that there are old blogs and message boards that went on for hundreds of pages debating and freaking out when George Lucas inserted Hayden Christensen in for Sebastian Shaw for Anakin’s Force ghost at the end of Jedi; I am not surprised at all there are charts/graphs and data on ROTR!



 well sure... but to be fair, the validity of Anakin's force ghost at the end of Jedi doesn't make sense in context to either plot or character...

Okay, I see your point.


----------



## aebeauregard

Leaving this morning. We had great luck. All on AT&T with iPhones.

Sunday 26th got BG 37 standing right outside the tunnel that goes under the train near entrance.

Monday 27th husband got BG 7 off in a corner outside of adventureland.

Tuesday 28th got BG 14 on a bench near the castle.

Tuesday the ride broke when we were in line but were given a return FP and cameback later to ride.

Sunday was the only stressful day. We were there 35 mins before park open and barely got through the gates. Tons of people didn’t make it through in time who were lined up early.


----------



## ironband74

Should be an interesting morning.  Wednesdays are traditionally light, and today we have an 8AM opening and 8PM closing due to the gnarly and totally rad 80's night.  Wish I were there, it would be awesome to the max!  (Yeah, I know that ROTR isn't running during the ticketed events).

Any recon from the esplanade?


----------



## montreid

theluckyrabbit said:


> Thank you for reporting back! Whichever line your group chooses to use upon checking in for your return time (regular or FP/DAS), please report back on any details (non-spoiler, of course) that you think might be noteworthy for DAS users. TIA!


We had the fortune to get on the ride at opening and chose to go the regular line and forgo the DAS FP that we've used in the past.

The line snakes quite a long time as designed to hold 3+ hours of wait.  You pass by quite a lot of design props and features that add to the experience of being at a rebel base.  The amount of attention to detail is phenomenal and imagineers did an insane job on this.  The FP lane simply takes to the merge point just before the experience really starts.

You won't miss anything to take away from the experience compared to the FP line.  Think of it like Manias FP vs standby.  Cool stuff the adds but not taking away if missed.

So right now FP will have little wait time before 'loading' unless breakdown occurs.


----------



## Mark_E

Gates are open, lines almost back to Cali Adventure, but does seem slightly calmer than yesterday.


----------



## Skyegirl1999

ironband74 said:


> Should be an interesting morning.  Wednesdays are traditionally light, and today we have an 8AM opening and 8PM closing due to the gnarly and totally rad 80's night.  Wish I were there, it would be awesome to the max!  (Yeah, I know that ROTR isn't running during the ticketed events).
> 
> Any recon from the esplanade?


8am on a Wednesday in January... on a short park day... I wonder if BGs will finally outlast a minute?  I could see there being less than 7-8000 people in the park when it opened?

ETA: Oh, but they’re sure to be giving out less BGs, so less people will fill them.  So probably not.  This is why I shouldn’t post before coffee...


----------



## Skyegirl1999

Mark_E said:


> Gates are open, lines almost back to Cali Adventure, but does seem slightly calmer than yesterday.


Did the gates just open when you said that, so a little after 7:30?  I’m curious if there are enough people physically present to fill BGs.


----------



## ironband74

Skyegirl1999 said:


> 8am on a Wednesday in January... on a short park day... I wonder if BGs will finally outlast a minute?  I could see there being less than 7-8000 people in the park when it opened?


I wasn't going to be the one to say it...But if there is a day where they might last two minutes...this is probably it.


----------



## ironband74

NOPE.  8:01:20 flipped to Backups


----------



## montreid

ironband74 said:


> NOPE.  8:01:20 flipped to Backups


One of the 'longer' days though.  Hopefully no early down time and punch through solid 10hours of boarding.    What's interesting over in WDW the regular groups are lasting short :02 still but backups for 1:00+ hours lately.


----------



## B3rlingirl

ironband74 said:


> NOPE.  8:01:20 flipped to Backups


Weird... I still didn’t get a backup message and the “opening” screen where you press the button didn’t change...
Edit: I got the message after I restarted the app...


----------



## MommyLove

Yep, playing along from home, got the orange button at 8:00, and by 8:01 I got the backup BG message.


----------



## SOCALMouseMommy

Seemed like at least two minutes for regular boarding groups just from playing at home. Backups still available at 8:05.


----------



## SOCALMouseMommy

ironband74 said:


> NOPE.  8:01:20 flipped to Backups


Must have been a lag for me on my app...


----------



## ironband74

montreid said:


> One of the 'longer' days though.  Hopefully no early down time and punch through solid 10hours of boarding.    What's interesting over in WDW the regular groups are lasting short :02 still but backups for 1:00+ hours lately.



Last Wednesday backups lasted a long time, like 45 minutes.  We'll see if today is similar.


----------



## montreid

ironband74 said:


> Last Wednesday backups lasted a long time, like 45 minutes.  We'll see if today is similar.


Edit  Oops-  NM -- was on the WDW app!  lol.


----------



## NorthernCalMom

Backups still available as of 8:59. Wait time is 25 mins for MFSR is 20 mins for Peter Pan! 
Looks as if those of you in the parks today get to enjoy a quiet, relaxed morning to make up for any BG drop anxiety you may have experienced.


----------



## Skyegirl1999

ironband74 said:


> NOPE.  8:01:20 flipped to Backups


So... honestly, I don’t see how BGs are going to last any longer unless they seriously up capacity.  Someone I follow on IG posted a picture of the Esplanade this morning, and it really didn’t look too crazy to me... so if that’s the volume of people that fill BGs... when is that not going to happen?  Hmmm...


----------



## VandVsmama

montreid said:


> We never relaunch my app within 10minutes of drop in fear of disney server doing weird things.
> 
> Using:  Primary Phone:  Samsung Note 10+;      2ndary Phone:  Samsung S10;     3rd backup:  ipad mini4 (slowest performer and rarely keeps up)
> Party group other members:  iphone 11Max x2;  iphone 8
> 
> Prep: Morning routine:
> Get to gates
> Find fast ping and download times with open signal
> hard restart phone
> launch time.gov to verify phone timing
> 10min prior:  relaunch Disney app - double check tickets refreshed and populated
> 5min prior;  close out Bluetooth;  wifi; close out all apps except time.gov and disney app
> 30sec prior watch time.gov to
> 10sec;  start my head metronome counting
> 5sec; switch to app
> 0sec;  find out more > Join Boarding Group  > (if not red) hit Mystatus and  Join a Boarding Group ==== had to do the last step once to date.
> 
> 
> --worked for me 3of3 times on site with groups 1-26.    Sticking with it until it fails



I played from home this morning as a practice run and the above method worked.  After I clicked "Find Out More," this screen showed up:



Then I clicked on the red "Join Boarding Group" button and this screen showed up:




I'm at home obviously (in Arizona, not at the parks...that's why it shows 9:00 instead of 8:00 am).  So for fun, I clicked the back button and it showed this:



Which might lead one to think "OMG! All of the boarding group are gone!"  But I clicked on My Status and this screen showed up:


----------



## senorhiney

Still red still giving away backup groups.


----------



## njchris

Do people give up and not bother with trying for a backup BG? Since they seem to last longer, it seems some people don't bother.


----------



## NorthernCalMom

njchris said:


> Do people give up and not bother with trying for a backup BG? Since they seem to last longer, it seems some people don't bother.


I figure it’s simply that a midweek non-early admission day doesn’t have as many people in the park at opening as an early admission and/or weekend day. Add to it that they opened an hour early due to an evening event, which may have thrown some people for a loop. Yesterday (an early admission day w/ a 9am opening) both regular & backup BG were gone almost immediately, so I doubt that interest has been waning this quickly, from one day to the next.


----------



## montreid

Early surge for BG drop....just like rope drop.  Then trickles in for the others.   Look at WDW.  Despite a 700AM opening, regular BG still out very quickly and then backups lasting quite a long time.

I can see them stopping the early starts there soon and return to regular programming....until mmrr opens


----------



## Mark_E

Got group 14 today! Going solo today so not sure if that had anything to do with it


----------



## Skyegirl1999

njchris said:


> Do people give up and not bother with trying for a backup BG? Since they seem to last longer, it seems some people don't bother.


Like last Wednesday, I think there just aren’t enough people in the park to fill the backups.

I expect that this would be the case on most Wednesdays until we hit Spring Break.  There’s a reason that Wednesday morning is my very favorite time to visit Disneyland.


----------



## DLgal

Skyegirl1999 said:


> Like last Wednesday, I think there just aren’t enough people in the park to fill the backups.
> 
> I expect that this would be the case on most Wednesdays until we hit Spring Break.  There’s a reason that Wednesday morning is my very favorite time to visit Disneyland.



Wednesdays are really the best. My high schooler has a random minimum day on Wednesday the 26th of February and I am seriously considering letting him and his brother play hooky from school so we can try for a BG if we strike out again on Monday the 3rd. Am I a bad mom?


----------



## Peachy0118

DLgal said:


> Wednesdays are really the best. My high schooler has a random minimum day on Wednesday the 26th of February and I am seriously considering letting him and his brother play hooky from school so we can try for a BG if we strike out again on Monday the 3rd. Am I a bad mom?



As a high school teacher, unless he is in the middle of a mid-term or something, I would sure do that! Just one day...


----------



## Skyegirl1999

DLgal said:


> Wednesdays are really the best. My high schooler has a random minimum day on Wednesday the 26th of February and I am seriously considering letting him and his brother play hooky from school so we can try for a BG if we strike out again on Monday the 3rd. Am I a bad mom?


I am the wrong person to ask; I’m pulling my daughter out after a half day to watch the first “Magic Happens” on the 28th.   We’re already working on a costume based on the concept art sketches from the blog video.

I taught high school for 12 years and if he doesn’t mind missing, I’d definitely go for it.


----------



## DLgal

Peachy0118 said:


> As a high school teacher, unless he is in the middle of a mid-term or something, I would sure do that! Just one day...



Yeah, he missed 3 days a couple weeks ago and literally didn't miss anything of importance. The younger one is in a self contained special education classroom so him missing a day is inconsequential. 

We will see how Feb 3 goes...


----------



## Peachy0118

DLgal said:


> Wednesdays are really the best. My high schooler has a random minimum day on Wednesday the 26th of February and I am seriously considering letting him and his brother play hooky from school so we can try for a BG if we strike out again on Monday the 3rd. Am I a bad mom?



I've had parents pull kids out of school for WAY less reason than that.


----------



## montreid

As far as I'm concerned -- DLR is part of one's education.


----------



## Ferrellcon

They are boarding group 11-12 and the join button is grayed out for me. It lasted a little over an hour today. Wednesday is the day to go for sure.


----------



## Peachy0118

montreid said:


> As far as I'm concerned -- DLR is part of one's education.



Totally agree.


----------



## dina444444

Backups start at 42. Not sure what time they ran out.


----------



## ironband74

They are anticipating a bad day...

They started at group 11. Groups 42 and above are backups.

That's 31 regular groups...


----------



## Peachy0118

ironband74 said:


> They are anticipating a bad day...
> 
> They started at group 11. Groups 42 and above are backups.
> 
> That's 31 regular groups...



Can someone please explain to me what might make them anticipate such a low day today? I mean, I get that the park closes a bit early for the event tonight, but 42 seems REALLY low. Perhaps a planned downtime?


----------



## dina444444

Peachy0118 said:


> Can someone please explain to me what might make them anticipate such a low day today? I mean, I get that the park closes a bit early for the event tonight, but 42 seems REALLY low. Perhaps a planned downtime?


There is the after hours event tonight.


----------



## VandVsmama

ironband74 said:


> They are anticipating a bad day...
> 
> They started at group 11. Groups 42 and above are backups.
> 
> That's 31 regular groups...



This explains, then, why the regular boarding groups went fairly quickly.


----------



## Rich M

montreid said:


> As far as I'm concerned -- DLR is part of one's education.



Amen.  I would take a half day off of work on a Friday and grab my son and start driving from Nor Cal.  He didn't know we were going half the time.  I would just be messing around on Priceline to see if I could get a cheap hotel and when I did then we would go.  I always took him out of school for every Disney World trip we went on and I have no regrets.  Its live experience at its finest


----------



## vickiea

Peachy0118 said:


> Can someone please explain to me what might make them anticipate such a low day today? I mean, I get that the park closes a bit early for the event tonight, but 42 seems REALLY low. Perhaps a planned downtime?


No idea, but it does explain why main BG's went so quickly on a slower morning.


----------



## mpastor

Hi everyone!

My girlfriend and I are going next Wednesday but we need to do a ticket exchange at the box office. Is this something that can be done in the morning before or would this blow our chances at getting a boarding group? Can it be done online or the night before? Thanks for your help!


----------



## ironband74

Could be a lot of reasons.  Maybe there was a mechanical failure such that the attraction can only operate at half/quarter capacity (but the initial boarding call doesn't seem to bear that out).  Perhaps they are planning to bring it down early to do some major rework.  Or, it is also possible that overnight an issue was found that they thought would take until past noon to get up and running, so they limited RBGs, and then they managed to get it back up faster than expected.  It will be interesting to see what transpires.


----------



## katyringo

Skyegirl1999 said:


> I am the wrong person to ask; I’m pulling my daughter out after a half day to watch the first “Magic Happens” on the 28th.   We’re already working on a costume based on the concept art sketches from the blog video.
> 
> I taught high school for 12 years and if he doesn’t mind missing, I’d definitely go for it.



mmh kids are missing 5 days of school this fall when we go. I’m an educator. I’m not sorry.


----------



## dina444444

mpastor said:


> Hi everyone!
> 
> My girlfriend and I are going next Wednesday but we need to do a ticket exchange at the box office. Is this something that can be done in the morning before or would this blow our chances at getting a boarding group? Can it be done online or the night before? Thanks for your help!


Do you have a barcode e ticket or a different kind of ticket? Usually you can do a ticket exchange the night before. If it’s a barcode e ticket they can do it at the gate that morning and will print your ticket media at the gate.


----------



## CastAStone

Ferrellcon said:


> Wednesday is the day to go for sure.


This is a good general rule for Disneyland in most crowd-related aspects.


----------



## Skyegirl1999

So, the tiny number of BGs today does leave some hope for future Wednesdays.  Maybe they just want plenty of time to clear the ride completely before the party tonight?  And they knew regular park attendance would be low today?  Curious.


----------



## mpastor

dina444444 said:


> Do you have a barcode e ticket or a different kind of ticket? Usually you can do a ticket exchange the night before. If it’s a barcode e ticket they can do it at the gate that morning and will print your ticket media at the gate.



We have paper tickets so we’ll go the night before and try to exchange them. Thank you!


----------



## dina444444

mpastor said:


> We have paper tickets so we’ll go the night before and try to exchange them. Thank you!


Do the paper tickets have a barcode on them? If they do you don’t need to do anything before hand. They will scan the barcode at the turn stiles in the morning and print your ticket at the turn stile.


----------



## SOCALMouseMommy

Does anyone think the regular boarding groups ending at 41 is a mistake? I mean, they’re already on group 31 at 10am.


----------



## bethwc101

SOCALMouseMommy said:


> Does anyone think the regular boarding groups ending at 41 is a mistake? I mean, they’re already on group 31 at 10am.


My thought is there was some issue this morning or late last night that they thought might be able to impact ride operations today. So they set the boarding groups lower in anticipation of being an issue. More of a playing it safe situation that way they weren't dealing with a hoard of upset guests if there was this potential issue.


----------



## Skyegirl1999

SOCALMouseMommy said:


> Does anyone think the regular boarding groups ending at 41 is a mistake? I mean, they’re already on group 31 at 10am.


I have no idea how many backups they gave out, but given how long they lasted, it seems like this could be the day that everyone in the park when it opened actually gets to ride... since it seems that they’re going to hit a lot of the backups if the ride stays up.


----------



## Ferrellcon

bethwc101 said:


> My thought is there was some issue this morning or late last night that they thought might be able to impact ride operations today. So they set the boarding groups lower in anticipation of being an issue. More of a playing it safe situation that way they weren't dealing with a hoard of upset guests if there was this potential issue.


That is a very good guess.  Hopefully everything works out. There are only 10 groups left till they start the backups.


----------



## Tree1147

Question,  Is it true that you must specifically be scanned into Disneyland Park at 8AM to get a boarding pass?   We have park hoppers and plan to be in DCA early for magic morning.  Do we really have to cross over and get into Disneyland just to do the electronic boarding or is it enough to be scanned into DCA with park hoppers?   
Thanks for any input.


----------



## pharmama

Tree1147 said:


> Question,  Is it true that you must specifically be scanned into Disneyland Park at 8AM to get a boarding pass?   We have park hoppers and plan to be in DCA early for magic morning.  Do we really have to cross over and get into Disneyland just to do the electronic boarding or is it enough to be scanned into DCA with park hoppers?
> Thanks for any input.



You must have scanned into DISNEYLAND.  Scan in for DCA does not count, even with park hoppers.


----------



## mpastor

dina444444 said:


> Do the paper tickets have a barcode on them? If they do you don’t need to do anything before hand. They will scan the barcode at the turn stiles in the morning and print your ticket at the turn stile.



Yeah they have a barcode, but they were a gift for a day in December so I thought we would have to change them out for the 5th. We also need to add California Adventure to it also.


----------



## Skyegirl1999

Tree1147 said:


> Question,  Is it true that you must specifically be scanned into Disneyland Park at 8AM to get a boarding pass?   We have park hoppers and plan to be in DCA early for magic morning.  Do we really have to cross over and get into Disneyland just to do the electronic boarding or is it enough to be scanned into DCA with park hoppers?
> Thanks for any input.


You need to have scanned into DL.  You can scan into DL and leave, but the scan has to have happened before the park opens to be eligible for a BG.


----------



## dina444444

mpastor said:


> Yeah they have a barcode, but they were a gift for a day in December so I thought we would have to change them out for the 5th. We also need to add California Adventure to it also.


Then yes you need to go to the ticket window to upgrade them to park hoppers. You can do that the night before.


----------



## montreid

With a 20 group spread already, ride is humming along.   Will be done calling regulars by noon at this clip -- cutoff 42 -- that's a new low 

But with early close tonight -- anticipate a cutoff at ~630pm;   If keeps it up group 80s-90s possible.


----------



## Keacooke

In line now for ROTR.  just broke down.


----------



## SOCALMouseMommy

Tree1147 said:


> Question,  Is it true that you must specifically be scanned into Disneyland Park at 8AM to get a boarding pass?   We have park hoppers and plan to be in DCA early for magic morning.  Do we really have to cross over and get into Disneyland just to do the electronic boarding or is it enough to be scanned into DCA with park hoppers?
> Thanks for any input.


Yes you will have to leave and scan into Disneyland. This process really devalues the early entry to DCA for hotel guests hoping to ride ROTR unfortunately.


----------



## montreid

SOCALMouseMommy said:


> Yes you will have to leave and scan into Disneyland. This process really devalues the early entry to DCA for hotel guests hoping to ride ROTR unfortunately.


And reason why they should adjust the requirements of scanning into ONE of either parks IF you have a hopper.   Apparently the system already is coded to know if you're in DCA and not hopping to DLR and won't let you get a FP via Maxpass (per reports since we've always sported a hopper).

Allowing for BG selection in DCA will not only improve the MM/EHM DCA experience; but also allow for entry into BOTH gates to alleviate the crowding in the esplanade and all the line cutting that shenanigans that happen from folk who don't have good scruples


----------



## disneymomanddad

Edited:  Just saw the answer above.  Interesting and unfortunate that they updated the technology from MaxPass to differentiate between gates.

Sorry if this has been asked and answered.  Brand new member to the DisBoards and I'm not sure if I'm searching properly when I search for this question, but here it is:  I see in the instructions that you need to have scanned into Disneyland park.  Has anyone tried to book a boarding group while scanned into DCA?  I ask because the MaxPass doesn't differentiate between the two parks (i.e., if you have scanned in to DL you can get a RSR fastpass, and likewise as soon as you've scanned into DCA you could get a space mountain fastpass).  We're headed out in March for four days, and we're wondering on the days we have extra morning magic hours in DCA would we be able to get a boarding group for ROTR while in DCA, or would we have to leave DCA and go over to DL before we could get the boarding pass?  Thanks in advance!


----------



## Ferrellcon

Keacooke said:


> In line now for ROTR.  just broke down.


Thats too bad. We were 2 away from reaching the end of regular boarding groups. If it only takes an hour to reboot they will make it to backup groups.


----------



## Skyegirl1999

disneymomanddad said:


> Edited:  Just saw the answer above.  Interesting and unfortunate that they updated the technology from MaxPass to differentiate between gates.
> 
> Sorry if this has been asked and answered.  Brand new member to the DisBoards and I'm not sure if I'm searching properly when I search for this question, but here it is:  I see in the instructions that you need to have scanned into Disneyland park.  Has anyone tried to book a boarding group while scanned into DCA?  I ask because the MaxPass doesn't differentiate between the two parks (i.e., if you have scanned in to DL you can get a RSR fastpass, and likewise as soon as you've scanned into DCA you could get a space mountain fastpass).  We're headed out in March for four days, and we're wondering on the days we have extra morning magic hours in DCA would we be able to get a boarding group for ROTR while in DCA, or would we have to leave DCA and go over to DL before we could get the boarding pass?  Thanks in advance!


This is answered in the first FAQ in the first post in this thread:


dina444444 said:


> You must enter Disneyland Park to join a boarding group, you do not have to stay inside Disneyland once you are scanned in. You can hop over to DCA or head into Downtown Disney. Please note that the Monorail entrance is not advisable for use as it typically does not open until the park officially opens.



I know it’s a long thread, but there are starting to be a lot of questions that are answered in the first three posts, as indicated in the title...


----------



## dina444444

On to the backups. They are at 43 now.


----------



## montreid

Back up!  onwards to 44!  --


----------



## DLgal

disneymomanddad said:


> Edited:  Just saw the answer above.  Interesting and unfortunate that they updated the technology from MaxPass to differentiate between gates.
> 
> Sorry if this has been asked and answered.  Brand new member to the DisBoards and I'm not sure if I'm searching properly when I search for this question, but here it is:  I see in the instructions that you need to have scanned into Disneyland park.  Has anyone tried to book a boarding group while scanned into DCA?  I ask because the MaxPass doesn't differentiate between the two parks (i.e., if you have scanned in to DL you can get a RSR fastpass, and likewise as soon as you've scanned into DCA you could get a space mountain fastpass).  We're headed out in March for four days, and we're wondering on the days we have extra morning magic hours in DCA would we be able to get a boarding group for ROTR while in DCA, or would we have to leave DCA and go over to DL before we could get the boarding pass?  Thanks in advance!



They didn't change anything as far as Maxpass goes if you have a park hopper. You can still grab fastpasses in the opposite park using Maxpass as long as you have a park hopper or annual pass.


----------



## DA Club

Annual pass holder here, so wasn’t going to Disney for rise of resistance only but wanted to see what boarding group I would get not at opening time. Entered around 9:15, 1.25 hours after opening and got backup group 108. Leaving park now at 12:30 and they are on backup group 47. No crowds today at all


----------



## dina444444

DA Club said:


> Annual pass holder here, so wasn’t going to Disney for rise of resistance only but wanted to see what boarding group I would get not at opening time. Entered around 9:15, 1.25 hours after opening and got backup group 108. Leaving park now at 12:30 and they are on backup group 47. No crowds today at all


You must have gotten one of the last groups. The ran out around 9:15.


----------



## ZCarroll

DLgal said:


> I agree with you. In fact, they should open the gates no less than an hour before official park open,



I still think they should just start giving out boarding groups an hour after opening..... they end up having to open gates and sometimes even rides early anyway because of this so why not just make it easier all around to begin with?

Are they still requiring people to stay in line when it breaks down?


----------



## Cupcaker

Is there a visual screenshot by screenshot on how to join a boarding group available anywhere? I'm a visual learner


----------



## Lewdannie

Cupcaker said:


> Is there a visual screenshot by screenshot on how to join a boarding group available anywhere? I'm a visual learner


https://www.disneytouristblog.com/star-wars-rise-resistance-disneyland-strategy-guide/


----------



## montreid

Wow -- really empty indeed - space 20min  indy  35min (despite thunder down).  DCA:  30min Mania and Sorin 20min  with RS standard 50min --  low attendance definitely.


----------



## ZCarroll

Are they still occasionally giving out one hour return times? Is there any wiggle room with the return times like with fast passes so if you are running ten minutes late they might still let you in or does your boarding group disappear right on the minute if you don't make it to the line on time?  I'm thinking I will likely be at DCA or even at the hotel when I'm there if I manage to get a boarding group when it gets called.... speaking of which...

Is there any way to create an alarm for the push notification?  We are going to be doing  the after dark events and it would be nice to catch a midday nap...


----------



## JWelch62

ZCarroll said:


> I still think they should just start giving out boarding groups an hour after opening..... they end up having to open gates and sometimes even rides early anyway because of this so why not just make it easier all around to begin with?
> 
> Are they still requiring people to stay in line when it breaks down?


I was on the ride yesterday when it broke down. I was given a multi attraction FP good for use on ROTR at any time that day

EDIT: Although that may not be what you're asking. I can't speak to those who were in line but not on the ride.


----------



## HydroGuy

ZCarroll said:


> I still think they should just start giving out boarding groups an hour after opening..... they end up having to open gates and sometimes even rides early anyway because of this so why not just make it easier all around to begin with?


We have kind of gone away from pursuing these kinds of ideas and debates in this thread. The "it would be better if they changed the current BG process to..." has its own thread FYI.

https://www.disboards.com/threads/boarding-group-issues-resolution-thoughts.3787676/


ZCarroll said:


> Are they still requiring people to stay in line when it breaks down?


AFAIK they have not changed how they handle folks in queue when things break down. Usually they seem to keep folks there but sometimes not.


----------



## aebeauregard

JWelch62 said:


> I was on the ride yesterday when it broke down. I was given a multi attraction FP good for use on ROTR at any time that day
> 
> EDIT: Although that may not be what you're asking. I can't speak to those who were in line but not on the ride.


I was there Tuesday when it broke down. I don’t want to spoil anything specific but there are like two pre show things before the actual ride. We were through the two preshows and  waiting in a queue line for the ride when it broke down. They led us through a backstage area( we walked by the employee break room and staircases etc) and scanned our tickets to load with fast passes after about 5 mins waiting in the queue.


----------



## JWelch62

aebeauregard said:


> I was there Tuesday when it broke down. I don’t want to spoil anything specific but there are like two pre show things before the actual ride. We were through the two preshows and  waiting in a queue line for the ride when it broke down. They led us through a backstage area( we walked by the employee break room and staircases etc) and scanned our tickets to load with fast passes after about 5 mins waiting in the queue.


I had just passed that location. I must have been just a few minutes in front of you.


----------



## Ferrellcon

I am checking every now and then to see if they make it past 81. They are at 57 looking good so far.


----------



## B3rlingirl

They are now boarding boarding up to 70. Looks promising so far...


----------



## pokee99

Peachy0118 said:


> Can someone please explain to me what might make them anticipate such a low day today? I mean, I get that the park closes a bit early for the event tonight, but 42 seems REALLY low. Perhaps a planned downtime?



I'm guessing it's planned.  Maybe they're going to regularly plan some maintenance on slow days? Maybe they've implemented some improvements that they'd like to beta test today, and doing so means handing out more backup boarding passes in the event the "improvements" don't work out so well?

Also maybe their tech/maintenance staff deserve some time off after all the mayhem? 

Whatever the reason, they're definitely shuttin her down early to take care of something!


----------



## Ferrellcon

Made it to 81. I guess the low number was not necessary.


----------



## montreid

montreid said:


> With a 20 group spread already, ride is humming along.   Will be done calling regulars by noon at this clip -- cutoff 42 -- that's a new low
> 
> But with early close tonight -- anticipate a cutoff at ~630pm;   If keeps it up group 80s-90s possible.


looks like they are going to bust the move upwards to 100s with 2+ hours left to cutoff.


----------



## Weedy

Cupcaker said:


> Is there a visual screenshot by screenshot on how to join a boarding group available anywhere? I'm a visual learner



You can practice on the app from home. But when you get to the last page it won’t let you book a Bg because you are not in the park


----------



## mpastor

What’s the highest group number given away today?


----------



## dina444444

mpastor said:


> What’s the highest group number given away today?


They’ve called back through 105 so far and will probably keep calling numbers for the next hour.
Edit: a poster entered right before they ran out of backups and has 108.


----------



## dina444444

DA Club said:


> Annual pass holder here, so wasn’t going to Disney for rise of resistance only but wanted to see what boarding group I would get not at opening time. Entered around 9:15, 1.25 hours after opening and got backup group 108. Leaving park now at 12:30 and they are on backup group 47. No crowds today at all


Your group is about to get called.


----------



## dzy76

I practiced this morning.  Closed everything about 5 till.  Only had time.org and Disneyland app open.  Refreshed Disney app at 1 minute too, then when there was 5 sec left till 8am I closed that app and hit the my status, then the join boarding group and it brought up all our names but asked if we were scanned into park - and of course we weren't!  lol.   So - is that about the right sequence??


----------



## LanceQ

Can anyone comment with first hand experience on what the line/crowd situation is like on a week-day versus the week-end?

Thanks!


----------



## dina444444

dzy76 said:


> I practiced this morning.  Closed everything about 5 till.  Only had time.org and Disneyland app open.  Refreshed Disney app at 1 minute too, then when there was 5 sec left till 8am I closed that app and hit the my status, then the join boarding group and it brought up all our names but asked if we were scanned into park - and of course we weren't!  lol.   So - is that about the right sequence??


Yes


----------



## LanceQ

ZCarroll said:


> I still think they should just start giving out boarding groups an hour after opening..... they end up having to open gates and sometimes even rides early anyway because of this so why not just make it easier all around to begin with?
> 
> Are they still requiring people to stay in line when it breaks down?



Why waste an hour of ride time?


----------



## EmJ

It looks like they are probably done calling groups at 112. When does DL close tonight for the after dark thing?

Altogether another good day for the Resistance. I would have liked to see what the next couple of hours could have brought!


----------



## dina444444

EmJ said:


> It looks like they are probably done calling groups at 112. When does DL close tonight for the after dark thing?
> 
> Altogether another good day for the Resistance. I would have liked to see what the next couple of hours could have brought!
> 
> View attachment 469695


8pm


----------



## EmJ

dina444444 said:


> 8pm


Well, I guess that makes sense then.


----------



## dina444444

EmJ said:


> Well, I guess that makes sense then.


And the party is from 9pm-1am.


----------



## EmJ

dina444444 said:


> And the party is from 9pm-1am.


Man. I haven't been able to stay up until 1 am in probably 15 years  . I used to go to midnight showings of movies and all that. Now, I'm grateful that new releases are usually shown at 6 pm the evening before the day of release, lol.


----------



## dina444444

The Chart:


----------



## SOCALMouseMommy

EmJ said:


> Man. I haven't been able to stay up until 1 am in probably 15 years  . I used to go to midnight showings of movies and all that. Now, I'm grateful that new releases are usually shown at 6 pm the evening before the day of release, lol.


^^^SAME


----------



## Skyegirl1999

SOCALMouseMommy said:


> ^^^SAME


Haha, and here I stay up until 1 frequently.  I’m a night owl...

I literally only get out of bed before 7:30 for Disneyland, though...


----------



## gerilyne

EmJ said:


> Man. I haven't been able to stay up until 1 am in probably 15 years  . I used to go to midnight showings of movies and all that. Now, I'm grateful that new releases are usually shown at 6 pm the evening before the day of release, lol.


We went to the Haunted Mansion party last August which STARTED at 1am.  By 3:30 I was a zombie!


----------



## EmJ

gerilyne said:


> We went to the Haunted Mansion party last August which STARTED at 1am.  By 3:30 I was a zombie!


----------



## ZCarroll

LanceQ said:


> Why waste an hour of ride time?



My understanding is that they rarely start right away and if they need to open up the parks early just to accommodate it anyway then it's essentially the same regardless but a lot less stressful and more manageable for everyone that works there as well as giving guests something to do while they wait.   There are other things that could be done that first hour as well so it wouldn't be a waste, but I guess all that's for another thread.... I was just reacting to several comments I read here about needing to open the park earlier, seems like a much easier solution all around for so many reasons!  



JWelch62 said:


> I was on the ride yesterday when it broke down. I was given a multi attraction FP good for use on ROTR at any time that day
> 
> EDIT: Although that may not be what you're asking. I can't speak to those who were in line but not on the ride.



Yes, I was wondering about those stuck in line, not people on the ride, I know initially they weren't letting people leave but I was hoping that has changed, seems pretty awful to make people wait since they will have no opportunity to try the ride again later if they know it's going to be a long time before it starts up again.


----------



## KateDrake

Just wanted to come on and share our experience today. I mistakenly looked at the DCA park hours last night, so we got up and left our hotel (Tropicana) at 8:15, thinking the park opened at 9. Made our way over, in no rush. Walked in the park thinking we'd be held at rope drop by the Hub, so took our sweet time walking down Main Street. Even stopped to watch them make peanut brittle at the Candy Palace. Anyway, we arrived at the Hub around 8:45, and realized everything was up and running and there was no rope drop. Hubs went to check, just to be sure all groups were gone. Well, they weren't, and we got assigned to backup group 99! We had gotten 81 yesterday and were able to ride around 7 p.m., so we weren't sure if we would get called today with the after-hours event. Well right at 5:15, our number was called! We were able to use child swap and went through the line super fast. 

I was completely floored that we were able to get a group, since yesterday we were counting down the seconds and all logged in right at 8 and still got a backup. So it was a great surprise to be able to ride today! Trying again on Friday and hoping for an early group so our friends who are flying home to Canada that afternoon can go one more time.


----------



## disneyholic family

KateDrake said:


> Just wanted to come on and share our experience today. I mistakenly looked at the DCA park hours last night, so we got up and left our hotel (Tropicana) at 8:15, thinking the park opened at 9. Made our way over, in no rush. Walked in the park thinking we'd be held at rope drop by the Hub, so took our sweet time walking down Main Street. Even stopped to watch them make peanut brittle at the Candy Palace. Anyway, we arrived at the Hub around 8:45, and realized everything was up and running and there was no rope drop. Hubs went to check, just to be sure all groups were gone. Well, they weren't, and we got assigned to backup group 99! We had gotten 81 yesterday and were able to ride around 7 p.m., so we weren't sure if we would get called today with the after-hours event. Well right at 5:15, our number was called! We were able to use child swap and went through the line super fast.
> 
> I was completely floored that we were able to get a group, since yesterday we were counting down the seconds and all logged in right at 8 and still got a backup. So it was a great surprise to be able to ride today! Trying again on Friday and hoping for an early group so our friends who are flying home to Canada that afternoon can go one more time.



set all your alarm clocks for friday and call the front desk for a wake up call just to be sure   

.


----------



## theluckyrabbit

Tree1147 said:


> Question,  Is it true that you must specifically be scanned into Disneyland Park at 8AM to get a boarding pass?   We have park hoppers and plan to be in DCA early for magic morning.  Do we really have to cross over and get into Disneyland just to do the electronic boarding or is it enough to be scanned into DCA with park hoppers?
> Thanks for any input.


Welcome to the DIS! Glad you got answers to your questions, but you might want to re-read the first post and the FAQs on the first page of this superthread. Many questions are answered there!



disneymomanddad said:


> Edited:  Just saw the answer above.  Interesting and unfortunate that they updated the technology from MaxPass to differentiate between gates.
> 
> Sorry if this has been asked and answered.  Brand new member to the DisBoards and I'm not sure if I'm searching properly when I search for this question, but here it is:  I see in the instructions that you need to have scanned into Disneyland park.  Has anyone tried to book a boarding group while scanned into DCA?...


Welcome to the DIS! Glad you got answers to your questions -- just to reiterate: MP hasn't updated - it always differentiated between the gates/parks; Make sure you have scanned into DL before trying for a BG! Scanning into DCA alone will not get you a BG.
You might want to re-read the first post and the FAQs on the first page of this superthread. Many questions are answered there!



Skyegirl1999 said:


> ... I know it’s a long thread, but there are starting to be a lot of questions that are answered in the first three posts, as indicated in the title...


The length of this Superthread is all the more reason for people to read the first few posts on the first page -- lots of answers there (and updated information), a nifty chart that gets updated daily, and lots of time saved!



aebeauregard said:


> ... They led us through a backstage area( we walked by the employee break room and staircases etc) and scanned our tickets to load with fast passes after about 5 mins waiting in the queue.


Thanks for posting this -- it's a good reminder for anyone who is escorted off the ride: don't forget to scan your ticket! Some people have (for some reason) forgotten to do this and, as a result, have not received a FP to return to the ride. If you don't scan as you are escorted out, CMs cannot help you later.


----------



## NicholeB630

I’m just curious and this might be another thread but the other rise of the resistance threads have thousands of comments so there’s no way I can read through those but a friend of mine is currently at Walt Disney World right now and they got to Hollywood studios at 7 AM this morning well  before seven for a 7 AM opening and she said it’s ridiculous and toy story mania already has an hour wait at 7:30 in the morning which is insane I’m going to guess it’s because of rise of resistance all these extra people are trying to get in to get into a boarding group and while they wait they go to these other rides granted Hollywood studios doesn’t have hardly any rides and they’re teiring system is absolutely horrible as they have literally every ride that you need a fast pass for in tier one. So my question is the ride at Disneyland affecting the waits of other rides this badly as well?


----------



## Aurora0427

No. We were just there for a three day weekend. There were definitely slightly more people in line for the easy rides at rope drop, but it wasn’t anything that would screw up your day, I think weekends are just busier right now. The crowds yesterday were super low.


----------



## Paigesmom2013

From the vlogs I've been following, a lot of people are leaving after the boarding group madness and going to DCA or home to nap. The good part is no tiers at Disneyland plus the benefits of Maxpass, if you purchase it. It does look like Galaxy's Edge is more crowded over all and there are long lines for food in that area.


----------



## midnight star

Another thing to put into perspective: ROTR is located in Hollywood studios. If we are being fair, that park only has like 5 rides...and they are all popular, and they are tiered, so it impacts your fastpass selections. DL and DCA have alot more rides to choose from and no tiers. Once people start dispersing, it isn't so bad.


----------



## Skyegirl1999

KateDrake said:


> Just wanted to come on and share our experience today. I mistakenly looked at the DCA park hours last night, so we got up and left our hotel (Tropicana) at 8:15, thinking the park opened at 9. Made our way over, in no rush. Walked in the park thinking we'd be held at rope drop by the Hub, so took our sweet time walking down Main Street. Even stopped to watch them make peanut brittle at the Candy Palace. Anyway, we arrived at the Hub around 8:45, and realized everything was up and running and there was no rope drop. Hubs went to check, just to be sure all groups were gone. Well, they weren't, and we got assigned to backup group 99! We had gotten 81 yesterday and were able to ride around 7 p.m., so we weren't sure if we would get called today with the after-hours event. Well right at 5:15, our number was called! We were able to use child swap and went through the line super fast.
> 
> I was completely floored that we were able to get a group, since yesterday we were counting down the seconds and all logged in right at 8 and still got a backup. So it was a great surprise to be able to ride today! Trying again on Friday and hoping for an early group so our friends who are flying home to Canada that afternoon can go one more time.


Very happy for you!

I believe, based on which days BG backups have “lasted” in the morning and then how many they’ve gotten to, that yesterday was the first day that a) everyone there at rope drop definitely got a chance to ride if they stuck around, and b) many people who showed up later than rope drop also got a chance to ride.  So that’s an exciting day for ROTR here on the West Coast.


----------



## thedarksyde

Do you think it is possible they give out all BG groups coming up soon?  And if so what happens, does a standard queue open?


----------



## Aurora0427

midnight star said:


> Another thing to put into perspective: ROTR is located in Hollywood studios. If we are being fair, that park only has like 5 rides...and they are all popular, and they are tiered, so it impacts your fastpass selections. DL and DCA have alot more rides to choose from and no tiers. Once people start dispersing, it isn't so bad.



Excellent points. Plus wait times at WDW are overall higher because of fast pass plus..... it’s such a terrible system.  And it’s so spread out people probably aren’t leaving DHS once they secure a boarding group.


----------



## ironband74

It is a new day for the Resistance!  We've had 3 pretty good days in a row and stability, while not perfect, has been improving.

With the early night last night, hopefully they were able to get some work done, maybe even a little best-practice training. Only the Ancients know.

Who's joining the resistance today?


----------



## ironband74

thedarksyde said:


> Do you think it is possible they give out all BG groups coming up soon?  And if so what happens, does a standard queue open?


I think what happens is if they start regularly getting through all boarding groups, they'll start issuing more boarding groups.  

In the one-off case that they get done with all the BGs for a given day, I would expect them to close the attraction early and just get on with the maintenance.  I'm pretty sure they do NOT want a big crowd of folks waiting around ROTR every day hoping that they get through the BGs and ready to hop into standby.  They have a best case plan for operating and issue boarding groups and backup boarding groups sufficient to serve that plan.  When they do get through them all, it will be pretty close to closing time for the attraction.


----------



## NicholeB630

midnight star said:


> Another thing to put into perspective: ROTR is located in Hollywood studios. If we are being fair, that park only has like 5 rides...and they are all popular, and they are tiered, so it impacts your fastpass selections. DL and DCA have alot more rides to choose from and no tiers. Once people start dispersing, it isn't so bad.



Yes this makes sense. HS is horrible right now. They literally have all the rides worth getting FP for in Tier 1 which is ridiculous.


----------



## gerilyne

NicholeB630 said:


> Yes this makes sense. HS is horrible right now. They literally have all the rides worth getting FP for in Tier 1 which is ridiculous.


I just saw they are changing this to where only MFSR and Slinky Dog will be Tier 1.


----------



## sunflare

gerilyne said:


> I just saw they are changing this to where only MFSR and Slinky Dog will be Tier 1.



Yep. Starts Feb 19, when MFSR goes into the FP system.


----------



## e_yerger

I'm going to be in Disneyland Feb 14th - 17th. I've watched a few vlogs from the last two weekends with RotR. Is it safe to say that our best shot at getting a legit boarding group (not backup) is on Fri. Feb. 14th?


----------



## Skyegirl1999

e_yerger said:


> I'm going to be in Disneyland Feb 14th - 17th. I've watched a few vlogs from the last two weekends with RotR. Is it safe to say that our best shot at getting a legit boarding group (not backup) is on Fri. Feb. 14th?


Probably yes.


----------



## Rich M

Skyegirl1999 said:


> Probably yes.


Has Fridays been better than Saturdays?  They all seem gone just as fast to me


----------



## e_yerger

Rich M said:


> Has Fridays been better than Saturdays?  They all seem gone just as fast to me


It's also a holiday weekend. Tbh this has got me stressed! I know we're going to have a good time regardless being back at DLR, but I also don't want to rope drop EVERY DAY and get backup groups that don't get called. That's my fear.


----------



## Rich M

e_yerger said:


> It's also a holiday weekend. Tbh this has got me stressed! I know we're going to have a good time regardless being back at DLR, but I also don't want to rope drop EVERY DAY and get backup groups that don't get called. That's my fear.



We almost booked that weekend also but figured the same thing.  We leave tonight and will be there tomorrow.  Our flight doesn't get in until 11:30 PM and by the time we get to our room it will be almost 1AM.  We plan to be heading to Disneyland to get a BG by 7 AM.  I know your fear well.


----------



## e_yerger

Rich M said:


> We almost booked that weekend also but figured the same thing.  We leave tonight and will be there tomorrow.  Our flight doesn't get in until 11:30 PM and by the time we get to our room it will be almost 1AM.  We plan to be heading to Disneyland to get a BG by 7 AM.  I know your fear well.


We're from the east coast and booked this trip at the end of July 2019, before all of this was even announced. We had no clue when RotR would open, and we don't have the flexibility to move off the holiday weekend. What I would give to be closer and have the ability to go on a week day.


----------



## Mark_E

Noticeably busier again this morning. Last attempt for a few weeks before I head home tonight


----------



## Rich M

e_yerger said:


> We're from the east coast and booked this trip at the end of July 2019, before all of this was even announced. We had no clue when RotR would open, and we don't have the flexibility to move off the holiday weekend. What I would give to be closer and have the ability to go on a week day.



You will have a great time.  I am sure you will get a BG if you plan correctly.  Also hopefully you have Max Pass for your trip.  It will be the best decision you made for the whole trip.  Love being able to go to my room mid day for a rest and still be able to get FP.


----------



## Skyegirl1999

Rich M said:


> Has Fridays been better than Saturdays?  They all seem gone just as fast to me


Saturdays have MM and Fridays don't, so you're pretty guaranteed to have more people in the park when it opens due to that alone.  Then you add people off work vs. not... and yeah, I'm pretty sure there's doing to be less competition on a Friday than a Saturday.


----------



## BigOHawk

Regular BG's for about a minute or so...


----------



## Mark_E

Group 26 today! After clicking my status it wasn’t illuminated to join BG so a slight few seconds delay compared to yesterday


----------



## senorhiney

I had regular BG on my phone at home for 1:50, tried again at 2 minutes and got the backup group. I didn't hang around to see how long the backups lasted but it's grey now, so...not terribly long.


----------



## TommyMac_DisneyEdition

BG 93 - back-up. Fingers crossed!!


----------



## DLgal

e_yerger said:


> It's also a holiday weekend. Tbh this has got me stressed! I know we're going to have a good time regardless being back at DLR, but I also don't want to rope drop EVERY DAY and get backup groups that don't get called. That's my fear.



There are lots of AP blackouts that weekend, on Saturday and Sunday. I suspect Saturday may be the best day to try. Fridays of long weekends are usually very crowded.


----------



## NorthernCalMom

e_yerger said:


> I'm going to be in Disneyland Feb 14th - 17th. I've watched a few vlogs from the last two weekends with RotR. Is it safe to say that our best shot at getting a legit boarding group (not backup) is on Fri. Feb. 14th?


Not sure how many people will be there for Valentine’s, but Saturday with its MM crowds will probably be worse. Also, if you try Friday & don’t get to ride, you have a few more days for another attempt.


----------



## e_yerger

Rich M said:


> You will have a great time.  I am sure you will get a BG if you plan correctly.  Also hopefully you have Max Pass for your trip.  It will be the best decision you made for the whole trip.  Love being able to go to my room mid day for a rest and still be able to get FP.


Oh yes! Maxpass is already on our tickets & in the DL app - can't wait to hit the ground running!


----------



## crystal1313

I was playing along at work today on T-Mobile LTE.  Right at 9 I did not get the red button after clicking find out more, so I clicked My Status and was able to hit Join boarding group from there. Went back out to home screen, hit find out more and then the button was red.  Went back out again, hit find out more, and button was grey.  Then nothing happened when I exited.  So I closed and re-opened the app and by that time it was on backup BGs.  Seemed fast today!


----------



## ironband74

1-3 Loading already - 72 and up are backups.  Here's hoping for another good day!

I got in 30 seconds late and regular groups were gone.  Backups went pretty quickly as well as expected on MM.


----------



## e_yerger

NorthernCalMom said:


> Not sure how many people will be there for Valentine’s, but Saturday with its MM crowds will probably be worse. Also, if you try Friday & don’t get to ride, you have a few more days for another attempt.


That's my exact thought! We have a photoshoot planned with a local photographer, originally scheduled for Friday. We just moved it to Sunday in order to not conflict with RotR BG times!


----------



## ironband74

crystal1313 said:


> I was playing along at work today on T-Mobile LTE.  Right at 9 I did not get the red button after clicking find out more, so I clicked My Status and was able to hit Join boarding group from there. Went back out to home screen, hit find out more and then the button was red.  Went back out again, hit find out more, and button was grey.  Then nothing happened when I exited.  So I closed and re-opened the app and by that time it was on backup BGs.  Seemed fast today!


Are you on iPhone or Android?


----------



## crystal1313

ironband74 said:


> Are you on iPhone or Android?


iPhone =)


----------



## ironband74

crystal1313 said:


> iPhone =)


As I expected.  The "Status screen/Find Out More" cha cha seems to work well for you iOS folks.  I haven't been successful doing this on my Android in play at home mode.  I'd be interested to hear from any Android users for whom this works.


----------



## Peachy0118

ironband74 said:


> As I expected.  The "Status screen/Find Out More" cha cha seems to work well for you iOS folks.  I haven't been successful doing this on my Android in play at home mode.  I'd be interested to hear from any Android users for whom this works.



Well, we are only playing along at home, but DH and I both have androids, and this is working for both of us.

Our phones are quite new though. Perhaps that helps?


----------



## ironband74

Peachy0118 said:


> Well, we are only playing along at home, but DH and I both have androids, and this is working for both of us.
> 
> Our phones are quite new though. Perhaps that helps?


Thanks.  The phone age *shouldn't* matter...but when it comes to technology...all bets are off.

I did discover this morning that not having your phone even turned on at 8:59 really doesn't work well.  Who knew?


----------



## Rich M

e_yerger said:


> Oh yes! Maxpass is already on our tickets & in the DL app - can't wait to hit the ground running!



Smart move.  After using MP you won't be happy at Disney World FP again.


----------



## Mathmagicland

Re the February 14-17 weekend, along with comments already posted re AP blackouts, holiday, & etc, also be aware that many school districts give Friday 2/14 off for Lincoln’s birthday to give a 4-day weekend.  So Friday could be a heavier day. 

just get there early, follow the tips in this thread, and hope for the best each day.


----------



## crystal1313

ironband74 said:


> As I expected.  The "Status screen/Find Out More" cha cha seems to work well for you iOS folks.  I haven't been successful doing this on my Android in play at home mode.  I'd be interested to hear from any Android users for whom this works.


I have played from work a handful of times and today was the first time the red button did not work initially and I had to go into My Status.  I am glad to know the process in case we decide to plan a trip. I find this whole BG thing fascinating!


----------



## ironband74

TommyMac_DisneyEdition said:


> BG 93 - back-up. Fingers crossed!!


We're rooting for you!


----------



## Skyegirl1999

Mathmagicland said:


> Re the February 14-17 weekend, along with comments already posted re AP blackouts, holiday, & etc, also be aware that many school districts give Friday 2/14 off for Lincoln’s birthday to give a 4-day weekend.  So Friday could be a heavier day.
> 
> just get there early, follow the tips in this thread, and hope for the best each day.


Hmm, that is a good point.

The numbers game of a MM vs non-MM morning should be a pretty big swing, though, unless they’re prepared and open the gates *super* early.

Look at this past Sunday... backup groups didn’t fill up for quite awhile because loads of people were still in the esplanade when the park opened.  So even though there were a lot of people there, on a non-MM morning, there’s simply less people in the parks when they open.  Hopefully they’ll open earlier than they did on Sunday, but there’s still just less people in the mix when it’s a non-MM day.


----------



## natebenma

crystal1313 said:


> I was playing along at work today on T-Mobile LTE.  Right at 9 I did not get the red button after clicking find out more, so I clicked My Status and was able to hit Join boarding group from there. Went back out to home screen, hit find out more and then the button was red.  Went back out again, hit find out more, and button was grey.  Then nothing happened when I exited.  So I closed and re-opened the app and by that time it was on backup BGs.  Seemed fast today!



Same here.  Playing at home, iphone 11, AT&T
Loaded app a few seconds before 9, Join boarding group was grey, hit my status and got the red button very quickly, 1-3 seconds.  Quickest time for me yet. 

We are there next week and will be trying for realsies on Tuesday and Wednesday morning.


----------



## B3rlingirl

It’s up and running... now boarding groups 1-15
And backups start with group 72...


----------



## dina444444

What time did backups run out at?


----------



## JWelch62

ironband74 said:


> Thanks.  The phone age *shouldn't* matter...but when it comes to technology...all bets are off.
> 
> I did discover this morning that not having your phone even turned on at 8:59 really doesn't work well.  Who knew?


Another variable may be the version of Android. A new phone probably ships with Oreo. An older phone may not have been updated to the latest version yet.


----------



## EmJ

dina444444 said:


> What time did backups run out at?


It was sometime between 5 and 7 minutes. I got a red button at 9:05, but then was distracted by work (who needs that?!) and when I checked back at 9:07, it was grayed out.


----------



## senorhiney

dina444444 said:


> What time did backups run out at?


For me it greyed out after 2 plus minutes after 9. Playing from home.


----------



## otten

Anecdotal observation from playing along at home this morning. 

On previous mornings I have always opened the app before the park open time then clicked on find out more the moment my clock switches to 8 or 9 depending on opening time. I have always gotten a red button this way. 

This morning I thought I'd try something new and waited for the button to turn red at 9. It did not. Not only that but switching between my status and find out more also didn't get a red button. I had to kill the app and reopen before I got a red button and by then they were onto backups.


----------



## ironband74

otten said:


> Anecdotal observation from playing along at home this morning.
> 
> On previous mornings I have always opened the app before the park open time then clicked on find out more the moment my clock switches to 8 or 9 depending on opening time. I have always gotten a red button this way.
> 
> This morning I thought I'd try something new and waited for the button to turn red at 9. It did not. Not only that but switching between my status and find out more also didn't get a red button. I had to kill the app and reopen before I got a red button and by then they were onto backups.


Android or iPhone?


----------



## otten

ironband74 said:


> Android or iPhone?



 Iphone 7plus


----------



## deejdigsdis

BG 1 today!!!  I just flew in from out of state to go to 80s Nite.  Only in the park for 5-ish hours today but thought I would get some real practice in after practicing from home the past week.  Was not planning on securing anything, really.

Train station platform, Google Pixel 2, Google Fi, just watched my phone hit 9 and went in.

Thanks for the tips everyone!


----------



## momof2intx

Maybe this has already been covered - without going back and reading all 150+ posts....here goes my question;

We are debating going 2/14-2/17 because that is the only weekend we can go  - but I'm really afraid that the crowds are going to be out of control. Our park days would be Sat/Sun the 15 & 16.

If we are staying within walking distance and the park has EMH hours (open at 7) - what time should you get to bag check to have the best chance of being in the park by 8?  We have APs but no EMH - we will be staying at the Hampton Inn nearby.

We are thinking of leaving the hotel by 630a which should put us at bag check a bit before 7am...with it being a busy holiday weekend and also a cheerleading competition at the convention center that weekend - do we have a good chance of getting into the park prior to 8am assuming they open the gates a bit early to DL?

We live in NorCal and it is between this and a Vegas weekend for my husband and I - we wouldn't be able to get back to DL again until at least June.  Just wondering if it is worth the stress of trying it now or just waiting until the summertime??  I have anxiety already.


----------



## VandVsmama

otten said:


> Anecdotal observation from playing along at home this morning.
> 
> On previous mornings I have always opened the app before the park open time then clicked on find out more the moment my clock switches to 8 or 9 depending on opening time. I have always gotten a red button this way.
> 
> This morning I thought I'd try something new and waited for the button to turn red at 9. It did not. Not only that but switching between my status and find out more also didn't get a red button. I had to kill the app and reopen before I got a red button and by then they were onto backups.



I had the same thing happen.  iPhone 6s


----------



## BigOHawk

JWelch62 said:


> Another variable may be the version of Android. A new phone probably ships with Oreo. An older phone may not have been updated to the latest version yet.


Galaxy  S8 here, I have Android V. 9 which is Pie so should have surpassed Oreo.


----------



## ironband74

VandVsmama said:


> I had the same thing happen.  iPhone 6s


So perhaps the factor in a successful cha-cha slide is newer phones.  I am wondering now if the deciding factor is 4g vs 5g vs wifi rather than OS.  Or if it is just totally random what works sometimes doesn't work other times.

It seems that best practice regardless of platform is:
0.  Make sure that only the people getting boarding passes are scanned into your phone. Remove other APs and tickets.

1. Open app a few mintues before opening.

2.  Shortly before opening, switch to app, but do not click find out more.

3.  At opening, as determined by phone clock changing or second hand on smart watch or synchronized non-smart watch, click find out more.

4.  If red button is present, click it.

  5a.   The party should be selected as the default if you did step 0.  Click get boarding pass and hope for a low number.

  5b.  If the red button isn't present, tap "My Status"

  6b.  If the blue "Get Boarding pass" is lit,tap it and then proceed with step 5a above.

  7b.  If the blue button isn't lit, go back and check for red button.  If present, tap it and proceed with step 5a above.

8b. If red button not lit, kill the app and open again, proceeding immediately to "find out more" and proceeding with step 4 above.

Check my work.


----------



## JWelch62

BigOHawk said:


> Galaxy  S8 here, I have Android V. 9 which is Pie so should have surpassed Oreo.


You're right. I'm on 10 where they stopped giving them names. I'm getting old...


----------



## BigOHawk

ironband74 said:


> As I expected.  The "Status screen/Find Out More" cha cha seems to work well for you iOS folks.  I haven't been successful doing this on my Android in play at home mode.  I'd be interested to hear from any Android users for whom this works.


What is this Status screen/Find Out More cha cha you speak of? You mean opening the app exactly at 9 vs. leaving app open at say 8:55 and then seeing if button turns red? Android and Galaxy here and it seems it won't turn red for me unless I load the DL app at 8:50:50, and click Find Out More.


----------



## BigOHawk

JWelch62 said:


> You're right. I'm on 10 where they stopped giving them names. I'm getting old...


Wonder too if they had no idea what food/sweet to name for Q to just settled on a number system?


----------



## LeiaOfAlderaan

Mathmagicland said:


> Re the February 14-17 weekend, along with comments already posted re AP blackouts, holiday, & etc, also be aware that many school districts give Friday 2/14 off for Lincoln’s birthday to give a 4-day weekend. So Friday could be a heavier day.



We will be there the weekend of the 14th and between the Presidents Day holiday, ski week, ROTR crowds, and the cheer competition, I’m expecting it to be full on Armageddon. Even with lots of APs blocked I think it will be nuts. And if it’s not utter chaos, I’ll be pleasantly surprised! MTFBWU


----------



## ironband74

BigOHawk said:


> What is this Status screen/Find Out More cha cha you speak of? You mean opening the app exactly at 9 vs. leaving app open at say 8:55 and then seeing if button turns red? Android and Galaxy here and it seems it won't turn red for me unless I load the DL app at 8:50:50, and click Find Out More.


The cha cha I speak of is this:  Some folks report that if they tap "Find Out More" prior to open, they can see that the button is not red.  They then tap "My Status" and see that the blue button is not lit.  They then go back and forth between the "Find Out More" screen and the "My Status" screen until they see one of the buttons has activated.

For me and many others, this does not seem to work at all, as in our cases opening the "Find Out More" prior to opening seems to lock us out until we restart the app.  I'm on a Galaxy S7, myself.


----------



## BigOHawk

ironband74 said:


> The cha cha I speak of is this:  Some folks report that if they tap "Find Out More" prior to open, they can see that the button is not red.  They then tap "My Status" and see that the blue button is not lit.  They then go back and forth between the "Find Out More" screen and the "My Status" screen until they see one of the buttons has activated.
> 
> For me and many others, this does not seem to work at all, as in our cases opening the "Find Out More" prior to opening seems to lock us out until we restart the app.  I'm on a Galaxy S7, myself.


Gotcha, just playing along while not at DL it seems for me on a Galaxy S8, Verizon, no WIFI on 4GLTE, I reload the DL app at around 8:50:50-55 seconds, it takes around 5 seconds to fully load then a quick click of Find Out More puts me through  pretty quickly. I'll be there in early March on a Wed, thanks for all the tips, tricks and banter in this thread, it has definitely helped me with strategy!


----------



## e_yerger

LeiaOfAlderaan said:


> We will be there the weekend of the 14th and between the Presidents Day holiday, ski week, ROTR crowds, and the cheer competition, I’m expecting it to be full on Armageddon. Even with lots of APs blocked I think it will be nuts. And if it’s not utter chaos, I’ll be pleasantly surprised! MTFBWU


Well this has gotten me more stressed out


----------



## LeiaOfAlderaan

e_yerger said:


> Well this has gotten me more stressed out



Don’t be stressed! I was catastrophizing a bit. We are expecting to have a great time even with the crowds, whatever they may be.


----------



## e_yerger

LeiaOfAlderaan said:


> Don’t be stressed! I was catastrophizing a bit. We are expecting to have a great time even with the crowds, whatever they may be.


 all i want is to be able to get on RotR once!


----------



## ironband74

So we've been boarding for about two hours and we're up to 32.  Tracking very close to Monday's performance.


----------



## Kender

JWelch62 said:


> You're right. I'm on 10 where they stopped giving them names. I'm getting old...





BigOHawk said:


> Wonder too if they had no idea what food/sweet to name for Q to just settled on a number system?



I've been calling it occasionally Queen Cake myself because I hate calling it 10; would rather just call it Q even   . I'm really hoping they go back to dessert names with R later this year.

But yeah, brand new released Android phones from the past year should at least be mostly shipping with Pie. Oreo is 2017 and what the Pixel 2/2XLs shipped with (I have a 2XL myself). Not that many outside of the Pixel line are on Q yet. Some are, though.

Would be another interesting data point for people to share OS too.


----------



## disneyholic family

crystal1313 said:


> I was playing along at work today on T-Mobile LTE.  Right at 9 I did not get the red button after clicking find out more, so I clicked My Status and was able to hit Join boarding group from there. Went back out to home screen, hit find out more and then the button was red.  Went back out again, hit find out more, and button was grey.  Then nothing happened when I exited.  So I closed and re-opened the app and by that time it was on backup BGs.  Seemed fast today!





ironband74 said:


> As I expected.  The "Status screen/Find Out More" cha cha seems to work well for you iOS folks.  I haven't been successful doing this on my Android in play at home mode.  I'd be interested to hear from any Android users for whom this works.



i played along for the first time today...
i've wanted to before, but kept missing the time...

i was grocery shopping....
but first i tried when i was still at home, but the virtual line didn't open up....
it was 6 pm my time, but that's 8 am california time, so i realized the virtual line must open at 9 am..

so i set my alarm (how crazy is that????).
then at 6:55 PM my husband called about something else (masks for coronavirus - that's another story)..
and then i realized it was probably 7 pm so i got off the phone, saw that it was exactly the hour, went back into my DL app, which i'd left open on the gray/red button page, hit "my status" and voila join a boarding group appeared..
then i toggled back and forth just to see how it all works, and kept getting the red button..
after about 30 seconds, i went back to looking for the box of cornflakes i need..

then i remembered i should look at the back up situation, so at 3 minutes i went back in and still got a red button - this time for backup..

then for fun i fully closed the app and reopened..
it opens lightning fast on my phone, so it opened and i still got a red button...

then i went back to shopping..
all in all, pretty interesting..

by the way, i have an iPhone 11 and i live halfway around the world (in israel)...

to all those who got BGs and backup BGs, here's hoping it's a good day today and you all get in.....
may the force be with you (while you're being sprinkled with pixie dust)..

.


----------



## VandVsmama

I learned something this morning by playing along at home.  Sharing here so y'all can learn from my innocent "mistake."     Bear with me as I explain.

Last night, I bought 3 out of the 4 DL tickets we'll need for our trip in March.  I also purchased 2 1-day parking tickets at that time through the Disneyland website.  All 5 of those immediately showed up in my Disneyland.com account (and on the phone app).  Great, right? I mean, all I'll have to when we get to the parking lot is have them scan the bar code of the parking ticket.  It's very convenient.

Well, that's not ideal if your goal is to get a ROTR boarding group.  Here's why...
When you click the red "Join Boarding Group" button, a screen similar to the following popped up.  Except those 2 "tickets" at the bottom (i.e., "ID ending 2965" & the one below it) are the parking tickets.  They were the first two in the list and like our park tickets with our names (the stuff blocked out in blue), they ALL had green check marks.

Were this an actual day when we were actually in DL...and had I NOT paid attention and just immediately selected the blue "Join a Boarding Group" button, I wouldn't have gotten one because of the 2 parking tickets being checked off in green.

So I had to UNCHECK them first and THEN click the blue "Join a Boarding Group" button.


If not everybody is in the park yet with their tickets scanned, then you'll get a message like this:


----------



## disneyholic family

VandVsmama said:


> I learned something this morning by playing along at home.  Sharing here so y'all can learn from my innocent "mistake."     Bear with me as I explain.
> 
> Last night, I bought 3 out of the 4 DL tickets we'll need for our trip in March.  I also purchased 2 1-day parking tickets at that time through the Disneyland website.  All 5 of those immediately showed up in my Disneyland.com account (and on the phone app).  Great, right? I mean, all I'll have to when we get to the parking lot is have them scan the bar code of the parking ticket.  It's very convenient.
> 
> Well, that's not ideal if your goal is to get a ROTR boarding group.  Here's why...
> When you click the red "Join Boarding Group" button, a screen similar to the following popped up.  Except those 2 "tickets" at the bottom (i.e., "ID ending 2965" & the one below it) are the parking tickets.  They were the first two in the list and like our park tickets with our names (the stuff blocked out in blue), they ALL had green check marks.
> 
> Were this an actual day when we were actually in DL...and had I NOT paid attention and just immediately selected the blue "Join a Boarding Group" button, I wouldn't have gotten one because of the 2 parking tickets being checked off in green.
> 
> So I had to UNCHECK them first and THEN click the blue "Join a Boarding Group" button.
> View attachment 469842
> 
> If not everybody is in the park yet with their tickets scanned, then you'll get a message like this:
> View attachment 469843



thanks for the heads up!!
.


----------



## ironband74

VandVsmama said:


> I learned something this morning by playing along at home.  Sharing here so y'all can learn from my innocent "mistake."     Bear with me as I explain.


Good note.  I was watching Ordinary Adventures today and they showed that you can also get wrecked by After Hours (like yesterday's 80's night) tickets on your account.  

So be careful out there!


----------



## Smrtalec33

In line - ride just went down


----------



## Mark_E

Just about to head in to the “ride” and it appears to have broken down.


----------



## ironband74

Mark_E said:


> Just about to head in to the “ride” and it appears to have broken down.


----------



## Mark_E

Yup it’s down. Have multiple experience for any attraction both parks, including Rise


----------



## JWelch62

Kender said:


> I've been calling it occasionally Queen Cake myself because I hate calling it 10; would rather just call it Q even   . I'm really hoping they go back to dessert names with R later this year.
> 
> But yeah, brand new released Android phones from the past year should at least be mostly shipping with Pie. Oreo is 2017 and what the Pixel 2/2XLs shipped with (I have a 2XL myself). Not that many outside of the Pixel line are on Q yet. Some are, though.
> 
> Would be another interesting data point for people to share OS too.


Quince


----------



## Kender

JWelch62 said:


> Quince



Not sweet enough!

But I did think it was in the running too with the very few things that are sweet to sweet-ish and begin with a Q


----------



## LizzyS

Kender said:


> I've been calling it occasionally Queen Cake myself because I hate calling it 10; would rather just call it Q even   . I'm really hoping they go back to dessert names with R later this year.
> 
> But yeah, brand new released Android phones from the past year should at least be mostly shipping with Pie. Oreo is 2017 and what the Pixel 2/2XLs shipped with (I have a 2XL myself). Not that many outside of the Pixel line are on Q yet. Some are, though.
> 
> Would be another interesting data point for people to share OS too.



I'm really not well versed on phones as I usually keep one for 5 years before getting a new one and all the talk in this thread made me look up what Android version I have and it's apparently "Nougat", 7.0, lol.

I hope that doesn't disadvantage me in some way; Maxpass worked pretty well for me on the app last year at DLR.


----------



## afan

BigOHawk said:


> Wonder too if they had no idea what food/sweet to name for Q to just settled on a number system?



They could've used quiche but at least bow I know why it only had numbera when I was looking my version up last week.


Also, has anyone tried setting the alarm on your phone for park open as an alternative to a countdown clock?  Though I suppose that assumes it goes off right as the clock changes.


----------



## Kender

LizzyS said:


> I'm really not well versed on phones as I usually keep one for 5 years before getting a new one and all the talk in this thread made me look up what Android version I have and it's apparently "Nougat", 7.0, lol.
> 
> I hope that doesn't disadvantage me in some way; Maxpass worked pretty well for me on the app last year at DLR.



Nah, I'd be shocked since Nougat is still decent and running the app fine for you. I'd only be concerned if you were still on KitKat or earlier. Maybe Jelly Bean? I feel like Nougat and up should be fine.

I'm just curious if there could be a correlation between OS and speed. Just another data point for fun 


EDIT:


afan said:


> They could've used quiche but at least bow I know why it only had numbera when I was looking my version up last week.



There's a fun Easter Egg where you turn the 10 to a Q to get the Easter Egg animation in this version.


----------



## ZCarroll

I noticed with my last trip that my After Dark tickets were included with all my boarding group selections so in addition to deselecting those I will be having to deselect all my kids for my next trip which I am not able to remove... I'd log into my husband's account but for some reason it's not allowing him to get AP discounts with mobile orders or photopass even though he has an AP and I am paranoid of not being able to get back into my account later and then missing out on all those extras we paid for.  I'm not too worried about having to hit 9 check boxes, but I guess I will see in a couple weeks!  What I'm really worried about is having to stay nearby ROTR all day in case my BG gets called and yet still being around for After Dark and the early morning BG frenzy... I'd love to just sleep until my BG gets called... has anyone used something like Light Flow or Automagic to set an alarm for the Disneyland app push notification when your BG gets called?


----------



## ONDABASS

Yeah so I decided to purchase Sweetheart night tickets for my wife's b-day last night and it definitely affected my practice run this morning just like the person above with the parking tickets.I unchecked them, proceeded as far as I could go, went back to home to try again and they were always re-checked.
  Is there any way to change this or does it look like I'm gonna  need to add some"fast unchecking" to my play along practice routine?
.


----------



## longtimedisneylurker

ZCarroll said:


> I'd log into my husband's account but for some reason it's not allowing him to get AP discounts with mobile orders or photopass even though he has an AP



This was a problem with my husband's AP too. The problem seems to have stemmed from me buying both of our passes so his pass was attached to my account with me as the account owner. He called the Disneyland AP phone line and got it sorted out fairly quickly. He is now the account owner of his own pass and he can now use photopass and get his mobile order discount. I am also now able to add and remove his AP from my account. I was not able to delete my husband's AP from my account before he got the problem fixed.


----------



## Sith

I’ve played along from work/ home a few times, but this morning was the first time doing it for real. We took a 6:45am flight from the Bay Area. Uber’d straight to Harbor drop off. Made it into DL at 8:43. Got BG 2! Gave us until 11:17, so we were still able to keep 9:30 Carnation Cafe reservation. Went straight from breakfast. Ride is amazing! Will try again tomorrow!

Had four bars from esplanade, flagpole and top of train station steps, which is where we actually got the BG. iPhone XS on AT&T.


----------



## ZCarroll

longtimedisneylurker said:


> This was a problem with my husband's AP too. The problem seems to have stemmed from me buying both of our passes so his pass was attached to my account with me as the account owner. He called the Disneyland AP phone line and got it sorted out fairly quickly. He is now the account owner of his own pass and he can now use photopass and get his mobile order discount. I am also now able to add and remove his AP from my account. I was not able to delete my husband's AP from my account before he got the problem fixed.



Oh, good to hear that actually worked well... we got passed around all over from one person to another over hours at the park to get to the point where we were finally told we need to call in to get resolved and I was so frustrated by the whole experience I never bothered to do that worried it would just create some other issue, heh, so I appreciate hearing from your experience.  The final people we talked to just said to have everyone sign in to my account and use my AP because that's what they have to do if their families want to use their CM benefits... and I kept saying that is not the same since their family members aren't CMs but my family members are AP holders!


----------



## ironband74

Looks like BGs are getting called again.  That was a rough bit of down-time.  Hopefully it will sail smoothly for the rest of the day!


----------



## StarGirl11

random question anyone have a screenshot of the boarding groups from when it hit 122 or any of the days it topped 110? Trying to make a point elsewhere


----------



## NorthernCalMom

VandVsmama said:


> I had the same thing happen.  iPhone 6s


Same here (iPhone 5s).


----------



## ironband74

StarGirl11 said:


> random question anyone have a screenshot of the boarding groups from when it hit 122 or any of the days it topped 110? Trying to make a point elsewhere



I don't, but the data at https://www.thrill-data.com/waits/attraction/disneyland/starwarsriseoftheresistance/ should suffice


----------



## ironband74

ironband74 said:


> Looks like BGs are getting called again.  That was a rough bit of down-time.  Hopefully it will sail smoothly for the rest of the day!


Or not...sigh.


----------



## Mark_E

They were getting called again so I returned and got on with my anytime pass. Not wishing to give any spoilers, the last 90 seconds or so of the “ride” were quite buggy, with a fair bit of holding and audio mismatch etc. Not surprised to see it go down again.


----------



## MonocularVision

VandVsmama said:


> Well, that's not ideal if your goal is to get a ROTR boarding group.  Here's why...
> When you click the red "Join Boarding Group" button, a screen similar to the following popped up.  Except those 2 "tickets" at the bottom (i.e., "ID ending 2965" & the one below it) are the parking tickets.



Maybe the ride is so advanced you can bring your car on it?


----------



## JeriLee

I've read that some people are testing their app by getting a fast pass first.  But how are they doing this if the park is not officially open yet?


----------



## Kender

JeriLee said:


> I've read that some people are testing their app by getting a fast pass first.  But how are they doing this if the park is not officially open yet?



MP is available to pull as soon as you are scanned in. The return times will just not be until after park opening.


----------



## mydisneymoney

Bad day today.  Been down multiple times.  Just inside the que and the line is moving VERY SLOWLY!


----------



## socaldisneylover

Day 14...Ride is still a joke.  Maybe by Day 1,400 they’ll get the bugs worked out.


----------



## ButterflyKisses77

mydisneymoney said:


> Bad day today.  Been down multiple times.  Just inside the que and the line is moving VERY SLOWLY!


We’re BG 79 and praying we get on! It’s soooo slow


----------



## montreid

socaldisneylover said:


> Day 14...Ride is still a joke.  Maybe by Day 1,400 they’ll get the bugs worked out.


Year 25 and indy still breaks down daily....still a fav of many.


----------



## ButterflyKisses77

montreid said:


> Year 25 and indy still breaks down daily....still a fav of many.


Broke down twice while we were on it today but we still love it too


----------



## Sith

ButterflyKisses77 said:


> We’re BG 79 and praying we get on! It’s soooo slow


Yeah, seems to be one of the worst days so far. I feel very fortunate that we were able to ride earlier today.  Wishing you luck!


----------



## ironband74

socaldisneylover said:


> Day 14...Ride is still a joke.  Maybe by Day 1,400 they’ll get the bugs worked out.


To be fair, they are coming off 3 days with good throughput and 100+ BGs served (despite one of them being a shortened day), and they might yet make it there today (though I wouldn't hold my breath).  I've said it before and I'll say it again:  a complex system like this will take 100 days to become something like reliable, and a year to get to optimum operation.  DHS is not even to day 60, but has only had 4 sub-100bg days this month (today was one of them).


----------



## ironband74

ButterflyKisses77 said:


> We’re BG 79 and praying we get on! It’s soooo slow


Looks like it is moving again, hoping she holds together for at least another 5 groups!


----------



## TommyMac_DisneyEdition

Sorry if this has been asked a dozen times before, but I’m sitting on a bench here wondering. Will they call BGs up till closing time (typically)? Or do they typically stop calling BGs an hour or so early?


----------



## EmJ

TommyMac_DisneyEdition said:


> Sorry if this has been asked a dozen times before, but I’m sitting on a bench here wondering. Will they call BGs up till closing time (typically)? Or do they typically stop calling BGs an hour or so early?


They've been consistent about calling the last BGs at 8:00 or just after.


----------



## TommyMac_DisneyEdition

EmJ said:


> They've been consistent about calling the last BGs at 8:00 or just after.


Bummer. Thanks. We are BG 93. They just called 86. Oh man.....


----------



## BecAus

Hang in there - you're soooooo close!  Fingers crossed for you!


----------



## ironband74

TommyMac_DisneyEdition said:


> Bummer. Thanks. We are BG 93. They just called 86. Oh man.....


The cut off is usually sometime between 8 and 8:30, and they usually do a flurry right before they cut off.  I think you'll make it if the attraction doesn't die again.

Edit:  90 just called...Good thoughts for 3 more.  It'll be close, but I think they'll call a few more what with all the downtime if the attraction is running strong.

Other Edit:  I had it in my head that they did some flurries before closing out before, but now looking at my data that doesn't seem right.  Mea Culpa.  I guess I'm thinking of the flurries right after breakdowns...


----------



## TommyMac_DisneyEdition

ironband74 said:


> The cut off is usually sometime between 8 and 8:30, and they usually do a flurry right before they cut off.  I think you'll make it if the attraction doesn't die again.
> 
> Edit:  90 just called...Good thoughts for 3 more.  It'll be close, but I think they'll call a few more what with all the downtime if the attraction is running strong.


91.  Kids losing minds. Kind of funny


----------



## ironband74

2 to go!!!  Hear me baby?  Hold together...


----------



## Skyegirl1999

TommyMac_DisneyEdition said:


> 91.  Kids losing minds. Kind of funny


I keep refreshing on your behalf.  So hoping you guys make it!


----------



## ironband74

Also, yeah, weeknights the cutoff is closer to 8.  I was thinking of weekends where they cut it off between 8:30 and 9:00.  Funny how all this watching from afar is starting to blend together.




Skyegirl1999 said:


> I keep refreshing on your behalf.  So hoping you guys make it!


I'm doing the same.


----------



## TommyMac_DisneyEdition

ironband74 said:


> Also, yeah, weeknights the cutoff is closer to 8.  I was thinking of weekends where they cut it off between 8:30 and 9:00.  Funny how all this watching from afar is starting to blend together.
> 
> 
> 
> I'm doing the same.


You folks are awesome. Love it.


----------



## ironband74

Not liking what I'm seeing...Come on you Moof Milkers!  2 more!


----------



## ironband74

No movement.  Ask a cast member, they can often tell you if they are done for the night.


----------



## EmJ

TommyMac_DisneyEdition said:


> Bummer. Thanks. We are BG 93. They just called 86. Oh man.....


93!! GO MAN GO!


----------



## Aurora0427

Arghhhhh did they make it??????


----------



## EmJ

Aurora0427 said:


> Arghhhhh did they make it??????


They just called 93; I hope they didn't leave! Oh, the suspense!


----------



## Skyegirl1999

93!!!

I just squealed in my living room and my husband thinks I’m a bit touched.


----------



## Aurora0427

EmJ said:


> They just called 93; I hope they didn't leave! Oh, the suspense!



I have never been so invested in people I’ve never met! Ha! The Unifying Force, indeed!


----------



## TommyMac_DisneyEdition

Yes, we made it! In line now. We’ll cross our fingers ride keeps working.  You guys are amazing. I’ve been smiling this whole time.


----------



## montreid

TommyMac_DisneyEdition said:


> Bummer. Thanks. We are BG 93. They just called 86. Oh man.....


The force is strong with this one.


----------



## VandVsmama

This is the best thread ever.


----------



## Aurora0427

TommyMac_DisneyEdition said:


> Yes, we made it! In line now. We’ll cross our fingers ride keeps working.  You guys are amazing. I’ve been smiling this whole time.



I’m so happy for you guys and praying the ride keeps working! 

We got our boarding group Sunday, and I immediately logged on here to post. My husband asked what I was doing, and I told him “I need to tell my “friends” on the DIS what we got and how everything went!” Pretty sure he thought I was nuts.  

I love the camaraderie on this thread and how we all cheer each other on and commiserate with those who have trouble!


----------



## ironband74

Yay!  I stepped away and was literally sad about it.  Came back to see they are up to 96!  So happy!


----------



## Malcon10t

Love it!!  96!  Congrats to all who made it.


----------



## EmJ

It looks like we are done at 96. A slow, stair-steppy day, but at least TommyMac got on!


----------



## Mainyo

We'll be trying our luck for RotR next Saturday. We'll be walking from our hotel so I was wondering what would be a safe estimate on how much time it would take to get through security and into the park? Thank you in advance!


----------



## Whistlebee

Yay!  So happy for all you who’ve gotten to ride!!!  We aren’t going for a few more months but I’ve absolutely loved following along with everyone’s adventures and I’ve had a lot of fun following along with this thread, plus I’m pretty sure I’ll be able to get a BG like nobody’s business if they’re still a thing by the time I get to go.


----------



## TommyMac_DisneyEdition

Aurora0427 said:


> I’m so happy for you guys and praying the ride keeps working!
> 
> We got our boarding group Sunday, and I immediately logged on here to post. My husband asked what I was doing, and I told him “I need to tell my “friends” on the DIS what we got and how everything went!” Pretty sure he thought I was nuts.
> 
> I love the camaraderie on this thread and how we all cheer each other on and commiserate with those who have trouble!


What a fun end to the evening! You guys were great. My wife and I were just reading through all these and it was a great end to a great day. I really hope everyone on this thread has the same great luck we did today. Maybe a little better - get an earlier BG!


----------



## dina444444

The Chart:


----------



## deejdigsdis

Sith said:


> I’ve played along from work/ home a few times, but this morning was the first time doing it for real. We took a 6:45am flight from the Bay Area. Uber’d straight to Harbor drop off. Made it into DL at 8:43. Got BG 2! Gave us until 11:17, so we were still able to keep 9:30 Carnation Cafe reservation. Went straight from breakfast. Ride is amazing! Will try again tomorrow!
> 
> Had four bars from esplanade, flagpole and top of train station steps, which is where we actually got the BG. iPhone XS on AT&T.



I guess I was right there with ya on the train station platform!  My sister and I got BG 1!!  It was crazy.  She got teary and I was shaking.  Just couldn't believe it.  I thought there must have been some weird mistake -- no way would I have gotten BG 1.  It took a bit of time to process.  Good times!  So happy we made it on with only a 1/2 day in the park.


----------



## theluckyrabbit

LeiaOfAlderaan said:


> We will be there the weekend of the 14th and between the Presidents Day holiday, ski week, ROTR crowds, and the cheer competition, I’m expecting it to be full on Armageddon. Even with lots of APs blocked I think it will be nuts. And if it’s not utter chaos, I’ll be pleasantly surprised! MTFBWU


That week is expected to be pretty crazy, but even "full on Armageddon" at DLR is better than a day most anywhere else!



TommyMac_DisneyEdition said:


> Yes, we made it! In line now. We’ll cross our fingers ride keeps working.  You guys are amazing. I’ve been smiling this whole time.


So glad you made it on! I was holding my breath through that whole page!



VandVsmama said:


> This is the best thread ever.


Right? Like I've said before, our DIS community rocks!



Mainyo said:


> We'll be trying our luck for RotR next Saturday. We'll be walking from our hotel so I was wondering what would be a safe estimate on how much time it would take to get through security and into the park? Thank you in advance!


Which hotel? Which bag check? Saturday is a MM/EMH at DL (which I assume you won't have?), so give yourself plenty of time (more than you think you'll need) just to be on the safe side. The lines to the gates have been backing up heavily on Saturday mornings.


----------



## Peachy0118

Last night's posts had me giggling and smiling
This thread is awesome. We aren't there until April and I just love following along with this thread!


----------



## Rich M

Flight was delayed last night and after landing waiting for bags and getting rental car we were in bed by 2AM. Back up now to get ready and head over around 6:45. Hoping we have some good luck today. Hope everyone else who is here has the same.


----------



## Smrtalec33

Got BG 20 yesterday - iphone 7, Verizon, near Small World.
Called at 10 with a 2-hr window, checked in at 11:53.

Ride went down while we were in line - no info was given as far as how long it might be but we decided to stay. After about 90 minutes, it came back, and we rode.

I actually got to go twice with my older daughter using rider switch. We had 3 adults plus 2 kids, 1 of whom was too little. So 2 of the adults plus the older kid got to go twice.

our rider switch pass had an hour expiration after our check-in (11:53-12:53) but i asked when they gave it to us and they said we could use it any time later, using the fp line.

because of our delay, we did not get off the ride until after 2 o’clock, but I did screenshot the rider switch, and as it turned out, it was no problem at all to use it even though it was no longer in my app. I am not sure whether it would have been as easy if I had not taken the screenshot.

also, awesome ride!


----------



## HydroGuy

Mainyo said:


> We'll be trying our luck for RotR next Saturday. We'll be walking from our hotel so I was wondering what would be a safe estimate on how much time it would take to get through security and into the park? Thank you in advance!


If it was me - and it will be in a few weeks - I would hit security at 7AM at the latest. 6:45AM would be better.


----------



## Blue32

Does anyone have an idea where the best spots are to plant yourself when trying to get a BG in the morning? I’ve heard the train station mentioned. Are there dead zones to avoid? Does it not matter all that much?


----------



## HydroGuy

Blue32 said:


> Does anyone have an idea where the best spots are to plant yourself when trying to get a BG in the morning? I’ve heard the train station mentioned. Are there dead zones to avoid? Does it not matter all that much?


Unfortunately you will have to read back through many posts in this thread to piece this together. The general consensus seems to be:

to move into the park as much as possible
but some people have had great success in Town Square or up on the Train Station (usually folks who barely made it thru the gates before park opening and this was their only viable option)

move away from large groups of people as much as possible
have an app or website open on your phone to check your speed - the "ping" time seems to be more important - and find places where the ping is a short as possible and the overall speed is as fast as possible
folks have reported good luck in Frontierland near the shooting galleries, near IAWS and in TL near or past BLAB
Many other pieces of advice exist and lol I have a bookmarked list of 8-10 posts in this thread which I refer back to for each gem. I can dump the bookmarks here if you would like to see them.


----------



## JeriLee

Gates opened at 7:23

Bought tickets on app, do I still need to scan them in?


----------



## HydroGuy

JeriLee said:


> Gates opened at 7:23
> 
> Bought tickets on app, do I still need to scan them in?


If they are showing in the app, then they are already scanned in. If not, you need to scan them.



ETA:

View attachment 469974 View attachment 469975


----------



## ironband74

HydroGuy said:


> Unfortunately you will have to read back through many posts in this thread to piece this together. The general consensus seems to be:
> 
> to move into the park as much as possible
> but some people have had great success in Town Square or up on the Train Station (usually folks who barely made it thru the gates before park opening and this was their only viable option)
> 
> move away from large groups of people as much as possible
> have an app or website open on your phone to check your speed - the "ping" time seems to be more important - and find places where the ping is a short as possible and the overall speed is as fast as possible
> folks have reported good luck in Frontierland near the shooting galleries, near IAWS and in TL near or past BLAB
> Many other pieces of advice exist and lol I have a bookmarked list of 8-10 posts in this thread which I refer back to for each gem. I can dump the bookmarks here if you would like to see them.


I'll just add that some folks also have good luck scanning into Disneyland and then immediately heading to DCA or Downtown Disney and getting a BG there.


----------



## ironband74

"I call it luck" - Han Solo
"In my experience, there's no such thing" - Obi-wan Kenobi

To those about to rise: May the Force be With You (and maybe a little luck as well)


----------



## ironband74

Regular groups gone at 1 minute


----------



## ten6mom

I just played along from home and as far as I can tell, I would have been able to get in had I been in the parks.

Good luck everyone!


----------



## JeriLee

BG 89, but that was painful!  It didn’t seem to be working. Not sure what went wrong.


----------



## dina444444

JeriLee said:


> BG 89, but that was painful!  It didn’t seem to be working. Not sure what went wrong.


It may have depended on where you were in the park and what time you opened your app etc.


----------



## JeriLee

Not sure what we did wrong.


----------



## Rich M

We got Boarding group 79. I don’t believe it’s a back up so we are excited that we did it. Lines were crazy to get in but moved very quickly. We stood in front of Plaza. Let’s hope for a good day


----------



## JeriLee

We went to DTD where the ping rate was higher than in the park. I got to the screen that asked me to select my party and all were selected, but the join button was greyed out. Another member finally got 89.

I restarted my phone 15 minutes prior and turned everything off.


----------



## ironband74

So, Android Galaxy S7. Playing along at home. Normally I tap in to Find Out More at 1 second before.  Today I tapped in 2 seconds before to get the grey button of doom.  I then hit my status and got a lit blue button and was able to select my party.  Going back out to the Find Out More screen still showed grey button, though, but going into my status again gave me blue.

Restarting app at 8:01 it was backup time and I had red button.

So my new theory is that on the Android platform if you open a given page prior to open, it will lock out that page. In my case today I opened find out more before 8AM, so grey button locked in, but I opened my status after 8AM, so active blue button available. 

In previous trials, I had opened both FOM and MS prior to open and been locked out of both of them. 

So it was a successful one-way cha-cha.  

(Backups still available at 8:09)


----------



## DLgal

JeriLee said:


> BG 89, but that was painful!  It didn’t seem to be working. Not sure what went wrong.



You didn't do anything wrong. You got a BG! Yay! 

But now you can relate to being at the mercy of an app that doesn't always do what its supposed to do. Imagine how you would feel if you didn't get a BG at all...


----------



## DLgal

ironband74 said:


> So, Android Galaxy S7. Playing along at home. Normally I tap in to Find Out More at 1 second before.  Today I tapped in 2 seconds before to get the grey button of doom.  I then hit my status and got a lit blue button and was able to select my party.  Going back out to the Find Out More screen still showed grey button, though, but going into my status again gave me blue.
> 
> Restarting app at 8:01 it was backup time and I had red button.
> 
> So my new theory is that on the Android platform if you open a given page prior to open, it will lock out that page. In my case today I opened find out more before 8AM, so grey button locked in, but I opened my status after 8AM, so active blue button available.
> 
> In previous trials, I had opened both FOM and MS prior to open and been locked out of both of them.
> 
> So it was a successful one-way cha-cha.
> 
> (Backups still available at 8:09)



When I was in the actual park, I launched the app from "minimized mode" RIGHT at 8:00. I could click on Find Out More, but then My status and Join Boarding Group were both greyed out, no matter how many times I backed out and went back in. 

There is no rhyme or reason. The app does what it wants. I feel like most of this thread is people trying to convince themselves that they have some level of control so they can feel prepared. In reality, there is nothing anyone can do to be assured that anything will work the same way in the park as it does at home.

I have a brand new Galaxy S10.


----------



## Linda67

Got BG 30 so I’m happy!
Forgot to put my watch with a second hand on so I was switching screens and counted down in my head 
I’m a party of one, using an iPhone X Max, I sat on a bench next to the flagpole.
Used data roaming as I have a UK cell phone 
Hope everyone enjoys the ride and has a great day today


----------



## brightlined

JeriLee said:


> We went to DTD where the ping rate was higher than in the park. I got to the screen that asked me to select my party and all were selected, but the join button was greyed out. Another member finally got 89.
> 
> I restarted my phone 15 minutes prior and turned everything off.


When you say "ping rate is higher" - is that in microseconds? A high ping rate means your network connection is bad - you want your ping rate to be as small as possible.


----------



## StarGirl11

Backups still available over 25 minutes after opening. That’s a first for a day that isn’t Wednesday.


----------



## BigOHawk

HydroGuy said:


> Unfortunately you will have to read back through many posts in this thread to piece this together. The general consensus seems to be:
> 
> to move into the park as much as possible
> but some people have had great success in Town Square or up on the Train Station (usually folks who barely made it thru the gates before park opening and this was their only viable option)
> 
> move away from large groups of people as much as possible
> have an app or website open on your phone to check your speed - the "ping" time seems to be more important - and find places where the ping is a short as possible and the overall speed is as fast as possible
> folks have reported good luck in Frontierland near the shooting galleries, near IAWS and in TL near or past BLAB
> Many other pieces of advice exist and lol I have a bookmarked list of 8-10 posts in this thread which I refer back to for each gem. I can dump the bookmarks here if you would like to see them.


Please post links or good areas with the best "ping", thanks!


----------



## ironband74

DLgal said:


> When I was in the actual park, I launched the app from "minimized mode" RIGHT at 8:00. I could click on Find Out More, but then My status and Join Boarding Group were both greyed out, no matter how many times I backed out and went back in.
> 
> There is no rhyme or reason. The app does what it wants. I feel like most of this thread is people trying to convince themselves that they have some level of control so they can feel prepared. In reality, there is nothing anyone can do to be assured that anything will work the same way in the park as it does at home.
> 
> I have a brand new Galaxy S10.



It's technology.  There is reason behind it unless there is actually a RNG in the mix.  While I know things can behave differently in the park, to me it is about knowing how my tech is behaving and having some level of preparation.  But if I go while BGs are still a thing (and I probably won't), I realize that there are factors beyond my control (like pp who had red button but greyed out on the party screen), and there are factors within my control.  It is unfortunate that this is a zero sum game and that not everyone who wants to can experience the attraction, but if I go it will be to go to Disneyland and have a good time, Rise or Not.  

In other news, backup groups are still available at 8:33.


----------



## Skyegirl1999

DLgal said:


> There is no rhyme or reason. The app does what it wants. I feel like most of this thread is people trying to convince themselves that they have some level of control so they can feel prepared. In reality, there is nothing anyone can do to be assured that anything will work the same way in the park as it does at home.


To be fair, I think that there are things a person can do to improve their chances, and I think there are a lot of helpful tips here.  Being familiar with the interface, finding a spot with good connectivity, deleting tickets that you won’t be using (or realizing that you’re going to have to fast-unclick your special event tickets)... and the fact that you can have other people “helping” from outside the park is huge (I certainly didn’t know that on opening day, or I’d have had my husband trying for us).

As far as the obsessing over the second hand, or the specifics of what you click or launch exactly when... I’m kind of with you in that I don’t see a lot of consistency, at least as far as my iPhone is concerned. I am willing to concede that there may be iPhone/Android differences, but even that seems to be getting muddled with some contradictory info from Android users.

I think people are reaching for patterns to feel like they’re doing someone concrete.  And I don’t think it’s a bad idea to try to give yourself every edge possible!  But at the end of the day, the tech is just kinda wonky.  I definitely don’t think people getting locked out or getting later groups are necessarily doing something “wrong,” or something they could have avoided by knowing which nanosecond to launch their app.


----------



## BigOHawk

ironband74 said:


> So, Android Galaxy S7. Playing along at home. Normally I tap in to Find Out More at 1 second before.  Today I tapped in 2 seconds before to get the grey button of doom.  I then hit my status and got a lit blue button and was able to select my party.  Going back out to the Find Out More screen still showed grey button, though, but going into my status again gave me blue.
> 
> Restarting app at 8:01 it was backup time and I had red button.
> 
> So my new theory is that on the Android platform if you open a given page prior to open, it will lock out that page. In my case today I opened find out more before 8AM, so grey button locked in, but I opened my status after 8AM, so active blue button available.
> 
> In previous trials, I had opened both FOM and MS prior to open and been locked out of both of them.
> 
> So it was a successful one-way cha-cha.
> 
> (Backups still available at 8:09)


As stated before, on Galaxy S8, sooo...should I basically launch DL app so that it completes its open as close to park open as possible? It does seem it gets finicky if you already have the 'Find Out More' screen already up or if you are in 'My Status'. That does seem to lock me out too for awhile.


----------



## VandVsmama

As of 30 min after the hour, backup boarding groups were still available.


----------



## ironband74

Backups gone at 8:35.  82 is the first backup group.


----------



## B3rlingirl

VandVsmama said:


> As of 30 min after the hour, backup boarding groups were still available.


Not anymore... just tried and no red button.. Though I think I saw a glimpse of it before it turned grey...
Group 82 and above are backups...


----------



## dina444444

I’m going to guess that the first group of the day will either be 10 or 11


----------



## GlowTheWeird

Did a speed test in a few places- you can see for us Main Street around a bunch of people was getting slow speeds, the best for us was by red rose tavern. iPhone XR on Verizon . The problem I ran into today was was I had an ad for ‘Play Disney’ open when I opened the Disney app at exactly 8, touched the ad it then opened ‘play Disney’, in a panic I closed that out and went back to click on ‘my status’ to then join a boarding group. Got boarding group 42. Happy with that. The ad threw me off tho. Ekkkkk


----------



## DLgal

BigOHawk said:


> As stated before, on Galaxy S8, sooo...should I basically launch DL app so that it completes its open as close to park open as possible? It does seem it gets finicky if you already have the 'Find Out More' screen already up or if you are in 'My Status'. That does seem to lock me out too for awhile.



My strategy on Monday is going to be launching the app fresh at 10 seconds before the top of the hour (it takes like 6 seconds to actually launch) and then clicking Find Out More. Who knows if it will work or not.

I'm also going to bring along another phone this time. My son has my old Galaxy S7 and I'm going to install the app and log in using my account on his so I at least have 2 phones to try from. I plan to have his launched and on the home screen and will click Find out more at 9am. 

2 different strategies. Hope one will work.


----------



## ironband74

BigOHawk said:


> As stated before, on Galaxy S8, sooo...should I basically launch DL app so that it completes its open as close to park open as possible? It does seem it gets finicky if you already have the 'Find Out More' screen already up or if you are in 'My Status'. That does seem to lock me out too for awhile.


In my experimentation, I've been opening the app at about 2 minutes before open.  I've seen reports of people trying to open the app at opening time and finding it slow to get through the splash screen and whatnot.

So I'd say launch 2-3 minutes prior, have the front page open but do not go into find out more until 1 second before opening.  If my theory is correct, if you are a second early and don't get the red button, you'll be able to click into My Status and see a lit blue button because by then another second will have passed.  If I am correct, the Android version is checking the server for a go signal when each of those pages is opened for the first time, but on subsequent tries in the same instance, it relies on what it received prior, so that is why closing the app is necessary to get it to work.


----------



## HydroGuy

BigOHawk said:


> Please post links or good areas with the best "ping", thanks!


I have been bookmarking individual posts in this thread I have found insightful. Here is a dump FWIW, but in no way do I have every nugget here lol:

https://www.disboards.com/threads/r...read-posts-1-3.3784461/page-167#post-61497839
https://www.disboards.com/threads/r...read-posts-1-3.3784461/page-155#post-61490333
https://www.disboards.com/threads/r...read-posts-1-3.3784461/page-155#post-61490011
https://www.disboards.com/threads/r...read-posts-1-3.3784461/page-154#post-61489964
https://www.disboards.com/threads/r...read-posts-1-3.3784461/page-138#post-61481540
https://www.disboards.com/threads/r...read-posts-1-3.3784461/page-138#post-61481500
https://www.disboards.com/threads/r...read-posts-1-3.3784461/page-110#post-61467660


----------



## Mainyo

theluckyrabbit said:


> Which hotel? Which bag check? Saturday is a MM/EMH at DL (which I assume you won't have?), so give yourself plenty of time (more than you think you'll need) just to be on the safe side. The lines to the gates have been backing up heavily on Saturday mornings.



We'll be about a mile away, so I think we'll just use uber since it's only a 5-6 min drive. We'd be coming in through the Harbor entrance. Was thinking about leaving the hotel at 7a. Would that be cutting it too close?


----------



## Skyegirl1999

It’s a totally non-holiday Friday morning in January.  No MM.  There’s no reason for there to be enough people in the park to kill the back-ups.

My favorite mornings to rope-drop Disneyland during the school year are (in order): Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday.  Sundays are currently very impacted by ROTR because people have Sundays off, obviously, so the “ROTR effect” is huge (and unfortunately, Sundays have operated terribly so far, with zero back-ups taken on a Sunday yet!)  But Wednesday and Friday?  At this time of year?  These are magical times to rope-drop DL. (Fridays do get busy later.  But the morning is a different story.)

The BGs/backup timing is an interesting way to track morning park attendance.  I wish we knew for sure how many people were in a BG.


----------



## ironband74

DLgal said:


> My strategy on Monday is going to be launching the app fresh at 10 seconds before the top of the hour (it takes like 6 seconds to actually launch) and then clicking Find Out More. Who knows if it will work or not.
> 
> I'm also going to bring along another phone this time. My son has my old Galaxy S7 and I'm going to install the app and log in using my account on his so I at least have 2 phones to try from. I plan to have his launched and on the home screen and will click Find out more at 9am.
> 
> 2 different strategies. Hope one will work.


Good plan.  I have my wife's old S7 as well and if I do go, you can bet I'll have that sucker on the wifi and wielding my phones John Woo style...


----------



## Skyegirl1999

ironband74 said:


> Good plan.  I have my wife's old S7 as well and if I do go, you can bet I'll have that sucker on the wifi and wielding my phones John Woo style...


I feel like you need to come and try this system just because you’ve invested so much into studying it.

Plus the ride is really cool.  There’s that, too.


----------



## HydroGuy

Skyegirl1999 said:


> I feel like you need to come and try this system just because you’ve invested so much into studying it.


I agree. Just don't come on March 7 or 8.


----------



## ironband74

Skyegirl1999 said:


> The BGs/backup timing is an interesting way to track morning park attendance.  I wish we knew for sure how many people were in a BG.


My educated guess is 80.  Because...


Spoiler: Potential light spoiler



10 vehicles holding 8 people each is 80. Folks counting say between 75 and 100. But 80 makes a lot of sense because it allows the people crunching the numbers to easily track how many vehicles are moving through the attraction. 80 groups loaded?  That's 800 vehicles through the attraction.


----------



## HydroGuy

HydroGuy said:


> I agree. Just don't come on March 7 or 8.


In fact, I would like to get a viral rumor going that March 7-8 will be horribly crowded and everyone should just stay home...


----------



## ironband74

HydroGuy said:


> In fact, I would like to get a viral rumor going that March 7-8 will be horribly crowded and everyone should just stay home...


----------



## DLgal

Skyegirl1999 said:


> It’s a totally non-holiday Friday morning in January.  No MM.  There’s no reason for there to be enough people in the park to kill the back-ups.
> 
> My favorite mornings to rope-drop Disneyland during the school year are (in order): Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday.  Sundays are currently very impacted by ROTR because people have Sundays off, obviously, so the “ROTR effect” is huge (and unfortunately, Sundays have operated terribly so far, with zero back-ups taken on a Sunday yet!)  But Wednesday and Friday?  At this time of year?  These are magical times to rope-drop DL. (Fridays do get busy later.  But the morning is a different story.)
> 
> The BGs/backup timing is an interesting way to track morning park attendance.  I wish we knew for sure how many people were in a BG.



I agree with you on your days that are best to rope drop. We usually go Sundays because the mornings are typically very slow. Not so much now though. 

I do wonder about this Sunday, due to the Super Bowl and the fact that the 49ers are in it this year, having more impact on locals who may be fans. My husband is a huge 49ers fan and if he was home, we would definitely not be at Disneyland this Sunday. 

I'm thinking of maybe trying it this Sunday because we also have Monday as an option. Not sure yet what we will do.


----------



## Skyegirl1999

HydroGuy said:


> In fact, I would like to get a viral rumor going that March 7-8 will be horribly crowded and everyone should just stay home...


I didn’t realize your two days were a Saturday and a Sunday.  May the Force be with you!

(I’m sure you’ll be fine - will you have outside the park assistance, too?)


----------



## B3rlingirl

Boarding group 11 now!


----------



## HydroGuy

Skyegirl1999 said:


> I didn’t realize your two days were a Saturday and a Sunday.  May the Force be with you!
> 
> (I’m sure you’ll be fine - will you have outside the park assistance, too?)


Yep. I have ability to flex to week days but two of my three sons who are coming with me do not. So we are powering out on Saturday and Sunday. I have a DAP and March 7 is my last open Saturday for a long time!


----------



## dina444444

ironband74 said:


> My educated guess is 80.  Because...
> 
> 
> Spoiler: Potential light spoiler
> 
> 
> 
> 10 vehicles holding 8 people each is 80. Folks counting say between 75 and 100. But 80 makes a lot of sense because it allows the people crunching the numbers to easily track how many vehicles are moving through the attraction. 80 groups loaded?  That's 800 vehicles through the attraction.





Spoiler: Vehicle Info



there are 4 integration rooms each loading 2 vehicles of 8 for 16 people. It’s about a 5 min cycle for each room


----------



## montreid

In our experience in getting groups, the optimal is launching the app a few minutes before, clear any push notifications (like that pesky Play ad!), double check tickets are all loaded and situated -- and then minimize the app at the home screen.  

Come 8:00 -- open app, > Find out more > Join boarding group.    If greyed out, hit My status > Join boarding Group.   

If unable,  close app quickly and relaunch and repeat through quickly ---i've only had to do this last step once from home when playing along and it worked to 'reset' the app -- which takes precious seconds, but still only ~6 secs in time.


----------



## Skyegirl1999

DLgal said:


> I agree with you on your days that are best to rope drop. We usually go Sundays because the mornings are typically very slow. Not so much now though.
> 
> I do wonder about this Sunday, due to the Super Bowl and the fact that the 49ers are in it this year, having more impact on locals who may be fans. My husband is a huge 49ers fan and if he was home, we would definitely not be at Disneyland this Sunday.
> 
> I'm thinking of maybe trying it this Sunday because we also have Monday as an option. Not sure yet what we will do.


This Sunday is my husband’s birthday, so we were thinking of going and trying for a BG since he hasn’t ridden yet, but we’d have to be out of the parks by mid-day to watch the game, soooo... probably not?

If you go, I hope the accursed Sunday ride performance changes.

ETA: I have been checking for Sunday Lamplight Lounge brunch reservations every hour since Wednesday, and I just scored 9:10am!  Soooo, we’ll be there.  Probably we will try for a BG?  Assuming my husband wants to wake up early on his birthday... Decisions, decisions...


----------



## ironband74

dina444444 said:


> I’m going to guess that the first group of the day will either be 10 or 11


You are correct!


----------



## amfunsize

HydroGuy said:


> Unfortunately you will have to read back through many posts in this thread to piece this together. The general consensus seems to be:
> 
> to move into the park as much as possible
> but some people have had great success in Town Square or up on the Train Station (usually folks who barely made it thru the gates before park opening and this was their only viable option)
> 
> move away from large groups of people as much as possible
> have an app or website open on your phone to check your speed - the "ping" time seems to be more important - and find places where the ping is a short as possible and the overall speed is as fast as possible
> folks have reported good luck in Frontierland near the shooting galleries, near IAWS and in TL near or past BLAB
> Many other pieces of advice exist and lol I have a bookmarked list of 8-10 posts in this thread which I refer back to for each gem. I can dump the bookmarks here if you would like to see them.


 I'm fairly new to the forum (about a month) and I have read all pages but I didn't know you could bookmark posts. I would love to see which ones you've saved.


----------



## dina444444

amfunsize said:


> I'm fairly new to the forum (about a month) and I have read all pages but I didn't know you could bookmark posts. I would love to see which ones you've saved.


You bookmark by clicking on the little flag button. I’ve highlighted it in yellow below.


----------



## MommyLove

We're planning on going Wednesday the 5th. DH and I will have the so Cal 3-day tickets, my DD will still have her AP (which expires on the 9th). For lots of reasons this will be our only shot to try for RotR for a few months. 

I've played from home 3 times now and have been successful each time. With Galaxy S10 and T-Mobile, opening the app at one minute before park opening (had an alarm set) then watching for my phone clock to turn from :59 to :00 then clicking the Find Out More button and getting the orange Join Boarding Group button each time. Of course I know it will be different fighting with all the others in the parks for 4G access. That's the rub isn't it.


----------



## pharmama

Presidents Weekend is going to be busy, no doubt, but I'm wondering if its going to fall victim to people being scared of crowds and not going and perhaps be not quite as bad as everyone fears?  It's still wide open all weekend for Flex Pass reservations whereas nearly every weekend for the Nov/Dec holiday season as well as ROTR opening weekend/MLK were Reservation Unavailable weeks ahead of time...

Or am I just making excuses for trying to talk myself into going that weekend... LOL


----------



## Gaugersaurus

Skyegirl1999 said:


> This Sunday is my husband’s birthday, so we were thinking of going and trying for a BG since he hasn’t ridden yet, but we’d have to be out of the parks by mid-day to watch the game, soooo... probably not?


Happy Birthday to your husband from a fellow Groundhog Day birthday!


----------



## Skyegirl1999

pharmama said:


> Presidents Weekend is going to be busy, no doubt, but I'm wondering if its going to fall victim to people being scared of crowds and not going and perhaps be not quite as bad as everyone fears?  It's still wide open all weekend for Flex Pass reservations whereas nearly every weekend for the Nov/Dec holiday season as well as ROTR opening weekend/MLK were Reservation Unavailable weeks ahead of time...
> 
> Or am I just making excuses for trying to talk myself into going that weekend... LOL


Hmm, interesting about the Flex reservations.  It’s the Monday-Friday of that week that’s actually been awful IMO, but part of that has been weather-related in the past.  Back on the Friday before Presidents’ Day in 2017, we were there when Main Street was flooding and the parks closed early, for instance...


----------



## ironband74

MommyLove said:


> We're planning on going Wednesday the 5th. DH and I will have the so Cal 3-day tickets, my DD will still have her AP (which expires on the 9th). For lots of reasons this will be our only shot to try for RotR for a few months.
> 
> I've played from home 3 times now and have been successful each time. With Galaxy S10 and T-Mobile, opening the app at one minute before park opening (had an alarm set) then watching for my phone clock to turn from :59 to :00 then clicking the Find Out More button and getting the orange Join Boarding Group button each time. Of course I know it will be different fighting with all the others in the parks for 4G access. That's the rub isn't it.


Wednesdays are (so far) the lightest population.  I suspect you'll do fine.


----------



## Epicnemesis

As I mentioned upthread, I am going on the 15th with my wife, leaving our 4 year old with my in-laws that day. I bought her pass on my account and I’m not seeing a way to default her pass to “off” when trying to make a board group. Am I SOL with that? It’s not the end of the world, worst case it adds 2 seconds to the process. But I would imagine those 2 seconds on the 15th could be the difference between a good BG and a...less good BG. On my practice runs I end up finishing sub 10 seconds, so I’m confident I’ll get a BG regardless, but the earlier the better.


----------



## Arianabtd

Heading to DL tonight, and gonna attempt to get a group on my only park day tomorrow 
Hopefully all my app practice at home will help me out


----------



## Gaugersaurus

Epicnemesis said:


> As I mentioned upthread, I am going on the 15th with my wife, leaving our 4 year old with my in-laws that day. I bought her pass on my account and I’m not seeing a way to default her pass to “off” when trying to make a board group. Am I SOL with that? It’s not the end of the world, worst case it adds 2 seconds to the process. But I would imagine those 2 seconds on the 15th could be the difference between a good BG and a...less good BG. On my practice runs I end up finishing sub 10 seconds, so I’m confident I’ll get a BG regardless, but the earlier the better.


You could set up or use an account for your wife and don't scan your 4 year old's pass into the account. For whatever reason the passes link to the account that they're scanned to first and have to be removed by a CM.


----------



## Epicnemesis

Gaugersaurus said:


> You could set up or use an account for your wife and don't scan your 4 year old's pass into the account. For whatever reason the passes link to the account that they're scanned to first and have to be removed by a CM.


Good call. To clarify, you are saying to log out of my account on my phone and log into my wife’s for that morning so that I can disassociate my daughter’s pass.


----------



## tankgirl!

I apologize if this has been covered elsewhere, but when you are playing from home, how do you know when backup groups begin? I've been checking the app when the park opens and I see the "join boarding group" button turn red, but since I'm not actually in the park and haven't added anyone to a ticket I can't go any farther. I'm just curious how folks know when backups begin. Thanks! This is invaluable info!


----------



## StarGirl11

tankgirl! said:


> I apologize if this has been covered elsewhere, but when you are playing from home, how do you know when backup groups begin? I've been checking the app when the park opens and I see the "join boarding group" button turn red, but since I'm not actually in the park and haven't added anyone to a ticket I can't go any farther. I'm just curious how folks know when backups begin. Thanks! This is invaluable info!



It was popping up the notification that I was joining a backup. It doesn’t check to see if your scanned in until the step after selecting your party members


----------



## Gaugersaurus

Epicnemesis said:


> Good call. To clarify, you are saying to log out of my account on my phone and log into my wife’s for that morning so that I can disassociate my daughter’s pass.


Correct, you should see an option to "delete pass" when you go to tickets & passes on you wife's account.


----------



## HydroGuy

amfunsize said:


> I'm fairly new to the forum (about a month) and I have read all pages but I didn't know you could bookmark posts. I would love to see which ones you've saved.


See these bookmarks I posted this AM - @dina444444 has a PP this AM a few posts ago showing how to bookmark.  



ETA - Ooops sorry, forgot to post the link!


HydroGuy said:


> I have been bookmarking individual posts in this thread I have found insightful. Here is a dump FWIW, but in no way do I have every nugget here lol:
> 
> https://www.disboards.com/threads/r...read-posts-1-3.3784461/page-167#post-61497839
> https://www.disboards.com/threads/r...read-posts-1-3.3784461/page-155#post-61490333
> https://www.disboards.com/threads/r...read-posts-1-3.3784461/page-155#post-61490011
> https://www.disboards.com/threads/r...read-posts-1-3.3784461/page-154#post-61489964
> https://www.disboards.com/threads/r...read-posts-1-3.3784461/page-138#post-61481540
> https://www.disboards.com/threads/r...read-posts-1-3.3784461/page-138#post-61481500
> https://www.disboards.com/threads/r...read-posts-1-3.3784461/page-110#post-61467660


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## BigOHawk

StarGirl11 said:


> It was popping up the notification that I was joining a backup. It doesn’t check to see if your scanned in until the step after selecting your party members


I will note that on Android this is wonky and doesn't always pop up with that notification. Sometimes the only way I know from play at home it's a backup BG is the actual text on the app saying "all passes have been distributed today...etc etc."


----------



## montreid

ironband74 said:


> Wednesdays are (so far) the lightest population.  I suspect you'll do fine.


We'll be there Feb 15-17 again -  no flex dates blocked out yet for all of Feb.


----------



## Skyegirl1999

BigOHawk said:


> I will note that on Android this is wonky and doesn't always pop up with that notification. Sometimes the only way I know from play at home it's a backup BG is the actual text on the app saying "all passes have been distributed today...etc etc."


I have an iPhone and it’s the same.  I’ve only gotten the pop-up a few times.  I think people who’ve seen the pop-up don’t realize it’s not ALWAYS there when backups are in effect, which is why we get conflicting backup times posted from some people.  I didn’t realize that it could be hidden in the fine print until it was pointed out to me.


----------



## BigOHawk

So......other question, what is the suggested/process odds of getting a BG from the paper machines? Are those all backup BG's or do people who at the front pre rope drop pull some good BG's out of those manual machines? Any tips or articles on this process? Perhaps a party splits up and a few try this while the other finds a low ping, good connection area and see who gets through?


----------



## DLRExpert

New strategy... This is based off of my 10 visits to Disneyland and seems to work best for getting an early return time.

- Only have the tickets you are using for the day. Always test the app before park opening by trying to book a FP. This allows you to see which tickets are available on that day.

- I close the Disneyland App a few minutes before park opening time.

- The park opens 5 minutes early so I walk over to the Pixie Hollow area and Turn off WiFi use LTE

- Open the Clock App with the seconds being shown.

- Once the Clock app shows 5 second until park opening I open the Disneyland App, click the castle image to skip the firework animation hit Find out More, then Join Boarding Group.

- The past three times I tried this I got 15, 12, and 8 Boarding Group.

ME


----------



## HydroGuy

BigOHawk said:


> So......other question, what is the suggested/process odds of getting a BG from the paper machines? Are those all backup BG's or do people who at the front pre rope drop pull some good BG's out of those manual machines? Any tips or articles on this process? Perhaps a party splits up and a few try this while the other finds a low ping, good connection area and see who gets through?


Only the first 1-2 folks in line at the BLAB FP machines seem to have a chance at that. If you have MM or EMH you can spend your entire hour getting to those machines and then you have a for sure BG pretty much. For regular park hours (no MM/EMH days) you have to be an early bird. Most folks seemt o have decided it just not worth it.


----------



## Skyegirl1999

BigOHawk said:


> So......other question, what is the suggested/process odds of getting a BG from the paper machines? Are those all backup BG's or do people who at the front pre rope drop pull some good BG's out of those manual machines? Any tips or articles on this process? Perhaps a party splits up and a few try this while the other finds a low ping, good connection area and see who gets through?


It’s almost impossible.  Only the first couple/few people at each machine have a chance before regular BGs are gone.

I’ve suggested here (and would still suggest) that a person with MM access who ONLY cares about ROTR might do well to post up at a Buzz FP machine right as MM starts, as being first at a machine is the closest to a “guarantee” anyone’s going to get when it comes to ROTR, but that’s a lot of commitment and not practical for most.

Disclaimer: I haven’t pulled one from a machine myself, but this is based on what I have seen online along with the fact that I originally thought to try for a machine on opening day... but 5,000 people had the same idea.


----------



## HydroGuy

DLRExpert said:


> New strategy... This is based off of my 10 visits to Disneyland and seems to work best for getting an early return time.
> 
> - Only have the tickets you are using for the day. Always test the app before park opening by trying to book a FP. This allows you to see which tickets are available on that day.
> 
> - I close the Disneyland App a few minutes before park opening time.
> 
> - The park opens 5 minutes early so I walk over to the Pixie Hollow area and Turn off WiFi use LTE
> 
> - Open the Clock App with the seconds being shown.
> 
> - Once the Clock app shows 5 second until park opening I open the Disneyland App, click the castle image to skip the firework animation hit Find out More, then Join Boarding Group.
> 
> - The past three times I tried this I got 15, 12, and 8 Boarding Group.
> 
> ME


Hmmm,  you kind of sound like an expert. Good screen name!


----------



## Aurora0427

pharmama said:


> Presidents Weekend is going to be busy, no doubt, but I'm wondering if its going to fall victim to people being scared of crowds and not going and perhaps be not quite as bad as everyone fears?  It's still wide open all weekend for Flex Pass reservations whereas nearly every weekend for the Nov/Dec holiday season as well as ROTR opening weekend/MLK were Reservation Unavailable weeks ahead of time...
> 
> Or am I just making excuses for trying to talk myself into going that weekend... LOL



I know, we are in San Diego and out that entire week, and I can’t decide if we want to chance it or not. If the flex pass reservation don’t fill, we may give it a shot.


----------



## LizzyS

montreid said:


> Year 25 and indy still breaks down daily....still a fav of many.



Haha, I said exactly this to a coworker yesterday.


----------



## thejimmyb

DLRExpert said:


> New strategy... This is based off of my 10 visits to Disneyland and seems to work best for getting an early return time.
> 
> - Only have the tickets you are using for the day. Always test the app before park opening by trying to book a FP. This allows you to see which tickets are available on that day.
> 
> - I close the Disneyland App a few minutes before park opening time.
> 
> - The park opens 5 minutes early so I walk over to the Pixie Hollow area and Turn off WiFi use LTE
> 
> - Open the Clock App with the seconds being shown.
> 
> - Once the Clock app shows 5 second until park opening I open the Disneyland App, click the castle image to skip the firework animation hit Find out More, then Join Boarding Group.
> 
> - The past three times I tried this I got 15, 12, and 8 Boarding Group.
> 
> ME



Now this looks like the plan to follow. What's your cell carrier? Is Pixie Hollow some kind of hot spot with good service or is that just where you get sent up as the ropes are dropping?


----------



## GlowTheWeird

thejimmyb said:


> Now this looks like the plan to follow. What's your cell carrier? Is Pixie Hollow some kind of hot spot with good service or is that just where you get sent up as the ropes are dropping?


We tried Pixie Hollow first with Verizon and got super bad speed. Then went on to Red Rose Tavern and we blazing fast


----------



## jackbo487

DLRExpert said:


> New strategy... This is based off of my 10 visits to Disneyland and seems to work best for getting an early return time.
> 
> - Only have the tickets you are using for the day. Always test the app before park opening by trying to book a FP. This allows you to see which tickets are available on that day.
> 
> - I close the Disneyland App a few minutes before park opening time.
> 
> - The park opens 5 minutes early so I walk over to the Pixie Hollow area and Turn off WiFi use LTE
> 
> - Open the Clock App with the seconds being shown.
> 
> - Once the Clock app shows 5 second until park opening I open the Disneyland App, click the castle image to skip the firework animation hit Find out More, then Join Boarding Group.
> 
> - The past three times I tried this I got 15, 12, and 8 Boarding Group.
> 
> ME


wait, you can skip the fireworks animation? awesome haha


----------



## Mainyo

HydroGuy said:


> If it was me - and it will be in a few weeks - I would hit security at 7AM at the latest. 6:45AM would be better.


Thank you so much! I will definitely aim to be there between 645 - 7. I'm stressed out already and I still have a week to go!


----------



## DLgal

DLRExpert said:


> New strategy... This is based off of my 10 visits to Disneyland and seems to work best for getting an early return time.
> 
> - Only have the tickets you are using for the day. Always test the app before park opening by trying to book a FP. This allows you to see which tickets are available on that day.
> 
> - I close the Disneyland App a few minutes before park opening time.
> 
> - The park opens 5 minutes early so I walk over to the Pixie Hollow area and Turn off WiFi use LTE
> 
> - Open the Clock App with the seconds being shown.
> 
> - Once the Clock app shows 5 second until park opening I open the Disneyland App, click the castle image to skip the firework animation hit Find out More, then Join Boarding Group.
> 
> - The past three times I tried this I got 15, 12, and 8 Boarding Group.
> 
> ME



Ok...weird. I just tried this and when I tapped on the castle, I was taken directly to the Rise of the Resistance screen showing the boarding group status (past find out more landing page).


----------



## ironband74

BigOHawk said:


> I will note that on Android this is wonky and doesn't always pop up with that notification. Sometimes the only way I know from play at home it's a backup BG is the actual text on the app saying "all passes have been distributed today...etc etc."


I've noticed that I don't get the pop-up until about 10 or 15 minutes into distribution.  I assume that this is by design, so that in the thick of getting a BG, you don't have to click an extra time, but if the backups last for a while, the pop-up comes up to let you know what's what.


----------



## DLRExpert

thejimmyb said:


> Now this looks like the plan to follow. What's your cell carrier? Is Pixie Hollow some kind of hot spot with good service or is that just where you get sent up as the ropes are dropping?



I use Google Fi (they use Sprint, U.S. Cellular or T-Mobile whatever gives the best signal), I just looked for a semi empty and open spot with full bars being shown.

ME


----------



## DLRExpert

DLgal said:


> Ok...weird. I just tried this and when I tapped on the castle, I was taken directly to the Rise of the Resistance screen showing the boarding group status (past find out more landing page).



Yeah that is new. Didn't see that happen yesterday. I still had to click Find out More.

ME


----------



## DLRExpert

GlowTheWeird said:


> We tried Pixie Hollow first with Verizon and got super bad speed. Then went on to Red Rose Tavern and we blazing fast


Make sure your not near Pixie Hollow but on that path/parade route between Pixie Hollow and the Castle. Somewhat near the Churro Cart.

If I went closer in towards the Matterhorn I lost most of my signal strength.

Btw I also tried the enter then exit to the esplanade strategy I got the worst BG number 121.

Then I saw this video today about getting Group 1




BTW DO NOT watch full video as they show the entire Rise of the Resistance ride.


----------



## wowsmom

DLgal said:


> Ok...weird. I just tried this and when I tapped on the castle, I was taken directly to the Rise of the Resistance screen showing the boarding group status (past find out more landing page).



I tried it and ended up on that same screen.  So I tried it again but tapped the castle higher up and was taken to the map that shows wait times.  I think it might just be where you tap?


----------



## SOCALMouseMommy

DLRExpert said:


> Btw I also tried the enter then exit to the esplanade strategy I got the worst BG number 121.



I did this... walked around looking for a good connection. Esplanade was a little crowded so I found a quiet spot over near the DCA entrance and bathrooms with good connection. Got boarding group 21.


----------



## Skyegirl1999

DLRExpert said:


> Make sure your not near Pixie Hollow but on that path/parade route between Pixie Hollow and the Castle. Somewhat near the Churro Cart.
> 
> If I went closer in towards the Matterhorn I lost most of my signal strength.
> 
> Btw I also tried the enter then exit to the esplanade strategy I got the worst BG number 121.
> 
> Then I saw this video today about getting Group 1
> 
> 
> 
> 
> BTW DO NOT watch full video as they show the entire Rise of the Resistance ride.


In case anyone doesn’t care to click, they get the physical passes from the Splash kiosks.  However, they show people running/jogging to get back there (which is supposed to be a no-no)... but it definitely looks less crazy than other videos I’ve seen of people trying to get back there - then again, everything seemed pretty empty in general?  So I’m not sure if this is viable every day, but could be worth a shot.  

I’m dubious because it seems like it’d be easy to be there on a day where 50 people try this and people run and it doesn’t work, or where you’re 30 people back at the rope to begin with...
Maybe I’ll send my husband back with our tickets on Sunday and have him report back on how this goes on a weekend. He likes to hustle.

(OT, but he has the BEST luck - my friend and I spent over two hours in Ticketmaster online queues trying and failing to get concert tickets today, and he hopped in right as they added a third show and grabbed GA with about 12 minutes of effort.  Hopefully that luck + his birthday vibes will get him onto ROTR on Sunday!)


----------



## Rich M

Guessing we are down?  I was hoping to be at CA this evening. We have two FP starting at 5:30. I hope it opens back up soon


----------



## wowsmom

Rich M said:


> Guessing we are down?  I was hoping to be at CA this evening. We have two FP starting at 5:30. I hope it opens back up soon



My app shows boarding 51-62


----------



## B3rlingirl

wowsmom said:


> My app shows boarding 51-62


So it should be running because now it shows  52-65


----------



## JeriLee

I need to see a visual of each screen. I know this link has been posted, but I can’t find it. I’m still trying to figure out where I went wrong. I got to the screen that told me to pick the group and all 3 were already selected (purchased on phone), but I could not figure out what to do next!  I didn’t seem to have any options. I missed something.


----------



## RWSmith

Do you still need to be at the park super early to get a boarding group for Rise of the Resistance?


----------



## ironband74

JeriLee said:


> I need to see a visual of each screen. I know this link has been posted, but I can’t find it. I’m still trying to figure out where I went wrong. I got to the screen that told me to pick the group and all 3 were already selected (purchased on phone), but I could not figure out what to do next!  I didn’t seem to have any options. I missed something.


On the bottom of that screen is a blue button that says "Join Boarding Group"  You have to tap that to get your group assigned to you.  Depending on the size of your party, you might have to scroll down to see it.


----------



## Dr. G

Yes, be there well before opening to make it through security and the entrance gates before the park opens. Regular Boarding Groups seem to still be going in about the first minute or so.


----------



## Aurora0427

As far as cell reception goes, I think it’s individual to your phone. We scored group 21 last Sunday. I was using my dad’s iPhone 10 5G. I had 4 bars until I got to the path that takes you towards Alice and Matterhorn. So I walked back into the street part of the hub, right in front of that place that serves the Minnie character breakfast. I cannot think of the name. I had full bars, closed the app about 7:56, relaunched it at 7:58, used a clock with seconds on my phone, and at 7:59:59 clicked find out more. So basically just find a spot where you have lots of bars for service! My dad’s phone was lightening fast. I couldn’t believe it. No delays on the app at all.


----------



## ironband74

Rich M said:


> Guessing we are down?  I was hoping to be at CA this evening. We have two FP starting at 5:30. I hope it opens back up soon


Looks like you got called.  Screenshot your fast passes.  I bet if you go back over to DCA after you ride and don't make it in time, you can explain the situation to the CM at the FP gate and they'll let you through.


----------



## Geemo

RWSmith said:


> Do you still need to be at the park super early to get a boarding group for Rise of the Resistance?



I went for an over night trip 1-28 Tue/Wed 1-29.
Wed morning my plan was to grab a coffee and wait at the gates for opening 8am.
When I got through security at 6:50 am this is what I saw...  The lines were almost back to the Monorail track.
I decided to skip a coffee run and hop in line.  By 7:20am the line was back to the ticket booths on the Harbor Side.

Disney opened early to ease the pressure on the Esplanade.
I went to Starbucks in DL for coffee.  There was NO line, which was a first for me.
At 7:35am this is the view from the Train Platform.   The line is back to the Green Tents for Security. 
There were PEOPLE everywhere!  Inside and outside DL.


Below is the view from the Train Station to Main Street at 8:01am

After 8am everyone began calling out their BG number.
I was lucky enough to get #42.

You just need to be through the gates by 8am to have a shot at a BG#

Good Luck

Geemo


----------



## HydroGuy

JeriLee said:


> I need to see a visual of each screen. I know this link has been posted, but I can’t find it. I’m still trying to figure out where I went wrong. I got to the screen that told me to pick the group and all 3 were already selected (purchased on phone), but I could not figure out what to do next!  I didn’t seem to have any options. I missed something.


Maybe this will help with the visuals?

https://www.disneytouristblog.com/star-wars-rise-resistance-disneyland-strategy-guide/


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## mydisneymoney

Just got back from 4 days at DL.  First day was Monday with opening at 9 am.  We headed to the park shortly after 8am, got through security quickly and we were in line for opening around 8:20 or so.  They started letting people in the park around 8:30 and we made our way to the rope at Frontier Land.  We stood there for about 20 minutes and then they dropped the rope at 8:55.  We started walking quickly towards GE, watching our phones for the time.  Three of us had phones, all logged into my account.  At about 5 seconds before 9 am, we all went into the app and I was able to get BG 17.
On Tuesday, we entered early to do Magic Morning. We were standing in line for Alice in Wonderland, had full bars but we each had a hard time getting the Join Boarding Group button to light up. I finally got BG 115. We didn't get called until after 8pm.
On Wednesday the park opened at 8am and we were headed to Smugglers Run when 8am hit. Hubby got through and got BG 35. 
On Thursday the park had Magic Morning but we didn't enter until around 8:30, with a regular opening at 9am. We were standing in line for Big Thunder Mountain at 9am and I got BG 31. Thursday was a bad day for breakdowns. We didn't end up getting on the ride until 3pm.

I honestly think it is just all luck.  Obviously the more phones you can use the better your chances are.  I really wish the app would state something like "Holding or suspended" or something like that when it goes down.  The ride is great for sure and we were happy we were able to get BGs each day.


----------



## mydisneymoney

We were there Mon-Thursday this week (1/27-1/30) and were arrive at about 40 minutes before opening each day and had no problems getting through security and getting into the part before opening.


----------



## CastAStone

What is super early? Get to security 30 minutes before park open on a Tuesday-Thursday or 40 minutes Fri-Mon


----------



## midnight star

Going to go to the park around 9 or 10 tomorrow morning. I'll report on how the crowds are then. Obviously I'm not doing the ride lol. But it can be info for those who are wondering how crowds are after the morning madness (at least, I hoe the madness will be over by then lol).


----------



## dina444444

Was planning to get a boarding group tomorrow, looking like it’s not going to happen. Don’t want to get up at 5:45 tomorrow lol


----------



## Disney_Cindy

Follow up from an earlier post, my group of 5 made it to DL last night and today I feel like I won the BG game! After following this thread and reading everything I successfully scored BG 11, which was the first BG of the day!  I felt completely validated in my pursuit to obtain a guaranteed BG and even wohoo’d  when I was the actual person to get the BG for our party. So here’s what I did, we entered from the harbor side, about 7:15ish got into one of the center lines around for DL turnstiles around 7:20; we had 5 phones all logged in on my account, which also had the tickets linked up; gates opened around 7:40 I think; we were in the park by 7:55 and headed to the stairs to the train station. I sent 3 phones to top of stairs, 1 old 8 plus on WiFi, 1 iPhone 11 on att, and 1 iPhone with T-Mobile, I and another stayed at bottom of stairs, near flag pole, I was on my iPhone X att and another iPhone on T-Mobile. Used Apple Watch with second hand. I opened DL app around 7:50 and booked Fastpass then closed app completely and re-opened at 7:57 then right at 8 clicked learn more and the the BG was red, clicked and got the BG! It was awesome! Good luck to everyone!


----------



## EmJ

It looks like they’re done at 110; but either way, I have to be. My son has been super sick and I’m either catching it or am fatigued from a week of round-the-clock tending to my poor sickie, and am headed to bed. 

A couple of stoppages, but altogether a successful day. And interesting to see how close it hewed to the trend line. One question though—I don’t recall them ever keeping the ride open until 10 pm. Am I forgetting something? Why does the trend line suddenly climb all the way to 10 pm?


----------



## franandaj

HydroGuy said:


> In fact, I would like to get a viral rumor going that March 7-8 will be horribly crowded and everyone should just stay home...



I think this is an excellent idea! I just realized that this is the same weekend I am staying. I booked 11 months prior for F&W and I have friends coming to crash on the couch in my Villa.

Saturday is going to be our try at a BG, although I'm coming out for the day a week earlier to do a test run.


----------



## GoldeneyezCA

Skyegirl1999 said:


> In case anyone doesn’t care to click, they get the physical passes from the Splash kiosks.  However, they show people running/jogging to get back there (which is supposed to be a no-no)... but it definitely looks less crazy than other videos I’ve seen of people trying to get back there - then again, everything seemed pretty empty in general?  So I’m not sure if this is viable every day, but could be worth a shot.
> 
> I’m dubious because it seems like it’d be easy to be there on a day where 50 people try this and people run and it doesn’t work, or where you’re 30 people back at the rope to begin with...
> Maybe I’ll send my husband back with our tickets on Sunday and have him report back on how this goes on a weekend. He likes to hustle.



We tried the Splash kiosks on the Sunday of opening weekend, in addition to using 3 phones.  We were about 60 people back at the Adventureland rope drop, and we were speed walking on freshly cleaned, wet pavement the whole way back to the kiosk - people were slipping.  Due to people nearly running and cutting each other off, I ultimately gave up on trying to keep my family together, left the kids with my husband and managed to speed walk to the kiosk line with about 8 people in front of me. Since I had 2 phones, I switched with my husband when they caught up and posted up on a bench in time for 8 am.  He was 2nd or 3rd in line for the kiosk and got BG 31 by phone a split second before I got in, and all of this happened before his turn at the kiosk.  As I have mentioned before, the CM’s were announcing the whole time that the phones are the way to go.  

If you try for the Splash kiosk, you must be *at the rope*, physically ready for a long race across the park, and prepared to feed your passes into the kiosk as quickly as you can.  I doubt the kiosk passes last more than 2 people per kiosk (I think there are 3 back there).  Honestly given the amount of effort and stress involved, I don’t recommend it. It was reminiscent of our Animal Kingdom rope drop for Flight of Passage in Aug 2017 - fewer people, but every bit as intense. We got BG’s 20 and 31 on the Sat and Sun of opening weekend on our phones (Verizon iPhone XSMax, on cellular, from Ronto Roasters and Splash, respectively).  And people are getting better BG’s right inside the gate, without running around!


----------



## Rich M

ironband74 said:


> Looks like you got called.  Screenshot your fast passes.  I bet if you go back over to DCA after you ride and don't make it in time, you can explain the situation to the CM at the FP gate and they'll let you through.



yeah it actually worked out getting called right when we got off the hotel shuttle. we got over to CA in time for RSR and only missed our Toy Story Mania but since we don’t have to be at Disneyland right when it opens we figured we would go to CA first tomorrow and ride the couple rides we didn’t get to do today. Honestly the only downside to these BG is the not knowing when you will get called so planning the rest of the day is harder for sure but overall we had a great day and rode a lot of rides. Hit every single big ticket rides and most of the rides for the little guy too. For us the park didn’t feel crowded until around 7 when we noticed a lot of teens and young adults.


----------



## Sith

Well, we were able to get on the ride again today. The ride itself was even more amazing the second time, but the whole process definitely didn't go as smooth for me as it did yesterday. Remember yesterday how I got BG2 and rode right after breakfast? Well, that didn't happen today...

We got in the park about 7:40 and went to the exact same spot at train station where I got BG2 yesterday. Right at 8 hit "Find Out More." Did not turn red. Backed out and tried 3 more times, but did not turn red. At this point I panicked a little because others were already cheering, but still no red for me. So, I tried something different. I clicked my status and then clicked "Join Boarding Group" from there. It worked, but I got BG58. That was ok. We didn't need to leave park until 6:45 to catch plane, so I felt 58 was pretty safe.

At 1:40 got notification that our BG was called. We got over there as soon as we could and were told it just went down. We decided to wait sitting on the rocks right at the entrance. We waited roughly an hour. It was pretty miserable, since it was right in the sun, but I did not want to lose that spot. There was a large mob forming throughout the area, and I knew there would be chaos as soon as it opened. I was right. I knew the ride was running again when I saw hundreds of people grab their stuff and charge in our direction. We got in just before the stampede, and proceeded to the spot where they scan the BG's. Behind us I could hear security yelling to maintain order. Glad we got in ahead of that! We were able to walk without stopping almost to the first queue scene.

Ride was amazing again, but yesterday went so much smoother for us. But, at least we were fortunate enough to ride twice.


----------



## theluckyrabbit

Smrtalec33 said:


> ... because of our delay, we did not get off the ride until after 2 o’clock, but I did screenshot the rider switch, and as it turned out, it was no problem at all to use it even though it was no longer in my app. I am not sure whether it would have been as easy if I had not taken the screenshot...


Good idea and a good safety measure! Other posters have also recommended taking a screenshot of your Boarding Pass, just in case it disappears from your app. 



Skyegirl1999 said:


> ... I think people are reaching for patterns to feel like they’re doing someone concrete.  And I don’t think it’s a bad idea to try to give yourself every edge possible!  But at the end of the day, the tech is just kinda wonky.  I definitely don’t think people getting locked out or getting later groups are necessarily doing something “wrong,” or something they could have avoided by knowing which nanosecond to launch their app.


Agree. Happy Birthday to your DH! Have a great time on Sunday and please report back on your ROTR experience!


----------



## e_yerger

pharmama said:


> Presidents Weekend is going to be busy, no doubt, but I'm wondering if its going to fall victim to people being scared of crowds and not going and perhaps be not quite as bad as everyone fears?  It's still wide open all weekend for Flex Pass reservations whereas nearly every weekend for the Nov/Dec holiday season as well as ROTR opening weekend/MLK were Reservation Unavailable weeks ahead of time...
> 
> Or am I just making excuses for trying to talk myself into going that weekend... LOL


I’m hoping this is the case!! We fly from NYC to LAX Feb 13th for our second trip ever to DLR. Crowds stay awayyyy


----------



## Arianabtd

Good morning! I'm here in line. Got here at 6:25? And I'm a planter back on the far right lines


----------



## ironband74

Bright Suns!

May your quest to join the Resistance end in glory!

(I'll be off running a pinewood derby for my son's cub scout pack, so no playing along or commentary from me this morning.   My adult entry to the race will have me keeping you in my thoughts, however.


----------



## OvibanKenobi

mydisneymoney said:


> They started letting people in the park around 8:30 and we made our way to the rope at *Frontier Land*.  We stood there for about 20 minutes and then they dropped the rope at 8:55.  We started walking quickly *towards GE*, watching our phones for the time.  Three of us had phones, all logged into my account.  At about 5 seconds before 9 am, we all went into the app and I was able to get BG 17.


So I assume you could enter GE from Frontierland right after rope drop. That's what I'm planning to do on my first visit to the park, and I don't want to be sent back to another entrance.


----------



## Arianabtd

Group 11!!!!!!


----------



## msteddom

33 for me!


----------



## tammie33

115.  Got in the app no problem but it kept making me refresh saying there was a problem. Fingers crossed we make it on


----------



## Tylerrog94

Scanned in The gate at 7:59 and got boarding group 42. Really thought we were going to miss it! So excited!!


----------



## cbrett1984

I have group 112.  We had app problems but got it solved.  We are AP and this is our first attempt.  I definitely know what I will be doing different and will be here all day unless we see down time as we might make it.


----------



## Peachy0118

Tylerrog94 said:


> Scanned in The gate at 7:59 and got boarding group 42. Really thought we were going to miss it! So excited!!



What time did you get in line?


----------



## cbrett1984

Peachy0118 said:


> What time did you get in line?


I was in the park at 7:55 and pulled into parking lot at 7:15.  I sent my wife and kids through while I took backpacks through security and they got in turnstile line and we got a quick line.  To be safe I would be in parking lot by 7am


----------



## Peachy0118

cbrett1984 said:


> I was in the park at 7:55 and pulled into parking lot at 7:15.  I sent my wife and kids through while I took backpacks through security and they got in turnstile line and we got a quick line.  To be safe I would be in parking lot by 7am



Thanks. We are walking from a nearby hotel so trying to time it out while still getting the included breakfast (that doesn't start until 6:30...)...
Thanks!


----------



## Epicnemesis

Tylerrog94 said:


> Scanned in The gate at 7:59 and got boarding group 42. Really thought we were going to miss it! So excited!!


What time did you get in line?


----------



## Arianabtd

Was 11 the first group of the day?? 

About to get in line to ride...


----------



## Aurora0427

Peachy0118 said:


> Thanks. We are walking from a nearby hotel so trying to time it out while still getting the included breakfast (that doesn't start until 6:30...)...
> Thanks!



We stayed at Park Vue Inn last weekend and got in line at 7:15. The lines were already backed up to DCA. We scanned into the parks at 7:56. Got group 21. I would recommend getting in line by 7am if possible to avoid stress. If you are in line by 7, you will make it in. So I’d be at security by 6:50.


----------



## Aurora0427

Arianabtd said:


> Was 11 the first group of the day??
> 
> About to get in line to ride...



Group ten was the first last Sunday. We were group 21 and got in line at 9;07. I was shocked.


----------



## montreid

Arianabtd said:


> Group 11!!!!!!


That's actually the first group today!   Congrats fast fingers!  Welcome to the Resistance


----------



## jackbo487

Arianabtd said:


> Group 11!!!!!!


method? where in the park were you for BG time?


----------



## pokee99

momof2intx said:


> Maybe this has already been covered - without going back and reading all 150+ posts....here goes my question;
> 
> We are debating going 2/14-2/17 because that is the only weekend we can go  - but I'm really afraid that the crowds are going to be out of control. Our park days would be Sat/Sun the 15 & 16.
> 
> If we are staying within walking distance and the park has EMH hours (open at 7) - what time should you get to bag check to have the best chance of being in the park by 8?  We have APs but no EMH - we will be staying at the Hampton Inn nearby.
> 
> We are thinking of leaving the hotel by 630a which should put us at bag check a bit before 7am...with it being a busy holiday weekend and also a cheerleading competition at the convention center that weekend - do we have a good chance of getting into the park prior to 8am assuming they open the gates a bit early to DL?
> 
> We live in NorCal and it is between this and a Vegas weekend for my husband and I - we wouldn't be able to get back to DL again until at least June.  Just wondering if it is worth the stress of trying it now or just waiting until the summertime??  I have anxiety already.



I predict that weekend is probably going to be busier than any long weekend of the year.  Why? Canada has a long weekend too (family day) and valentines day is the Friday before.  So literally two countries will be vacationing at the same time for 4 days.  I know this because flight prices are INSANE for that weekend... I've never seen it that bad. Vegas hotel prices also insane.  

I'd wait till the summer...


----------



## montreid

Going next weekend for conference.  I'm guessing it'll be pretty crowded Fri-Mon


----------



## montreid

I'm guessing tomorrow may actually be a lighter day with Superbowl


----------



## cbrett1984

They are already boarding group 30


----------



## disneyholic family

cbrett1984 said:


> I have group 112.  We had app problems but got it solved.  We are AP and this is our first attempt.  I definitely know what I will be doing different and will be here all day unless we see down time as we might make it.




what kind of phone do you have and were you on wifi or a carrier and if so, which carrier?

.


----------



## disneyholic family

tammie33 said:


> 115.  Got in the app no problem but it kept making me refresh saying there was a problem. Fingers crossed we make it on




what kind of phone and which carrier were you on?  or were you on wifi?

.


----------



## pokee99

pharmama said:


> Presidents Weekend is going to be busy, no doubt, but I'm wondering if its going to fall victim to people being scared of crowds and not going and perhaps be not quite as bad as everyone fears?  It's still wide open all weekend for Flex Pass reservations whereas nearly every weekend for the Nov/Dec holiday season as well as ROTR opening weekend/MLK were Reservation Unavailable weeks ahead of time...
> 
> Or am I just making excuses for trying to talk myself into going that weekend... LOL



Don't go. It will be insane. Canada also has a long weekend (Monday is family day) and Friday (Valentine's day) is a non-instuctional day at a lot of schools.  I tried to get flights to ANYWHERE with sun from Vancouver & Seattle area airports- flight prices are 2 - 3 times their usual costs. Hotels don't seem to be as bad, but still inflated.  I've honestly never seen fights so expensive!


----------



## disneyholic family

a question regarding wifi

it seems that everyone posting here uses their carrier connection rather than wifi....
has anyone tried using wifi?  
does it not work?

when my daughter and i were at WDW in august, we had a very difficult time with the wifi..
but since our roaming package was terrible, we had no choice but to stick with the wifi..
as a result, we never succeeded in making a mobile counter service order, though we tried many times over the course of the 14 days we were there...
the wifi failed every single time..
i'm wondering if the same happens when trying to get a BG....

.


----------



## pokee99

montreid said:


> I'm guessing tomorrow may actually be a lighter day with Superbowl



I somehow get the feeling Disney diehards will easily forego the Superbowl to enjoy a day at the park.  Or they'll still go and just take breaks to watch from the hotel or a restaurant/bar. For sure rope drop will be just as bad (or worse) than the previous two Sundays...


----------



## cbrett1984

disneyholic family said:


> what kind of phone do you have and were you on wifi or a carrier and if so, which carrier?
> 
> .


We were using iPhone 7 and an iPhone XR we were not on their WiFi we were using our carrier of Verizon.


----------



## pokee99

disneyholic family said:


> a question regarding wifi
> 
> it seems that everyone posting here uses their carrier connection rather than wifi....
> has anyone tried using wifi?
> does it not work?
> 
> when my daughter and i were at WDW in august, we had a very difficult time with the wifi..
> but since our roaming package was terrible, we had no choice but to stick with the wifi..
> as a result, we never succeeded in making a mobile counter service order, though we tried many times over the course of the 14 days we were there...
> the wifi failed every single time..
> i'm wondering if the same happens when trying to get a BG....
> 
> .



I had this concern for an upcoming trip because of no roaming data plan. Some people have found decent wifi signals and got BGs that way, but it dosen't seem to be consistently reliable. 

Another member here recommended Roam Mobility. You can buy a SIM card online,  which gives you a USA phone# and then you can buy a daily roaming plan for $4.95 CAD per day, unlimited calling, text and a big chunk of mobile data. You swap out your SIM card during your trip. You just need to make sure your phone is unlocked. 

We're going to try it this on our trip in March.


----------



## Skyegirl1999

montreid said:


> I'm guessing tomorrow may actually be a lighter day with Superbowl


It used to be, but then word got out that “Superbowl Sunday is empty,” so it’s been bad for a few years, or at least it was from like 2016-18 - I was out of the loop last year, so not sure.

I’m expecting a big rope drop crowd tomorrow.


----------



## cbrett1984

Skyegirl1999 said:


> It used to be, but then word got out that “Superbowl Sunday is empty,” so it’s been bad for a few years, or at least it was from like 2016-18 - I was out of the loop last year, so not sure.
> 
> I’m expecting a big rope drop crowd tomorrow.


Crowd was huge today all up and down main street and just generally everywhere it was packed, but it is a Saturday.


----------



## msteddom

Got called about 10 minutes ago.  I’m in line now.


----------



## disneyholic family

pokee99 said:


> I had this concern for an upcoming trip because of no roaming data plan. Some people have found decent wifi signals and got BGs that way, but it dosen't seem to be consistently reliable.
> 
> Another member here recommended Roam Mobility. You can buy a SIM card online,  which gives you a USA phone# and then you can buy a daily roaming plan for $4.95 CAD per day, unlimited calling, text and a big chunk of mobile data. You swap out your SIM card during your trip. You just need to make sure your phone is unlocked.
> 
> We're going to try it this on our trip in March.



i hope it works for you!  perhaps you should try one phone doing that and the other on wifi?

.


----------



## Mathmagicland

disneyholic family said:


> a question regarding wifi
> 
> it seems that everyone posting here uses their carrier connection rather than wifi....
> has anyone tried using wifi?
> does it not work?
> 
> when my daughter and i were at WDW in august, we had a very difficult time with the wifi..
> but since our roaming package was terrible, we had no choice but to stick with the wifi..
> as a result, we never succeeded in making a mobile counter service order, though we tried many times over the course of the 14 days we were there...
> the wifi failed every single time..
> i'm wondering if the same happens when trying to get a BG....
> 
> .


Somewhere back in this thread, a few people have posted success with getting a BG using the WiFi. I think the key would be to find a spot with a strong signal and not a lot of people around.  Since so many are using cellular the WiFi may actually not be too bad,


----------



## Aurora0427

pokee99 said:


> Don't go. It will be insane. Canada also has a long weekend (Monday is family day) and Friday (Valentine's day) is a non-instuctional day at a lot of schools.  I tried to get flights to ANYWHERE with sun from Vancouver & Seattle area airports- flight prices are 2 - 3 times their usual costs. Hotels don't seem to be as bad, but still inflated.  I've honestly never seen fights so expensive!



Our school is off the entire week so maybe the girls and I will go for the day on Wednesday. The little one is too short for ROTR so we won’t have to deal with getting a BG.


----------



## montreid

Aurora0427 said:


> Our school is off the entire week so maybe the girls and I will go for the day on Wednesday. The little one is too short for ROTR so we won’t have to deal with getting a BG.


Just remember to remove the little one's ticket from the app so you won't get stuck with the 'remove from group' screen and take precious seconds.


----------



## disneyholic family

remind me how baby swap works...
lets say i have a group of 4 adults and 1 baby...
all 5 get a boarding group and go into the regular line when the BG is called...
when they get to the point of BG scanning, they ask for a baby swap (whatever it's called)...
3 of the adults continue through the line, while 1 adult stays off with the baby waiting at the exit..
when the 3 adults exit, the remaining adult gets to go on and takes with him/her 2 of the adults who already rode, reentering the ride via the FP line...
is that correct?


----------



## socaldisneylover

Been down at least 45 min for the regularly scheduled morning breakdown.


----------



## Arianabtd

jackbo487 said:


> method? where in the park were you for BG time?


Samsung s10 Verizon 4g lte
Sat criss cross on the ground by the nearest planter to where the characters come out on main street


----------



## midnight star

Got to the park 9:30. In the garage they had a sign saying that all boarding groups were gone. Entered the park a little before 10. No lines to get in. I think I’ll come at this time until the ride dies down lol


----------



## midnight star

Also if anyone has used an ECV for the ride, let me know. I have a friend who uses one, and she is worried about ride transferring


----------



## DonnerB

We spent last night at the Wyndham Garden Anaheim on Katella (which was quite nice). 

Left the hotel at 6:30 and were at Harbor security at 6:40, only took a couple of minutes to get through.

Morning Magic took up the majority of the center entrances and the lines were at the monorail. Regular entrance had the first few entrances closest to Harbor and lines were about halfway across the Esplanade.

MM gates opened at 0656, regular at about 0715.  There was tape on the ground to form lines once you got closer to the front, and CMs directing folks.  Eventually the MM gates turned to “exit,” so a bunch of people jumped over there for when they became normal entrances.

Scanned into the park at 0732. Sent my friend to the queue for the Boarding Group machines in Tomorrowland. I walked up and down Main Street looking for the fastest internet speed (nowhere was great, but near the flag pole was best). Moved towards the exit and found that speeds were pretty good in the entrance plaza in front of the train station.

Shut off WiFi, cellular to all apps except atomic clock and DL.  Opened app fresh about ten seconds to 8.  Clicked on Find Out More, join Boarding Group was grey; clicked on my status and was immediately given choice to Join Boarding Group from there.  Got BG 45.  I have an iPhone 11 Pro and AT&T.  My friend never saw saw join boarding group by the time I got us in.

Lines to get in at 0759 were still pretty long.  Definitely some sad faces when we crossed over to DCA just after 8.


----------



## cbrett1984

socaldisneylover said:


> Been down at least 45 min for the regularly scheduled morning breakdown.


Yea there has been no movement in BGs for quite some time.  Hopefully this resolved quickly as I want to ride today! Lol


----------



## EmJ

cbrett1984 said:


> Yea there has been no movement in BGs for quite some time.  Hopefully this resolved quickly as I want to ride today! Lol


It looks like it was down for 90 minutes and just started going again. That’s pretty consistent with a system reboot. Hopefully it stays up!


----------



## pokee99

midnight star said:


> Got to the park 9:30. In the garage they had a sign saying that all boarding groups were gone. Entered the park a little before 10. No lines to get in. I think I’ll come at this time until the ride dies down lol



No line at 10am on a Saturday?! Isn't that unheard of?!


----------



## dina444444

pokee99 said:


> No line at 10am on a Saturday?! Isn't that unheard of?!


No, it really depends on the time of year.


----------



## StarGirl11

midnight star said:


> Also if anyone has used an ECV for the ride, let me know. I have a friend who uses one, and she is worried about ride transferring



Theres a thread about it over in Disabilities. But basically if your in the ECV your supposed to transfer out in the hanger room. It doesn’t take long to get through the next part arguably. But if she’s concerned I might recommend getting a day chair if anyone can push it. Chairs are allowed to go all the way to the ride vehicle while ECVs are not.


----------



## socaldisneylover

cbrett1984 said:


> Yea there has been no movement in BGs for quite some time.  Hopefully this resolved quickly as I want to ride today! Lol


Down Again


----------



## mrsw94

Skyegirl1999 said:


> It used to be, but then word got out that “Superbowl Sunday is empty,” so it’s been bad for a few years, or at least it was from like 2016-18 - I was out of the loop last year, so not sure.
> 
> I’m expecting a big rope drop crowd tomorrow.



Last year Superbowl weekend was a TORRENTIAL downpour weekend.  As in the under the train tracks to Toon Town flooded, they closed the park an hour early, flash flood warnings on your phone rain.    We were there both Saturday and Sunday (Superbowl) with my daughter's high school music program.  It was GREAT!!  (other than being wet and cold), the crowds were soooooo low!! 
That being said, I'm 100% sure that was because of the rain, not the Superbowl!


----------



## cbrett1984

socaldisneylover said:


> Down Again


Dang...


----------



## JeriLee

In line and moving fast.


----------



## cbrett1984

JeriLee said:


> In line and moving fast.


Thanks for the update.  I have a good feeling we will make it unless there is some catastrophic problem.  Over halfway to my # and they will be open and running for probably another 8.5 hours or so


----------



## Sith

midnight star said:


> Also if anyone has used an ECV for the ride, let me know. I have a friend who uses one, and she is worried about ride transferring


Yesterday while in the queue I saw castmembers helping a guest transfer from a scooter to a wheelchair that had the ride logo on the back. They must have them there for ECV guests.

I can't quite remember which part of the queue the transfer happened in though. But, it was definitely inside.


----------



## franandaj

midnight star said:


> Also if anyone has used an ECV for the ride, let me know. I have a friend who uses one, and she is worried about ride transferring



If your friend can walk and stand for about 5 minutes, the ECV can go all the way up to the last portion of the ride. They will have it waiting at the end of the ride.


----------



## shleaz

Hello! Chiming in with my experience today... My friend and I arrived at security from Harbor Blvd at 7am, and were in line by 7:15. As someone else mentioned earlier, the ground was taped off to try to organize a queue, and the cast members had all non extra magic hour guests form a snaking line for the right-side turnstiles. Our place in line was right under the monorail tracks.

At some point, they flipped the middle turnstiles to “Exit” and a ton of people RAN to line up there—it was CHAOS. No order to it whatsoever, it felt like it was just a mob of people crowding the entrance. Not gonna lie, I panicked a bit! We got inside by 7:40 so still not too bad considering.

We stood by the castle which was surprisingly quiet and we had full bars. I used my iPhone 11 Pro on AT&T and my old iPhone X on Wi-Fi, my friend used her iPhone X on T-Mobile. Our winner was the Wi-Fi iPhone X (!!!!) with BG 72. Not great but I’ll take it! The T-Mobile phone’s “Join Boarding Group” button never flipped to red, even after the “my status” cha cha; I did everything in tandem on my two phones (tapped Find Out More at 8am on the dot, then had red Join Boarding Group buttons on both) but I guess the Wi-Fi was slightly better in that area. The group right next to us got BG 31, not sure if they were on Wi-Fi or cellular.

Our group was called to ride at 2:40 and we’re heading over now, super excited!


----------



## Sith

franandaj said:


> If your friend can walk and stand for about 5 minutes, the ECV can go all the way up to the last portion of the ride. They will have it waiting at the end of the ride.


Yes, now I remember. It was right before the final portion of the ride where I saw the ECV to wheelchair transfer happen.


----------



## montreid

All regulars called .  Nice .  Can possibly be a record today with 6.5 hours more


----------



## mydisneymoney

OvibanKenobi said:


> So I assume you could enter GE from Frontierland right after rope drop. That's what I'm planning to do on my first visit to the park, and I don't want to be sent back to another entrance.


Yes, once the rope dropped at Frontier Land, you can get into GE.  They are directing people when you get into GE towards Smugglers Run because that is where most people are headed.


----------



## Sith

shleaz said:


> The T-Mobile phone’s “Join Boarding Group” button never flipped to red, even after the “my status” cha cha


Do you mean the "Join Boarding Group" button on the My Status page? If so, I don't think it turns red(I could be wrong). I used that one yesterday and the text and rectangular outline were blue, as opposed to the "greyed out" blue that you see if you were to look at it when BG's are not available.


----------



## HydroGuy

mydisneymoney said:


> Yes, once the rope dropped at Frontier Land, you can get into GE.  They are directing people when you get into GE towards Smugglers Run because that is where most people are headed.


You can get into SWGE thru the Frontierland entrance at rope drop?


----------



## Sith

OvibanKenobi said:


> So I assume you could enter GE from Frontierland right after rope drop. That's what I'm planning to do on my first visit to the park, and I don't want to be sent back to another entrance.





mydisneymoney said:


> Yes, once the rope dropped at Frontier Land, you can get into GE.  They are directing people when you get into GE towards Smugglers Run because that is where most people are headed.


I think they were referring to a specific entrance to GE, but they didn't say which. Technically you can get to all 3 entrances through Frontier Land. When you get to Rivers of America, go left to go through the Hungry Bear entrance. Or, go right to enter the other two which are both on Big Thunder Trail.

I'm curious myself. Are all three entrances now open at rope drop? I don't think they were when Galaxy's Edge first opened.


----------



## Malcon10t

midnight star said:


> Also if anyone has used an ECV for the ride, let me know. I have a friend who uses one, and she is worried about ride transferring


I use an ECV.  You can go to a certain point with it.  I simply say I can transfer, but need to be able to sit until necessary (trying to do this without spoilers).  From that point, it is about 2 min standing and maybe 50-75 steps?  If they cannot do that, let the CM know.  You will use a transfer chair to go from where you have to leave the ECV.


----------



## tammie33

Fingers crossed everyone.  My daughter and I took this trip just to ride Rise of the Resistance.  We are 115 and they are at 88.


----------



## shleaz

Sith said:


> Do you mean the "Join Boarding Group" button on the My Status page? If so, I don't think it turns red(I could be wrong). I used that one yesterday and the text and rectangular outline were blue, as opposed to the "greyed out" blue that you see if you were to look at it when BG's are not available.



Should have clarified—neither button would activate. “Join Boarding Group” never turned to red, and when she tapped My Status, the button there was greyed out and wouldnt reload with the blue outline. She went back and forth a few times and right when I was telling her to close the app and relaunch we got a group through one of my phones.


----------



## Henryrhea

Hey I have 2 questions if anyone could help! I haven’t seemed to have found a legit answer for these

-If purchased all your tickets on the Disneyland app on your phone, can your party also log in with your account information on their own phones to increase the chance of snagging a boarding group?

-what’s the limit for a boarding group party? I’m going to Disneyland in April, and my group is going to be 10 including myself.


----------



## cbrett1984

Henryrhea said:


> Hey I have 2 questions if anyone could help! I haven’t seemed to have found a legit answer for these
> 
> -If purchased all your tickets on the Disneyland app on your phone, can your party also log in with your account information on their own phones to increase the chance of snagging a boarding group?
> 
> -what’s the limit for a boarding group party? I’m going to Disneyland in April, and my group is going to be 10 including myself.


As long as all your tickets are on one account multiple people can login to that account and attempt.  
I believe that as long as all your tickets are in the account that is your boarding group.  You cannot add people that are not on your account if that makes sense


----------



## EmJ

tammie33 said:


> Fingers crossed everyone.  My daughter and I took this trip just to ride Rise of the Resistance.  We are 115 and they are at 88.


Hoping for you! The ride is performing well today at 10 boarding groups an hour. As I type, they are on group 92. Provided they can maintain the 10 gph (groups per hour  ) rate, they should get to you sometime between 6:30 and 7:30.


----------



## cbrett1984

EmJ said:


> Hoping for you! The ride is performing well today at 10 boarding groups an hour. As I type, they are on group 92. Provided they can maintain the 10 gph (groups per hour  ) rate, they should get to you sometime between 6:30 and 7:30.


11-12 an hour is impressive I hope it holds as I am 112 as well only 18 groups to go!


----------



## ironband74

I take the day off and look at this thing go!  I might be a jinx...probably shouldn't post, but 100 by just after 5 is a first!


----------



## cbrett1984

Just called back 107 at 5:40


----------



## midnight star

Malcon10t said:


> I use an ECV.  You can go to a certain point with it.  I simply say I can transfer, but need to be able to sit until necessary (trying to do this without spoilers).  From that point, it is about 2 min standing and maybe 50-75 steps?  If they cannot do that, let the CM know.  You will use a transfer chair to go from where you have to leave the ECV.


Thanks I'll let her know!


----------



## Susie63

pokee99 said:


> I predict that weekend is probably going to be busier than any long weekend of the year.  Why? Canada has a long weekend too (family day) and valentines day is the Friday before.  So literally two countries will be vacationing at the same time for 4 days.  I know this because flight prices are INSANE for that weekend... I've never seen it that bad. Vegas hotel prices also insane.
> 
> I'd wait till the summer...


We arrive in Anaheim on Sunday but we have decided to wait till Tuesday to go in the parks. We are flying in from Canada. It is reading week so we had no other option to go the week following Presidents day. The parks are going to be crazy. Fireworks every night


----------



## cbrett1984

cbrett1984 said:


> Just called back 107 at 5:40


Just heading back to ride BG #112 at 6:12pm


----------



## NorthernCalMom

tammie33 said:


> Fingers crossed everyone.  My daughter and I took this trip just to ride Rise of the Resistance.  We are 115 and they are at 88.


Boarding 114 right now.


Edited to add: OMG, it just flipped to 115, when I checked again right after posting this.


----------



## dina444444

tammie33 said:


> Fingers crossed everyone.  My daughter and I took this trip just to ride Rise of the Resistance.  We are 115 and they are at 88.


115 was just called.


----------



## cbrett1984

dina444444 said:


> 115 was just called.


I started the line once called 30 minutes ago and still haven’t ridden. Walking a maze of hallways to get on the ride


----------



## tricia464

I am going to be staying at the Disneyland Hotel for a conference so I will be buying a ticket to go into the park on the last day and stay until closing.  Breakfast for the conference starts at 8:00 am, but I am hoping to be over at the gates by 7:00 am to go in so that I can try to get a boarding pass for later in the day after my conference ends.  Would I be able to go through the gates and then walk back out into Downtown Disney and get on the Disney App to try to get a boarding pass from there, or do I have to stay in Disneyland to complete this?


----------



## tammie33

115 was called around 6:40.  In line now. Thanks for the well wishes.


----------



## EmJ

So here’s a question. DL has settled into a pattern of setting 70-72 primary boarding groups a day. Do you think they will start increasing the number of primary groups as reliability improves? The obvious answer seems like it should be “yes”, but what’s the benefit to Disney? They’re getting though plenty of backups and it’s not like the total number of boarding groups will increase if they increase the number of primaries. Right now they can aim low and exceed expectations, with virtually no risk of missing the target and associated guest recovery.


----------



## dina444444

EmJ said:


> So here’s a question. DL has settled into a pattern of setting 70-72 primary boarding groups a day. Do you think they will start increasing the number of primary groups as reliability improves? The obvious answer seems like it should be “yes”, but what’s the benefit to Disney? They’re getting though plenty of backups and it’s not like the total number of boarding groups will increase if they increase the number of primaries. Right now they can aim low and exceed expectations, with virtually no risk of missing the target and associated guest recovery.


Likely not, DHS had increased there’s but in the past 2 weeks cut back to match Disneyland for guaranteed groups. DHS is getting into the 140/150s with total number of groups called so about half guaranteed and half backups.


----------



## montreid

There's little downside for them to leave groups at 72-82.


----------



## PHXscuba

tricia464 said:


> I am going to be staying at the Disneyland Hotel for a conference so I will be buying a ticket to go into the park on the last day and stay until closing.  Breakfast for the conference starts at 8:00 am, but I am hoping to be over at the gates by 7:00 am to go in so that I can try to get a boarding pass for later in the day after my conference ends.  Would I be able to go through the gates and then walk back out into Downtown Disney and get on the Disney App to try to get a boarding pass from there, or do I have to stay in Disneyland to complete this?



YES. Once you are through the gates and scanned in, you can leave and go to California Adventure, Downtown Disney, hotel, etc. even before the park opens and still be eligible for a boarding pass. You will just need to hope that you get a later boarding group, which could be difficult to time.


----------



## ironband74

PHXscuba said:


> YES. Once you are through the gates and scanned in, you can leave and go to California Adventure, Downtown Disney, hotel, etc. even before the park opens and still be eligible for a boarding pass. You will just need to hope that you get a later boarding group, which could be difficult to time.


I guess the question is what day of the week will that be?  On non MM days, backups last significantly longer, so you could wait until 8:01 or so and get an early-ish backup group.  It would be a gamble, but so far the data seems to show at least 10 minutes of back-up groups remaining, so if you did that, you'd have a later time.


----------



## twodogs

disneyholic family said:


> a question regarding wifi
> 
> it seems that everyone posting here uses their carrier connection rather than wifi....
> has anyone tried using wifi?
> does it not work?
> 
> when my daughter and i were at WDW in august, we had a very difficult time with the wifi..
> but since our roaming package was terrible, we had no choice but to stick with the wifi..
> as a result, we never succeeded in making a mobile counter service order, though we tried many times over the course of the 14 days we were there...
> the wifi failed every single time..
> i'm wondering if the same happens when trying to get a BG....
> 
> .


We were there opening weekend, and tried both Saturday and Sunday.  We got BG 14 the first day and BG 27 the second day.  We were a party of 4 and had 6 phones going (why not?!?).  Four phones were on cellular data (3 Verizon and 1 AT&T (2 iphone XRs, one iPhone X, and one iphone 11), two phones on Wifi (one iPhone 7 and one iPhone X)).  We had our teen aged daughters work 2 phones each since they have the fastest reflexes!  First day, DD12 got it with her iPhone XR on Verizon.  Second day, DD14 got it on the iPhone 7 on WiFi!  I was shocked that the oldest phone, on WiFi, beat our other 5 phones but it did!!  So there is definitely hope.

We split up, so that we could get hopefully good signal away from crowds, and we wanted to hedge the bet even within our family, not all standing in the same place.

The first morning, the Verizon cell service winning phone was by the Nemo subs.  The second morning, the Wifi winning phone was by the gift shop outside of Buzz Lightyear.  There were crowds lining up by the Buzz FP kiosks to try to get a BG that way, but we were away from them over by the tables for the restaurant behind Buzz.  We had great Wifi signal there.  @WonkaKid gave us the tip about where the best WiFi in the parks is.  There is apparently another good area near POTC, but we couldn’t get there those mornings because of how they did rope drop.

I think you will have success, but do try to find a good signal strength prior to park opening.  Follow all the other tips here (have all other apps closed etc) and MTFBWY!!!


----------



## JWelch62

dina444444 said:


> 115 was just called.


Up to 125 now. New record?


----------



## StarGirl11

At 128. We’ve blown past the record now I think at this point so it’s just a matter of how many they call before closing it up for the night.


----------



## dina444444

JWelch62 said:


> Up to 125 now. New record?
> 
> View attachment 470223View attachment 470224


No. Record will be when they get to 133.  They started with group 11 today. The most groups in a day so far is 122, which was hit on 1/27.


----------



## dina444444

StarGirl11 said:


> At 128. We’ve blown past the record now I think at this point so it’s just a matter of how many they call before closing it up for the night.


Record won’t be till they get to 133. They need to surpass calling back 122 total groups. They started with 11 today.


----------



## montreid

lots of time.  they've really cranked it today.  a few slowdowns, but no real breakdowns


----------



## twitch

There’s 133!


----------



## wowsmom

122-136 now


----------



## tricia464

ironband74 said:


> I guess the question is what day of the week will that be?  On non MM days, backups last significantly longer, so you could wait until 8:01 or so and get an early-ish backup group.  It would be a gamble, but so far the data seems to show at least 10 minutes of back-up groups remaining, so if you did that, you'd have a later time.



It will be on a Wednesday.  My conference will end at 3:30 that day and then I will be immediately going back to Disneyland until closing.


----------



## tricia464

PHXscuba said:


> YES. Once you are through the gates and scanned in, you can leave and go to California Adventure, Downtown Disney, hotel, etc. even before the park opens and still be eligible for a boarding pass. You will just need to hope that you get a later boarding group, which could be difficult to time.



Yes, I'm hoping to get a boarding pass for after 5:00 pm.


----------



## StarGirl11

tricia464 said:


> Yes, I'm hoping to get a boarding pass for after 5:00 pm.



Let us know how it goes. I’m needing a BG that’s later myself when I’m in town next. I have my mornings preoccupied by docs so the earliest I will be at the parks (planning to Uber over from hotel and then back to hotel to get car) after getting a BG will be early afternoon. So I’m really curious what your time stamps will look like


----------



## tricia464

cbrett1984 said:


> Just called back 107 at 5:40



How long after park opening did you secure the boarding pass for group 107?


----------



## Aurora0427

tammie33 said:


> 115 was called around 6:40.  In line now. Thanks for the well wishes.



Yayyyyyy! I came to check if y’all were called! The Force is strong with you today!


----------



## EmJ

What a day! 130 total groups called—a new record with room to spare!


----------



## tricia464

ironband74 said:


> I guess the question is what day of the week will that be?  On non MM days, backups last significantly longer, so you could wait until 8:01 or so and get an early-ish backup group.  It would be a gamble, but so far the data seems to show at least 10 minutes of back-up groups remaining, so if you did that, you'd have a later time.



Thank you, I definitely do need a time after 5:00 pm preferably.  This will be on a Wednesday (Feb. 12).


----------



## Ferrellcon

Amazing day today group 141. Today was the day to go. Hopefully this is not a fluke and the ride starts perfoming like it does at DHS.


----------



## ironband74

tricia464 said:


> It will be on a Wednesday.  My conference will end at 3:30 that day and then I will be immediately going back to Disneyland until closing.


Wednesdays have seen backup groups lasting 30 minutes or more so far.   Still a gamble, but shooting for 8:05 - 8:10 might get you in the ballpark.


----------



## cbrett1984

tricia464 said:


> How long after park opening did you secure the boarding pass for group 107?


I got group 112 about 30-45 seconds after the park opened


----------



## Buson808

Aurora0427 said:


> Yayyyyyy! I came to check if y’all were called! The Force is strong with you today!



Wow I also got group 115 today and got to rotr at 6:55. Awesome ride.

 I felt really bad for the family of 4 this morning who did NOT get a boarding pass. The daughter looked about 8years old. She was seriously crying!


----------



## Mathmagicland

Last week Sunday I got BG 123 at 8:16 a.m. The times vary depending on crowd levels.  As @ironband74 notes, Wednesday seems to be the lighter day, so the suggestion of trying approx 8:05 or so on a Wednesday is good. The Tough trick is to wait a a bit but not too long, to get a backup group thst is more likely to be called,  but not too high a number that may not get called if the ride has issues. And there is not yet enough data to have any certainty for getting a particular backup group range.  It’s a best guess at most.


----------



## Blue32

I know most people aren’t looking to do this but can you actually cancel your BG like you can cancel your FP then try to get a different number?


----------



## Mathmagicland

Blue32 said:


> I know most people aren’t looking to do this but can you actually cancel your BG like you can cancel your FP then try to get a different number?


I don’t recall seeing a way to do this until your BG is called.  When it is called, that is when the passes with bar codes will show up in the app. You might be Able to remove people like with a FP at that point, though I don’t remember, but by then it would be too late to get another BG.


----------



## disneyholic family

tricia464 said:


> Thank you, I definitely do need a time after 5:00 pm preferably.  This will be on a Wednesday (Feb. 12).



i would think that trying to fine tune that way is risky....
there doesn't seem to be much rhyme or reason to what numbers people are getting, even when on the same type of phone, same service, same location....

.


----------



## theluckyrabbit

disneyholic family said:


> remind me how baby swap works...
> lets say i have a group of 4 adults and 1 baby...
> all 5 get a boarding group and go into the regular line when the BG is called...
> when they get to the point of BG scanning, they ask for a baby swap (whatever it's called)...
> 3 of the adults continue through the line, while 1 adult stays off with the baby waiting at the exit..
> when the 3 adults exit, the remaining adult gets to go on and takes with him/her 2 of the adults who already rode, reentering the ride via the FP line...
> is that correct?


If the baby really is an infant, s/he won't have a ticket, so won't need/ be able to get a BG. So you'll only be needing 4 Boarding Passes in one Boarding Group. Tell the CM at the beginning of the line when you check in that you'll be using Rider Swap. (@Smrtalec33 recently posted about using RS  -- and gave the great warning to take a screenshot of your RS pass, in case it disappears from your app before you get to use it!)


----------



## dina444444

Blue32 said:


> I know most people aren’t looking to do this but can you actually cancel your BG like you can cancel your FP then try to get a different number?


Yes you can. You remove yourself from the party and then can pickup a later group.


----------



## Erin M

Just woke up, getting ready for our day. Heading to the gates at about 6:30 to try for our first BG. We were going to hold off until tomorrow but the friend who is joining us later in the trip convinced us we must not wait for her, we need to increase our chances and try any day we can. So to the mob of Sunday morning we will head.  Wish us luck! Trying with four phones, for providers, and four very sleepy people who over did it yesterday upon arrival. But hey, that’s what we do at DL!


----------



## matthewthompson87

Erin M said:


> Just woke up, getting ready for our day. Heading to the gates at about 6:30 to try for our first BG. We were going to hold off until tomorrow but the friend who is joining us later in the trip convinced us we must not wait for her, we need to increase our chances and try any day we can. So to the mob of Sunday morning we will head.  Wish us luck! Trying with four phones, for providers, and four very sleepy people who over did it yesterday upon arrival. But hey, that’s what we do at DL!



It’s our day to try for the first time too!

We were up at 4:30am this morning and are driving down now from the valley.

MTFBWY!


----------



## Aurora0427

Good luck to everyone arriving early today! May the Force be with you!!!


----------



## gelatoni fan

Are the ropes dropping any earlier than 8AM? If possible I'd like to grab a physical ticket at Splash Mountain or Astro Blasters to avoid technical errors preventing me from getting a boarding group. But if I won't get to those machines before 8AM, what spots get the best signal for t-mobile?


----------



## Skyegirl1999

We are in quite a line at Toy Story, and the lone bus is just hanging out.  

Sooo... our Toy Story loyalty is being tested here.  The birthday boy is stressed.


----------



## Erin M

6:53 and lines just hit beyond the monorail. We’re about halfway between the gate and the monorail, maybe a little closer to the gate. So far no chaos. There are some CMs at the turnstiles, but no movement to open yet. We’re so excited!!!


----------



## ironband74

Mathmagicland said:


> Last week Sunday I got BG 123 at 8:16 a.m. The times vary depending on crowd levels.  As @ironband74 notes, Wednesday seems to be the lighter day, so the suggestion of trying approx 8:05 or so on a Wednesday is good. The Tough trick is to wait a a bit but not too long, to get a backup group thst is more likely to be called,  but not too high a number that may not get called if the ride has issues. And there is not yet enough data to have any certainty for getting a particular backup group range.  It’s a best guess at most.


So here's an idea, don't know if it will work, but might be worth a shot on a Wednesday if the pattern holds...

Go to one of the distribution kiosks (Buzz Lightyear/Space Mountain).  I expect people are trickling up to them on a Wednesday after the initial push.  And nicely ask folks getting their passes which BGs they are getting.  When you hear they are getting close to 100ish, get yours.  

It's still risky...for all we know 100 might be happening at 8:02.  But assuming there are enough people using the kiosks, and you are able to hang out for 5-10 minutes, it might give you a better sense of what time to pull your pass.


----------



## ironband74

gelatoni fan said:


> Are the ropes dropping any earlier than 8AM? If possible I'd like to grab a physical ticket at Splash Mountain or Astro Blasters to avoid technical errors preventing me from getting a boarding group. But if I won't get to those machines before 8AM, what spots get the best signal for t-mobile?


They typically drop early enough for you to go to one of the kiosks before 8.  Unfortunately, it sounds like a lot of people do the same thing.  There are people who will run, so it is an actual footrace, based on the video I've seen.  If you are not one of the first couple of people at each station, you may get skunked.


----------



## ironband74

(Announcer Voice)

Welcome to Boarding Pass Bowl 17! Our matchup today pits Disneyland Fans against Disneyland Fans as they vie for a top spot to view the new attraction, RISE OF THE RESISTANCE! We can see the crowds lining up now, expectant, lines stretching across the esplanade. It's just 50 minutes to game time and tensions are high at the happiest place on Earth. Sunday has traditionally be a disaster for this team, but we're hoping today the funk will be broken and Sunday will be glorious, especially on the heels of yesterday's triumph of 131 boarding groups called. Best of luck to all our competitors...and remember...the Force will be with you...Always.

(Cut to commercial)


----------



## Skyegirl1999

ETA: 7:15 Well, we are in line now, lines are almost back to DCA.  This is stressful even though I know we will most likely get in fine based on past reports.

We got lucky because they opened a new security line on our side right as we hit security.  It helped us, but I always feel bad when that happens and leaves people who’ve been waiting longer out.


----------



## Aurora0427

Skyegirl1999 said:


> Well, we are in line now, lines are almost back to DCA.



That’s better than last Sunday. We arrived at 7:15 and they were already past DCA and curving around. It was chaos. You’ll get in! Good luck!!!!


----------



## Skyegirl1999

ironband74 said:


> (Announcer Voice)
> 
> Welcome to Boarding Pass Bowl 17! Our matchup today pits Disneyland Fans against Disneyland Fans as they vie for a top spot to view the new attraction, RISE OF THE RESISTANCE! We can see the crowds lining up now, expectant, lines stretching across the esplanade. It's just 50 minutes to game time and tensions are high at the happiest place on Earth. Sunday has traditionally be a disaster for this team, but we're hoping today the funk will be broken and Sunday will be glorious, especially on the heels of yesterday's triumph of 131 boarding groups called. Best of luck to all our competitors...and remember...the Force will be with you...Always.
> 
> (Cut to commercial)


Shhhh, don’t bring up the Sunday curse!


----------



## Skyegirl1999

Aurora0427 said:


> That’s better than last Sunday. We arrived at 7:15 and they were already past DCA and curving around. It was chaos. You’ll get in! Good luck!!!!


At 7:20 they have hit DCA and are wrapping. Glad we snuck in before then because it looks a mess back there.


----------



## Erin M

7:21 gates opened. We’re at the train platform, grabbed a fast pass, now we wait.


----------



## msteddom

Erin M said:


> 7:21 gates opened. We’re at the train platform, grabbed a fast pass, now we wait.


I had good luck from the train platform yesterday.  May the force be with you!


----------



## ironband74

Skyegirl1999 said:


> Shhhh, don’t bring up the Sunday curse!


Life is a storm, my friend.  You must look into the storm and shout, as you did in Anaheim:  DO YOUR WORST!  FOR I WILL DO MINE!

After all, curses were made to be broken!


----------



## Erin M

ironband74 said:


> Life is a storm, my friend.  You must look into the storm and shout, as you did in Anaheim:  DO YOUR WORST!  FOR I WILL DO MINE!
> 
> After all, curses were made to be broken!


Your posts make me feel like I should put on Braveheart battle paint!!


----------



## ironband74

Erin M said:


> Your posts make me feel like I should put on Braveheart battle paint!!







With hidden Mickeys in it.


----------



## ironband74

Regular groups gone at 8:01:20


----------



## Skyegirl1999

23!


----------



## VandVsmama

By 8:01, playing along at home, it looks like it went to backup boarding groups already.  Big crowds this morning I think!


----------



## ironband74

Skyegirl1999 said:


> 23!


YES!


----------



## Erin M

We got 45! iPhone 11 on Verizon got it.


----------



## matthewthompson87

35!

Train station stairs.

T-mobile. iPhone 8

6:20am Toy Story Parking
Ticket Booth Upgrade 15 mins
7:20am got into turnstile (no photo taken)
Killed apps, turned off WiFi
7:59 opened app
8am switched from home screen watching clock
No red button
My status>> join group available.
Several second delay, then it popped up.

Lots of cheers and screams.

Was an organized, polite arrival and process.


----------



## IsleofDisney

Back up groups gone around 8:13?


----------



## SOCALMouseMommy

Skyegirl1999 said:


> 23!


YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Happy Birthday to your husband!


----------



## ironband74

I didn't see when the backups stopped distribution, but Thrill Data shows 8:12.  Looks like backups are 82 and above today.  It would seem ya'll are poised for a good day!  Sending thoughts of reliability and up-time!


----------



## jackbo487

Skyegirl1999 said:


> We are in quite a line at Toy Story, and the lone bus is just hanging out.
> 
> Sooo... our Toy Story loyalty is being tested here.  The birthday boy is stressed.


in line for Toy Story to open? Or having already parked and waiting for a bus?


----------



## senorhiney

I got group 74!!!


----------



## Epicnemesis

For people who get 70+, are you getting your pass immediately at opening or is there some issue that caused you to refresh/reopen the app? I’m trying to figure out what causes some to get a below 20 group while others get much higher. Presumably everyone in this chat has the same process at this point.


----------



## msteddom

Epicnemesis said:


> For people who get 70+, are you getting your pass immediately at opening or is there some issue that caused you to refresh/reopen the app? I’m trying to figure out what causes some to get a below 20 group while others get much higher. Presumably everyone in this chat has the same process at this point.


I’ve done the boarding group process four times now, three times at Hollywood Studios and once at Disneyland.

Twice, I clicked “find out more” right at 8 and the “join boarding group button was red.  This resulted in boarding groups of 31 and 35 (I suspect someone with a faster finger probably could have done a little better)

Two other times, I followed the exact same process, but the “join boarding group” button was greyed out, so I went back and forth between the “find out more” screen and the “join boarding group” screen.  This resulted in boarding groups of  61 and 91.  Both of these occurred at Hollywood Studios, so I suspect that if I ran into the same problem at Disneyland that I would have ended up deep into the backup groups.

The real mystery is why, on the exact same phone, standing in similar places, I got such different results.  Whoever can crack that code is going to be the hero of the Disboards!


----------



## Mike_M

Epicnemesis said:


> For people who get 70+, are you getting your pass immediately at opening or is there some issue that caused you to refresh/reopen the app? I’m trying to figure out what causes some to get a below 20 group while others get much higher. Presumably everyone in this chat has the same process at this point.



I think the key for my group when we were there was having multiple phones and taking a few min before 8 to clear out all other running apps and fully closing and reopening the DL app before trying for a BG. Like I’ve said before, luck probably had a part to play too, but making sure your phone is ready ahead of time doesn’t hurt.


----------



## ironband74

I'm sure luck figures into it.  But, as Edna says:


----------



## desertgirl

Staying at Grand Californian. Left room this morning at 6:30. No like for security and in line at Disneyland by 6:36. Gates opened at 7:21. After studying for weeks and practicing at home I scored boarding group 16!!!!


----------



## Skyegirl1999

jackbo487 said:


> in line for Toy Story to open? Or having already parked and waiting for a bus?


We were parked and waiting for a bus at that point.  Five busses showed up at once so it turned out fine, but there was about a 10-minute delay where there was just nothing happening. 

For those who care: we both have iPhone 11pros and Verizon.  We were in Tomorrowland by the Galactic Grill.  Used the second hand on my husband’s Apple Watch to count down with the app open.  Right at 8, we hit “Find out more,” boarding group button was grayed out.  Hit “My status” and both had the option to join from there; he hit his a half second before me, so he got 23.  I would guess I would have been successful because I was *right* after, but probably would have been a higher number. 

The people around us were yelling out 16, 21, and 35.


----------



## Skyegirl1999

In other news, 9:22 and they aren’t loading yet?


----------



## Mark_E

ironband74 said:


> I'm sure luck figures into it.  But, as Edna says:


10000% I was super prepared, multiple play alongs from home, researched the crap out of how to get a boarding group and got groups 16, 27, 14 and 26 this past week.


----------



## IsleofDisney

Excited for those of you who got a boarding group today! Looks like a beautiful day in Southern California! Hope you all have a good journey to join the Reistance!


----------



## montreid

Wow. No bueno.  933 and still closed.  Wonder if start at grp 15-20.   

Wdw already 77 with a 27 grp spread so they are cranking it today.


----------



## imjen

Has anyone had good luck getting BGs in or near Fantasyland? We were thinking of rope dropping Alice and Storybook (and PP if not too long), unless other locations seem better for securing guaranteed BGs. Also, just remembered since we'll be there next Saturday, it's magic morning so maybe Alice and Storybook will already have long lines? Thoughts?


----------



## optstud

I got group 11 on Monday and 3 on Thursday. Old iPhone 6s on ATT.  Under the umbrellas at the refreshment corner. I followed everyone’s instructions with the addition of having my portable charger plugged in. Thanks to everyone. If you are there for magic morning you can use the other turnstiles if you see they are letting ppl in. There will be separate MM scanning closer to the hub.


----------



## shleaz

Pulled BG 33 from the Starbucks at DCA!  Entered Disneyland right around 7:30, immediately left and went to DCA to get away from the crowds and posted up at a table by the window in Starbucks. Got through with an iPhone X on T-Mobile, tapped My Status then Join Boarding Group from there. 

Now... if only it would start loading


----------



## Skyegirl1999

9:50 and not loading yet... wonder what’s up?  I hope they’re working all the bugs out now and will have smooth sailing once they open!

But, Sundays, man...


----------



## HydroGuy

imjen said:


> Has anyone had good luck getting BGs in or near Fantasyland? We were thinking of rope dropping Alice and Storybook (and PP if not too long), unless other locations seem better for securing guaranteed BGs. Also, just remembered since we'll be there next Saturday, it's magic morning so maybe Alice and Storybook will already have long lines? Thoughts?


If you read back a few pages, some folks got them in Red Rose Tavern in FL. They reported good phone speed from there. That is what is most important.


----------



## LeiaOfAlderaan

optstud said:


> I got group 11 on Monday and 3 on Thursday. Old iPhone 6s on ATT.



This is so good to hear. We all have 6s on AT&T and I am worried our phones are so slow we won’t be able to compete. Hearing a success story gives me hope!


----------



## B3rlingirl

I guess it’s called Sunday... still not running at 10:35 am according to the app...


----------



## Mark_E

imjen said:


> locations seem better for securing guaranteed BGs. Also, just remembered since we'll be there next Saturday, it's magic morning so maybe Alice and Storybook wil


In the queue for Mr Toad I got group 14 (fourth group as started at 11 that day)


----------



## Vysecity

Ok I'm not trying in Sundays from now on lol


----------



## dina444444

Updated chart:


----------



## Ferrellcon

Group 11 and 12 called. Its 10:43 am. The sunday curse has not been broken.


----------



## Skyegirl1999

Boarding 11-13. 

Thank. Goodness.


----------



## EmJ

Ferrellcon said:


> Group 11 and 12 called. Its 10:43 am. The sunday curse has not been broken.


Oof. I just checked the graph and though it was broken somehow. Good luck today everyone.


----------



## Skyegirl1999

Well, we got in line, but they just broke down.


----------



## DLRExpert

Got BG 18 and cannot use it.
If anyone has two guests and are in the park today. PM me and I will send images of the tickets that need to be scanned.

You have until 1254 to scan the two tickets.

ME


----------



## Skyegirl1999

They’re evacuating the line.


----------



## Skyegirl1999

So.  They did the “we’ve stopped recruiting, no time estimate” announcement a couple of times.  Then they did a different announcement about evacuating the base and priority boarding still being honored, etc. so we all got up and left (I’d say 70% of the line cleared, with about 30% of the people still sitting down, many of them asking what the message had said.)

Then they stopped scanning FPs onto passes and made the “we’ve stopped recruiting, no time estimate” announcement AGAIN, and started hollering at us all to get back in line and that if we left where forfeiting our BG.

So now we’re waaaay behind where we were, and before we had seating, which we’d been happy about if it’s a long stoppage.  And now we don’t.   

I just feel bad for my husband because when we saw group 23, we thought we’d be home by noon and he could take a nap before the Super Bowl... whomp-whomp.


----------



## desertgirl

Same. We lost our spot in line and are much further back due to the clear the bay/wait don’t announcement. Thought group 16 we would have been in and out by 9:00 am.


----------



## SOCALMouseMommy

Skyegirl1999 said:


> So.  They did the “we’ve stopped recruiting, no time estimate” announcement a couple of times.  Then they did a different announcement about evacuating the base and priority boarding still being honored, etc. so we all got up and left (I’d say 70% of the line cleared, with about 30% of the people still sitting down, many of them asking what the message had said.)
> 
> Then they stopped scanning FPs onto passes and made the “we’ve stopped recruiting, no time estimate” announcement AGAIN, and started hollering at us all to get back in line and that if we left where forfeiting our BG.
> 
> So now we’re waaaay behind where we were, and before we had seating, which we’d been happy about if it’s a long stoppage.  And now we don’t.
> 
> I just feel bad for my husband because when we saw group 23, we thought we’d be home by noon and he could take a nap before the Super Bowl... whomp-whomp.


Ugh, this is horrible! Why oh why would they make people stay in line and wait? Totally pointless. I’m sorry it’s not going smoothly, especially with your husband there. My husband is also not Disney obsessed like me and he’d be so peeved if that happened.


----------



## Skyegirl1999

desertgirl said:


> Same. We lost our spot in line and are much further back due to the clear the bay/wait don’t announcement. Though group 16 we would have been in and out by 9:00 am.


Yeah, it’s frustrating how they’re handling the breakdown.
A) It’s frustrating that they force us to wait rather than not issuing FPs right away, or at least offering it as an options.
B) The fact that they announced we had to leave and then changed their mind is especially annoying.  Further back, nowhere to sit, still just stuck waiting with no ETA... feels worse than if we’d just been in that same spot this whole time.

Boo.  I feel bad.  He comes to Disney about 1/6 as often as my daughter and I do... so it’s a bummer for me when this kind of stuff hits him.  And I’m the one who suggested we come.


----------



## Smrtalec33

imjen said:


> Has anyone had good luck getting BGs in or near Fantasyland? We were thinking of rope dropping Alice and Storybook (and PP if not too long), unless other locations seem better for securing guaranteed BGs. Also, just remembered since we'll be there next Saturday, it's magic morning so maybe Alice and Storybook will already have long lines? Thoughts?


A lot of people have had good luck near small World. And, correct me if I’m wrong, but I believe small world actually has a countdown to park opening, which also makes this process easier.


----------



## tammie33

Aurora0427 said:


> Yayyyyyy! I came to check if y’all were called! The Force is strong with you today!


Thank you.  What an amazing ride.   Sending good vibes to those trying to get groups over the next few months.


----------



## Epicnemesis

DLRExpert said:


> Got BG 18 and cannot use it.
> If anyone has two guests and are in the park today. PM me and I will send images of the tickets that need to be scanned.
> 
> You have until 1254 to scan the two tickets.
> 
> ME



couldn’t PM but if you still have them I’ll take them!


----------



## Skyegirl1999

It’s running again!  Supposedly.  Fingers crossed we actually get through!


----------



## Epicnemesis

DLRExpert said:


> Got BG 18 and cannot use it.
> If anyone has two guests and are in the park today. PM me and I will send images of the tickets that need to be scanned.
> 
> You have until 1254 to scan the two tickets.
> 
> ME


I think the breakdown slowed them. Possibly valid past 1254


----------



## DLRExpert

DLRExpert said:


> Got BG 18 and cannot use it.
> If anyone has two guests and are in the park today. PM me and I will send images of the tickets that need to be scanned.
> 
> You have until 1254 to scan the two tickets.
> 
> ME


Already taken


----------



## ironband74

I am convinced that they have a guy who is just the best at troubleshooting and getting the attraction back up and running, and he works every day except Sunday.


----------



## Aurora0427

Skyegirl1999 said:


> Yeah, it’s frustrating how they’re handling the breakdown.
> A) It’s frustrating that they force us to wait rather than not issuing FPs right away, or at least offering it as an options.
> B) The fact that they announced we had to leave and then changed their mind is especially annoying.  Further back, nowhere to sit, still just stuck waiting with no ETA... feels worse than if we’d just been in that same spot this whole time.
> 
> Boo.  I feel bad.  He comes to Disney about 1/6 as often as my daughter and I do... so it’s a bummer for me when this kind of stuff hits him.  And I’m the one who suggested we come.



I am so sorry. I actually prayed that this didn't happen to us because there was no way we could’ve waited in line. They need to issue fast passes if the ride is going to be down for more than 20 minutes. Ridiculous


----------



## Epicnemesis

DLRExpert said:


> Already taken


 “Nooooooooooooooooo” -Darth Vader


----------



## senorhiney

ironband74 said:


> I am convinced that they have a guy who is just the best at troubleshooting and getting the attraction back up and running, and he works every day except Sunday.


Was thinking the same thing. Or all the good ones took the Super Bowl off. Sitting at BG 74 and my legs are going to fall off about to board Smugglers Run. Snail pace with the groups I hope it picks up.


----------



## nutshell

Why can’t they evacuate and let people out of line then when the ride is back up they recall the boarding groups they were on???


----------



## VandVsmama

ironband74 said:


> I am convinced that they have a guy who is just the best at troubleshooting and getting the attraction back up and running, and he works every day except Sunday.



I was thinking the same thing...that Mon-Sat, the A team is on duty and on Sundays, the ride fixer gurus are all off.


----------



## Skyegirl1999

Ok, we made it , and my husband has now been deposited at his Super Bowl party for birthday part 2. Whew. Thanks for the commiseration! We were *very* mentally prepared not to get to ride today up until we got BG 23... at which point we did not expect it to be as much of a ruckus as it was! I was definitely getting nervous that we’d have to bail after all of that time and effort, so I’m super thankful that didn’t happen. 

He enjoyed it a lot, but was definitely less enthusiastic because of the weird “evacuating, just kidding” episode. Had they just issued return passes, the experience would have been more favorable. But still, we were lucky to get to ride today for his birthday!

I do not think our family will attempt to ride again for awhile, ha!  I hope the rest of you with BGs today get to ride, and I hope the Sunday curse gets broken sometime soon!


----------



## Ferrellcon

VandVsmama said:


> I was thinking the same thing...that Mon-Sat, the A team is on duty and on Sundays, the ride fixer gurus are all off.


Its gotta be some scheduling conflict for the maintenance team. Otherwise this would be a really big coincidence. This is the third bad sunday in a row.


----------



## StarGirl11

VandVsmama said:


> I was thinking the same thing...that Mon-Sat, the A team is on duty and on Sundays, the ride fixer gurus are all off.



If that’s the case then they really need to start training some techs to do a better job on their days off.


----------



## midnight star

Has Disneyland ever had to give out compensation for uncalled guaranteed groups?


----------



## Skyegirl1999

midnight star said:


> Has Disneyland ever had to give out compensation for uncalled guaranteed groups?


Not yet.


----------



## EmJ

Skyegirl1999 said:


> Not yet.


Maybe today will be the day? Looks like it’s down again. Only at group 38 at 3:30. Ouch.


----------



## EmJ

Skyegirl1999 said:


> Not yet.


Did you guys get to ride?


----------



## Skyegirl1999

EmJ said:


> Did you guys get to ride?


Yeah!  I posted about it on the last page.


----------



## midnight star

EmJ said:


> Maybe today will be the day? Looks like it’s down again. Only at group 38 at 3:30. Ouch.


i hope not. This day reminds me of when I did the ride at WDW. Lots of delays, breakdowns, and they couldn’t finish the guaranteed groups because the ride just wouldn’t work by evening


----------



## Ferrellcon

midnight star said:


> Has Disneyland ever had to give out compensation for uncalled guaranteed groups?


I know that DHS has. Its funny cause the app says that a boarding group does not guarantee entry to ride, but i suppose they will compensate if needed.


----------



## matthewthompson87

4:15am wake up to 2:10pm entered the pre-show with BG 35... we’re exhausted but it feels worth it. Rode the Train, had breakfast, rode Indy, Guardians, Pirates, lunch, and then bailed after Rise. The longest wait we were in was for Guest Relations to try to solve a dining reservation issue with the Disneyland app.

While the limited capacity surely disappoints people who can’t get a BG group... the system works marvelously to keep you from spending an entire day in line.

Thank you to all for the tips and info!


----------



## mydisneymoney

HydroGuy said:


> You can get into SWGE thru the Frontierland entrance at rope drop?


Every day we were there, they had ropes in the hub at Frontier Land, Adventure Land and Tomorrowland.  At 5 minutes till opening, they ropes were removed and we were allowed to enter into all lands.  As far as I could tell, all entrances into GE were open.  Going all the way around to Hungry Bear and going in that entrance would be much further since Smugglers Run is the only thing open that anyone would be hurrying to get to.  The bulk of the crowd would go through Frontier Land, go by Big Thunder and to into GE through that entrance.  Something we did not check out is if there is a rope at the back side of Fantasy Land going towards GE because that would be the fastest way to GE if you had Magic Morning and had access to Fantasy Land.


----------



## desertgirl

We finished the ride around 1:00 pm. Made for a long morning as we left the room at 6:30 am. We are dvc so tend to not spend long hours at the park. Our biggest problem was just not knowing how long it would take to board. At 16 we figured it would be quickly, so kept delaying our other max passes.  But grateful that we got on.


----------



## socaldisneylover

midnight star said:


> Has Disneyland ever had to give out compensation for uncalled guaranteed groups?


That's not going to happen.  On a long day like today, they would have to drop to around an average of 6 BG's/Hr. in order not to meet the low minimum bar they have set.  They're at 65 now a little after 5:00, so they'll probably be through the regular groups by around 7:00, or perhaps 8 if there's a breakdown.


----------



## EmJ

This is interesting. Despite a truly abysmal morning, the Resistance has rebounded and actually is exceeding the trend line at this point. I’m pretty curious to see what the next three hours bring.


----------



## JWelch62

EmJ said:


> This is interesting. Despite a truly abysmal morning, the Resistance has rebounded and actually is exceeding the trend line at this point. I’m pretty curious to see what the next three hours bring.
> 
> View attachment 470529


Sadly, just the Sunday average. The top line is all time high (not fair, I know)


----------



## Skyegirl1999

EmJ said:


> This is interesting. Despite a truly abysmal morning, the Resistance has rebounded and actually is exceeding the trend line at this point. I’m pretty curious to see what the next three hours bring.
> 
> View attachment 470529


I’m wondering how many people bailed for the Superbowl.  We chatted with several people in 49ers or Chiefs gear who had BGs but were leaving the parks for the game.  Maybe it has no effect, but if even 10 people per group left... could help.


----------



## midnight star

Skyegirl1999 said:


> I’m wondering how many people bailed for the Superbowl.  We chatted with several people in 49ers or Chiefs gear who had BGs but were leaving the parks for the game.  Maybe it has no effect, but if even 10 people per group left... could help.


I read quite a few people on facebook groups who went hoping to get an early group...if not they said they were going to leave. So that could be accurate to some extent. Especially if they are weekly visitors.


----------



## Skyegirl1999

midnight star said:


> I read quite a few people on facebook groups who went hoping to get an early group...if not they said they were going to leave. So that could be accurate to some extent. Especially if they are weekly visitors.


I mean, that would have been us.  If it had become clear that we weren’t going to ride before the game, I was going to offer them up here, but most people probably have no way to “give” them to someone.  And given how bad the morning went, I wouldn’t be surprised if even more people bailed.


----------



## Smrtalec33

matthewthompson87 said:


> While the limited capacity surely disappoints people who can’t get a BG group... the system works marvelously to keep you from spending an entire day in line.
> .



It is funny, because this should be true and I am sure it usually is, but we spent two hours in this line on Thursday because of the breakdown, and we were not in any other line for any ride all day longer than 15 minutes.


----------



## montreid

Crushing it with a spread now of 27 -- that's a new high for them I think.


----------



## EmJ

JWelch62 said:


> Sadly, just the Sunday average. The top line is all time high (not fair, I know)
> 
> View attachment 470536


HOLD THE PHONE! You can make custom graphs?! Oh my. I may need to call off work tomorrow


----------



## JWelch62

EmJ said:


> HOLD THE PHONE! You can make custom graphs?! Oh my. I may need to call off work tomorrow


 Closing in on overall average!


----------



## EmJ

JWelch62 said:


> Closing in on overall average!
> 
> View attachment 470552


Yes! Okay, I learned how to do the custom graph tool, which is dangerous. But here is one. Top line is the all time high; bottom line is the all time low; and the middle line is the average. So they're not breaking any records today for sure, but it's performed significantly better than the "worst", and is approaching the average. I'd say that's not that bad considering the ride didn't every really get moving until after noon and still had a major breakdown after that.


----------



## EmJ

Also if I'm annoying everyone with my graph-posting, someone please tell me. I find it fascinating, but am not sure if everyone else is like, omg yes we get it, graphs, will you stop already


----------



## matthewthompson87

Smrtalec33 said:


> It is funny, because this should be true and I am sure it usually is, but we spent two hours in this line on Thursday because of the breakdown, and we were not in any other line for any ride all day longer than 15 minutes.



Yes, it really seems like there are continual reports of mismanaged breakdowns from the perspective of guests in line.  Really no excuse for that considering the number of managers I saw swirling around the attraction today.


----------



## amyg1975

EmJ said:


> Also if I'm annoying everyone with my graph-posting, someone please tell me. I find it fascinating, but am not sure if everyone else is like, omg yes we get it, graphs, will you stop already



I love the graphs!


----------



## dina444444

Just so people understand the trends line on thrill data, it’s in comparison to the average of the same day of the week.


----------



## Ferrellcon

I am surprised. I thought they would only get through 81 groups today. I did not expect 94 groups.


----------



## StarGirl11

99 now. Looks like the idea that they’re probably going through groups faster cause of the SuperBowl is probably right at this point.


----------



## Ferrellcon

StarGirl11 said:


> 99 now. Looks like the idea that they’re probably going through groups faster cause of the SuperBowl is probably right at this point.


Thats probably what is happening. People are not showing up for their groups because of the game allowing them to get through more groups.


----------



## Etonduf

matthewthompson87 said:


> Yes, it really seems like there are continual reports of mismanaged breakdowns from the perspective of guests in line.  Really no excuse for that considering the number of managers I saw swirling around the attraction today.



And with the amount of practice they've had dealing with breakdowns and restarts, you'd think they'd have it down to a science!


----------



## Vysecity

I'm looking at wait times and they seem light


----------



## dina444444

Vysecity said:


> I'm looking at wait times and they seem light


It’s Sunday night. Usually during the off season crowds are super light on Sunday night.


----------



## Erin M

We made it, finally. Felt like we might never hit 45 but then it’s obviously picked up. Once we were called it went super fast. The park in general has emptied out significantly and that started around 5:30 as far as we could tell. I’m shocked at how many people we saw in Chiefs and 9ers hear who were still here.  We’ve had a great day overall and.l now have the exhausted giggles as we wait for Fantasmic to start. 

We will try again tomorrow and see how the day goes.  Crossing our fingers for luck because our fifth person got here today and desperately wants to ride.


----------



## midnight star

dina444444 said:


> It’s Sunday night. Usually during the off season crowds are super light on Sunday night.


I went on the Sunday night before LAUSD went back to school...people were leaving in droves around 4pm, and by night it was so nice.


----------



## ShoeCello

Looks like we’re done at 112 (unless this is a breakdown, but given park close at 11 I imagine they’re calling it a night once they finish the current queue). Not bad given the really slow start this morning!


----------



## ironband74

It does look like they were able to accelerate the rate in the afternoon due to the Superbowl.  Even so, the morning was dismal, but this was still the best Sunday ever for the attraction...Which is not saying much, but improvement is improvement.  I mean, you could argue that Jan 26 was "better" in many respects...but it seems like once they worked out the issue they got a good solid 5 hours of operation after 4pm.  Still not good.  But hopefully the rest of the week will continue to move in the right direction.


----------



## theluckyrabbit

Skyegirl1999 said:


> 23!


Yay! Glad your DH got to ride (and sorry about all the breakdown runaround). Hope he enjoyed the game!



Erin M said:


> We got 45! iPhone 11 on Verizon got it.


Congratulations! Did everyone enjoy F!? Pixie dust for tomorrow!



imjen said:


> Has anyone had good luck getting BGs in or near Fantasyland?...


Other people have reported getting BGs in FL while in line for rides, by Red Rose Tavern, and by IASW.



EmJ said:


> Also if I'm annoying everyone with my graph-posting, someone please tell me. I find it fascinating, but am not sure if everyone else is like, omg yes we get it, graphs, will you stop already


Seriously, you're asking _us_? _Here_?? In _this_ thread??? No, really... do you have any Excel spreadsheets you can throw into the mix? I think they might fit in very well and make some of us quite happy!


----------



## antlane

For those of you who have gone, how crazy is it at DLR these days due to Rise? I keep seeing what’s going on in Florida, but nothing for Anaheim.

Finally experiencing Galaxy’s Edge in March so hoping the craziness (if there’s any) dies down by then...


----------



## theluckyrabbit

antlane said:


> For those of you who have gone, how crazy is it at DLR these days due to Rise? I keep seeing what’s going on in Florida, but nothing for Anaheim...


There is plenty of information about ROTR at DLR in this ongoing superthread: Rise of the Resistance BOARDING GROUPS Superthread *No Ride Spoilers Please* *PLEASE READ POSTS 1-3*. Make sure to read the first few posts, which are being updated daily or almost daily. Then read through the last few pages to get caught up. Jump in with any questions that weren't answered on the first page.


----------



## Skyegirl1999

antlane said:


> For those of you who have gone, how crazy is it at DLR these days due to Rise? I keep seeing what’s going on in Florida, but nothing for Anaheim.
> 
> Finally experiencing Galaxy’s Edge in March so hoping the craziness (if there’s any) dies down by then...


Trying to get onto the ride is fairly crazy, in terms of these things: you have to get there far enough before rope drop to be sure you’ll get in (I’d plan to hit security an at least an hour ahead to be safe), you have to know how to navigate the app to give yourself the best chance at a BG, and then you need luck on your side both in terms of getting a BG and then having the ride run well enough for you to ride.

The parks in general don’t seem too affected other than the rope drop boarding group madness.  Like, it’s not like the parks are crazy packed all day because of ROTR or anything.


----------



## MommyLove

EmJ said:


> Also if I'm annoying everyone with my graph-posting, someone please tell me. I find it fascinating, but am not sure if everyone else is like, omg yes we get it, graphs, will you stop already



I love the graphs!


----------



## IsleofDisney

Me when I post a "Hope you the ride runs smooth today"


EmJ said:


> Also if I'm annoying everyone with my graph-posting, someone please tell me. I find it fascinating, but am not sure if everyone else is like, omg yes we get it, graphs, will you stop already



Love the graphs, thank you for sharing!


----------



## kristabelle13

Please help - will they open all gates? If they say “Entrance” above? There are 2 gates over by stroller that say Entrance with no one lined up..... can I go there?


----------



## kristabelle13

kristabelle13 said:


> Please help - will they open all gates? If they say “Entrance” above? There are 2 gates over by stroller that say Entrance with no one lined up..... can I go there?


Nevermind...I think someone asked because there was a head shake lol — this is my only day and only shot and don’t want to screw it up!


----------



## IsleofDisney

kristabelle13 said:


> Nevermind...I think someone asked because there was a head shake lol — this is my only day and only shot and don’t want to screw it up!



Hoping for the best for you! MTFBWY!


----------



## ironband74

kristabelle13 said:


> Nevermind...I think someone asked because there was a head shake lol — this is my only day and only shot and don’t want to screw it up!


Don't worry, you're plenty early.  They will open the gates well before 9 (editied from 8) and you'll have a chance to get your boarding pass.  If you've been following this thread then you know all the things you need to know.


----------



## BlueRibbon

kristabelle13 said:


> Nevermind...I think someone asked because there was a head shake lol — this is my only day and only shot and don’t want to screw it up!



Wise move. When it comes to gates that "might" be open, I take the same course as applauding during a classical music concert - Never be the first


----------



## ironband74

BlueRibbon said:


> Wise move. When it comes to gates that "might" be open, I take the same course as applauding during a classical music concert - Never be the first


It's a good question though - I mean, if they  say "Entrance" at this time of day, it is reasonable to assume that they will be used for Entrance.  Has anyone ever lined up in a line marked "Entrance" and then had a cast member change the sign prior to opening and tell you to join another line?


----------



## Erin M

We got here at 7:35 today and the lines were 15 feet past the monorail. Feels busier than yesterday. These later openings bring more people I think, not the diehard 6am peeps! Duly noted! Some activity near the turnstiles but not a lot. Lines are now nearly back to DCA though and it’s an hour til park opening.  Pixie dust to everyone this morning!!


----------



## kristabelle13

ironband74 said:


> It's a good question though - I mean, if they  say "Entrance" at this time of day, it is reasonable to assume that they will be used for Entrance.  Has anyone ever lined up in a line marked "Entrance" and then had a cast member change the sign prior to opening and tell you to join another line?


Well, they confirmed because there was a stampede  but it’s fine. I honestly more wanted to sit up there to lean against the gate haha


----------



## kristabelle13

Another question that I’m not sure has been confirmed - is it the fastest ping time that’s most helpful?


----------



## ironband74

kristabelle13 said:


> Another question that I’m not sure has been confirmed - is it the fastest ping time that’s most helpful?


That's the prevailing theory.  The amount of data that needs to be sent is very small.  How fast it gets there and in the buffer seems more important.  But the data has to get there.  So strength of signal and ping both seem important.  Bandwidth seems to be related to strength of signal.  So plenty of factors to go around. 

Don't count out the influence of midichlorians, though...The will of the force probably plays a part.


----------



## ironband74

So did lots of people take #SuperMonday off to try and Rise with the Resistance?  5 minutes to go time.  May the Force be with you all.  I promise to never tell you the odds.


----------



## DLgal

Ok, wish us luck! We are posted up at Starbucks in Downtown Disney with lightning fast AT&T connection and another phone on Starbucks WiFi.

Fingers crossed! 

Getting in was cake this morning. Arrived to structure at 7:50, in the park by 8:08am.


----------



## ironband74

DLgal said:


> Ok, wish us luck! We are posted up at Starbucks in Downtown Disney with lightning fast AT&T connection and another phone on Starbucks WiFi.
> 
> Fingers crossed!
> 
> Getting in was cake this morning. Arrived to structure at 7:50, in the park by 8:08am.


Good Luck!!!!


----------



## ironband74

Regular groups gone in 30 seconds.  Brutal.


----------



## montreid

Edit:  nm - i didn't realize the change status earlier -- though 1 minute.   wow 30sec.


----------



## kristabelle13

I am so grateful to you all!! I was able to snag boarding group 6! Sitting in front of train station.


----------



## DLgal

BOARDING GROUP 1!!!!!

YES!!!


----------



## KPeterso

DLgal said:


> BOARDING GROUP 1!!!!!
> 
> YES!!!



YAY!!! I was really hoping you would get a good one after the problems the first time you tried! Have a great ride!


----------



## ironband74

kristabelle13 said:


> I am so grateful to you all!! I was able to snag boarding group 6! Sitting in front of train station.


6 is a great grab!  And a good sign, typically when they start under 10 the attraction opens earlier rather than later...we'll see if that parttern holds.


----------



## DLgal

It was the Samsung Galaxy S10 on AT&T that was the winner, by the way.


----------



## ironband74

DLgal said:


> BOARDING GROUP 1!!!!!
> 
> YES!!!







I mean...


----------



## ironband74

Backups are gone...didn't see the switch but it was between 9:04 and 9:07.  72 and above are backups.


----------



## dina444444

ironband74 said:


> Backups are gone...didn't see the switch but it was between 9:04 and 9:07.  72 and above are backups.


it must have been 9:07


----------



## MinnieInVA

Playing from home (well, work...) this morning, and I got the backup notification at 9:01, for what it's worth.

Also, over the weekend, I had issues getting the boarding group button to come on while I was on my home WiFi network, but zero issues here at work on the Verizon network. Weird. Guess I know what I'll be using when I visit in a couple weeks!


----------



## Skyegirl1999

DLgal said:


> BOARDING GROUP 1!!!!!
> 
> YES!!!


I’m so glad!  Enjoy the ride!


----------



## dina444444

Group 1 is now boarding


----------



## Mom of three

A little late but wanted to share our experience from last Wednesday. In line just before 7:30, made it through the gates at about 7:50, walked down main street and found a random empty spot near the photo shop. All three of us in our party closed out of all apps. We used the second hand on the clock and when it got down to 10 seconds we pulled the app up and secured boarding group 24. It was slightly stressful but exciting also. We were called around 11:30ish. We all have Iphone X running on TMobile. We didn't bother attempting the other days we were in the parks.


----------



## Erin M

Group 22 for us today! Yay!!


----------



## ironband74

dina444444 said:


> Group 1 is now boarding


The pattern holds.  May the Resistance flourish on this day!


----------



## kristabelle13

Boarding group 6 called at 9:21! Yayyy!


----------



## IsleofDisney

YES!!!
[/QUOTE]

Yessss!!!!


----------



## Skyegirl1999

What I’m really gathering from all of this is STAY AWAY FROM ROTR ON SUNDAYS, guys.


----------



## montreid

Monday has been good for DISboards.   Two weeks in a row with Group 1  
Who's up for next monday?  
We're going back 2/17th --  eek.


----------



## BigOHawk

I should've bookmarked so sorry for the ask again. Top 3-5 spots for great cell reception, full bars and ping to get a BG?

I'm hearing Train Station (steps?), IASW, Mad Hatters and Submarines...others within DL?


----------



## IsleofDisney

montreid said:


> Monday has been good for DISboards.   Two weeks in a row with Group 1
> Who's up for next monday?
> We're going back 2/17th --  eek.



2/17 is a federal holiday, it might be busy that day.


----------



## DLgal

BigOHawk said:


> I should've bookmarked so sorry for the ask again. Top 3-5 spots for great cell reception, full bars and ping to get a BG?
> 
> I'm hearing Train Station (steps?), IASW, Mad Hatters and Submarines...others within DL?



AT&T network: 

I was getting speeds around 85mbps outside the Starbucks near World of Disney on the AT&T network. We arrived early enough to wander around checking speeds and I never saw anything above 20mbps inside DL park. The second fastest was between the ticket booths on the DtD side...was getting 60mbps there. Starbucks WiFi was only around 35mbps and my son's phone connected to that was slow once I clicked find out more on the app. 

My advice is LEAVE and go to Starbucks/World of Disney area.


----------



## JWelch62

BigOHawk said:


> I should've bookmarked so sorry for the ask again. Top 3-5 spots for great cell reception, full bars and ping to get a BG?
> 
> I'm hearing Train Station (steps?), IASW, Mad Hatters and Submarines...others within DL?


We got BGs in the top 10 on 3 successive days. On the first two days we were in front of the train, just to the right (as you look at it) of the floral Mickey at the entrance. On the third day, which was a MM, we were over by Alien Pizza Planet. We were in the seating area between Launch Bay and APP.

I am on VZW.


----------



## dina444444

DLgal said:


> AT&T network:
> 
> I was getting speeds around 85mbps outside the Starbucks near World of Disney on the AT&T network. We arrived early enough to wander around checking speeds and I never saw anything above 20mbps inside DL park. The second fastest was between the ticket booths on the DtD side...was getting 60mbps there. Starbucks WiFi was only around 35mbps and my son's phone connected to that was slow once I clicked find out more on the app.
> 
> My advice is LEAVE and go to Starbucks/World of Disney area.


Did you ride yet? How long was the wait?


----------



## DLgal

I also wanted to share some things I did on our actual phones. I turned on "high performance mode," turned off location services, bluetooth, and wifi (on mine). Did a system clean and cleared out old files and cache in storage settings. Restarted the phone. Launched the app at 7:58 and was ready to hit Find Out More, which I did precisely one second AFTER my phone clock hit 9:00. 

Samsung Galaxy S10


----------



## DLgal

dina444444 said:


> Did you ride yet? How long was the wait?



Yes! It was great. Kids were smiling the whole time. 

We have a DAS so used the fastpass line. We walked right into the first preshow room.


----------



## drrew76

Sorry if this has been covered.

Can I enter DCA during EMH and try to get a boarding pass while inside DCA when DL opens, or do I have to head over to DL to try my luck?


----------



## dina444444

drrew76 said:


> Sorry if this has been covered.
> 
> Can I enter DCA during EMH and try to get a boarding pass while inside DCA when DL opens, or do I have to head over to DL to try my luck?


You have to enter DL first.


----------



## matthewthompson87

BigOHawk said:


> I should've bookmarked so sorry for the ask again. Top 3-5 spots for great cell reception, full bars and ping to get a BG?
> 
> I'm hearing Train Station (steps?), IASW, Mad Hatters and Submarines...others within DL?



Away from big groups of people. Higher is better. Facing your cell tower. (You can find some apps that will locate your cell tower...)


----------



## kristabelle13

Should I spill the beans that group 6 was on Disneyland wifi  was infinitely faster ping speed than cellular. 

Also, did not close apps or change phone settings. Just an iPhone XS that hasn’t been rebooted in probably 6 months with every app open in the background lol old habits die hard.


----------



## wowsmom

DLgal said:


> Yes! It was great. Kids were smiling the whole time.
> 
> We have a DAS so used the fastpass line. We walked right into the first preshow room.



I'm so happy you guys got on this time!


----------



## BigOHawk

drrew76 said:


> Sorry if this has been covered.
> 
> Can I enter DCA during EMH and try to get a boarding pass while inside DCA when DL opens, or do I have to head over to DL to try my luck?


Boarding Passes aren't given out until "official" park opening, thus EMH and MM's aren't applicable. You have to be "scanned" into DL first to be able to try for one, and then you can go wherever you wish to try, including DCA, DTD, etc.


----------



## BigOHawk

kristabelle13 said:


> Should I spill the beans that group 6 was on Disneyland wifi  was infinitely faster ping speed than cellular.
> 
> Also, did not close apps or change phone settings. Just an iPhone XS that hasn’t been rebooted in probably 6 months with every app open in the background lol old habits die hard.


Interesting, I must say on the DL app there is a WIFI map and perhaps they were very close to a hotspot with not much foot traffic?


----------



## brightlined

I also got group 1!!

By sheer luck, I was walking past the entrance when group 1 was called, so I ended up being the first person in line. (If you're curious, a CM leads the line at walking pace, I assume to make sure people don't run through it.)

S10/tmobile on the train station level. (App hard open at 8:59, Find Out More at 9am, red button.)

I was so panicky about coming this far and missing out, and I'm so relieved at how lucky I got. It was so awesome. Huge thanks to everyone here that helped figure out the tricks!


----------



## 94bruin

I played along this morning and got the orange button. However, when I pressed it, it told me to sign up. Doh! Well, that's what these practice runs are for!

Also, when I sign in, it brings up the a page where I have to click boxes to complete my registration. I've tried a few times, but then it says, "We're having trouble updating your account at the moment. Try again soon!" I tried all weekend but it never goes through. Any suggestions?


----------



## kristabelle13

BigOHawk said:


> Interesting, I must say on the DL app there is a WIFI map and perhaps they were very close to a hotspot with not much foot traffic?


Funnily enough, the train station looks like a wifi dead zone on that map!


----------



## drrew76

BigOHawk said:


> Boarding Passes aren't given out until "official" park opening, thus EMH and MM's aren't applicable. You have to be "scanned" into DL first to be able to try for one, and then you can go wherever you wish to try, including DCA, DTD, etc.



I was just hoping to use my full hour in DCA without having to waste time scanning into DL early in an effort to get a BP. 

Hoping things have slowed down a little by mid-March - but not counting on it.


----------



## SOCALMouseMommy

DLgal said:


> BOARDING GROUP 1!!!!!
> 
> YES!!!


Fantastic!!!


----------



## DLgal

I wanted to mention...I never got any sort of confirmation on my phone that we actually got a boarding pass. It appeared that I didn't, because after hitting join a boarding group on the page with our party selected, it took me back to the previous page. It was only when I was trying on my son's phone that it said "these members have already been assigned a boarding group." I thought that was odd. I had to click on the My Status to see what number we got.


----------



## HydroGuy

Skyegirl1999 said:


> What I’m really gathering from all of this is STAY AWAY FROM ROTR ON SUNDAYS, guys.


Especially when @Skyegirl1999 is there with her DH for his birthday!


----------



## HydroGuy

matthewthompson87 said:


> Away from big groups of people. Higher is better. Facing your cell tower. (You can find some apps that will locate your cell tower...)


I guess I don't know enough about cell signals to know why facing a cell tower is important. Can you or anyone else give any insight on this?


----------



## BigOHawk

HydroGuy said:


> I guess I don't know enough about cell signals to know why facing a cell tower is important. Can you or anyone else give any insight on this?


Agreed, if there is a good map or online source for this for Verizon that would be great if someone could share.


----------



## montreid

we use opensignal app -  vendor agnostic


----------



## matthewthompson87

kristabelle13 said:


> Should I spill the beans that group 6 was on Disneyland wifi  was infinitely faster ping speed than cellular.
> 
> Also, did not close apps or change phone settings. Just an iPhone XS that hasn’t been rebooted in probably 6 months with every app open in the background lol old habits die hard.



You’ve got to be getting a DL WiFi connection with little other traffic. And if using an Android phone, apps running in the background can eat your connection depending on device and version.

Always better to reduce variables when able...


----------



## Ferrellcon

I just watched a youtube video of someone getting boarding group 1 at the kiosk at splash mountain without using the mobile app. You have to be first in line at the gate then once they let you in rush to the adventureland entrance. Once the rope drops rush to the kiosk and be the first person there. Watch the time. When it turns to the scheduled opening time, as fast as possible, put your ticket in the kiosk.


----------



## Skyegirl1999

Ferrellcon said:


> I just watched a youtube video of someone getting boarding group 1 at the kiosk at splash mountain without using the mobile app. You have to be first in line at the gate then once they let you in rush to the adventureland entrance. Once the rope drops rush to the kiosk and be the first person there. Watch the time. When it turns to the scheduled opening time, as fast as possible, put your ticket in the kiosk.


Someone posted that video a few days ago. 

It’s a lot of “you have to be first” to risk getting out-run at a couple of different points...

We checked out the Adventureland/Frontierland ropes yesterday, but they all had tons of people at them before we got there.  Would be hard to achieve.

If someone wants to try, you can also try for the Buzz ones.  More competition since they’re closer, though, and MM days change up the opportunity there.


----------



## Ferrellcon

Skyegirl1999 said:


> Someone posted that video a few days ago.
> 
> It’s a lot of “you have to be first” to risk getting out-run at a couple of different points...
> 
> We checked out the Adventureland/Frontierland ropes yesterday, but they all had tons of people at them before we got there.  Would be hard to achieve.
> 
> If someone wants to try, you can also try for the Buzz ones.  More competition since they’re closer, though, and MM days change up the opportunity there.


Your right. You have to be very lucky and fast to be the first person at the kiosk.


----------



## desertgirl

drrew76 said:


> Sorry if this has been covered.
> 
> Can I enter DCA during EMH and try to get a boarding pass while inside DCA when DL opens, or do I have to head over to DL to try my luck?


You must scan through Disneyland first in order to secure a boarding group.


----------



## ironband74

So far tracking just a smidge better than last Monday, which was really good. They seem to be maintaining a good pace of 11-12 bg/h.  If they can avoid the dreaded early afternoon downtime, we may see all regular groups done before 3pm.


----------



## EmJ

ironband74 said:


> So far tracking just a smidge better than last Monday, which was really good. They seem to be maintaining a good pace of 11-12 bg/h.  If they can avoid the dreaded early afternoon downtime, we may see all regular groups done before 3pm.


I don’t want to jinx it, but they are actually on pace to exceed the all time high!


----------



## aggieland03

What do you think are the chances to get a boarding group on Feb 18 (Tuesday) if I can't show up there until about 3pm? None point none?


----------



## Elk Grove Chris

I found the Coke Corner to be a good spot for me not using Wi-Fi (full bars). Using an iPhone 11 with Verizon, I got boarding groups of 22, 24, 23, and 26, last Thursday through Sunday. I opened the app about 5 minutes before park opening. I counted about 5 seconds after the clock switched to opening time of the day then clicked on the find out more and so on. Saturday was spectacular for uptime, I think they hit boarding group 100 by 5pm. Sunday, not so much, boarding group 26 was called almost at 1pm. Funny how they are doing the park opening countdown 5 minutes early to clear people out.


----------



## Mark_E

aggieland03 said:


> What do you think are the chances to get a boarding group on Feb 18 (Tuesday) if I can't show up there until about 3pm? None point none?


Zero...


----------



## SOCALMouseMommy

aggieland03 said:


> What do you think are the chances to get a boarding group on Feb 18 (Tuesday) if I can't show up there until about 3pm? None point none?


No chance unfortunately. You have to be scanned into the park before the park opens for a chance.


----------



## aggieland03

SOCALMouseMommy said:


> No chance unfortunately. You have to be scanned into the park before the park opens for a chance.



Have they ever cycled through all backup groups?


----------



## Elk Grove Chris

I think they did last Saturday, then the ride shutdown around 10 pm-park closed at midnight.


----------



## ironband74

aggieland03 said:


> Have they ever cycled through all backup groups?


We don't have any good way of knowing how many backup groups are actually issued on a given day, but it seems likely that on this past Saturday they may have when they got to group 141.  However, they got there at 8:30pm, which is when they usually stop calling groups anyhow for a midnight close.  

If you are hoping that on days where the groups are all accommodated that they will open up a standby line, I wouldn't hold my breath.


----------



## brightlined

aggieland03 said:


> Have they ever cycled through all backup groups?


Even if they do, they won't reopen the groups - they'll just go into maintenance a little early.


----------



## closetmickey

What is the general consensus for arrival time to the front gates on a MM (when we don’t have MM). Heading there tomorrow and regular opening is 9am. Thank you!


----------



## HydroGuy

closetmickey said:


> What is the general consensus for arrival time to the front gates on a MM (when we don’t have MM). Heading there tomorrow and regular opening is 9am. Thank you!


No consensus but the range would be 7:45-8:15AM at the gates. Add time to get thru security based on your situation (no bag, stroller, GCH, etc.).

If it was me I would plan to for 8AM at security on a day like tomorrow. If you arrive a little later you are still likely to get in. But some people are nervous the whole time on whether they will get into DL on time. An 8AM at security should mean you won't have to feel nervous - and that is worth it to some/most people.


----------



## ironband74

EmJ said:


> I don’t want to jinx it, but they are actually on pace to exceed the all time high!


You jinxed it.  The 2:30 curse returns...here's hoping for a quick cycle...


----------



## ckb_nc

Employee of mine got 38 today - CMs said it was a light day. He was blown away while his 8 year old daughter was a little frightened but loved it.


----------



## EmJ

ironband74 said:


> You jinxed it.  The 2:30 curse returns...here's hoping for a quick cycle...


My bad


----------



## SOCALMouseMommy

closetmickey said:


> What is the general consensus for arrival time to the front gates on a MM (when we don’t have MM). Heading there tomorrow and regular opening is 9am. Thank you!


So last Tuesday I arrived at the parking structure at 7:45am. Minimal lines at the structure and security, then big lines at the gate. Hopped in line at 8:20. Through the gates at 8:48 with 12 minutes to spare. I was sweating it a little when I got in line so you might want to show up a littler earlier than I did!


----------



## njchris

SOCALMouseMommy said:


> So last Tuesday I arrived at the parking structure at 7:45am. Minimal lines at the structure and security, then big lines at the gate. Hopped in line at 8:20. Through the gates at 8:48 with 12 minutes to spare. I was sweating it a little when I got in line so you might want to show up a littler earlier than I did!


Did you take the tram or walk?  The tram can be a hit or miss.  Sometimes they don't bring a new empty tram right away.  Although I haven't tried a tram at opening.  I always feel stressed when there are tons of people waiting for the trams.


----------



## Aurora0427

montreid said:


> Monday has been good for DISboards.   Two weeks in a row with Group 1
> Who's up for next monday?
> We're going back 2/17th --  eek.



I’ll pray for you


----------



## Aurora0427

Yay for @DLgal scoring group 1. That is AWESOME! Congratulations to everyone who played and won today!


----------



## kyoshi

DLgal said:


> AT&T network:
> 
> I was getting speeds around 85mbps outside the Starbucks near World of Disney on the AT&T network. We arrived early enough to wander around checking speeds and I never saw anything above 20mbps inside DL park. The second fastest was between the ticket booths on the DtD side...was getting 60mbps there. Starbucks WiFi was only around 35mbps and my son's phone connected to that was slow once I clicked find out more on the app.
> 
> My advice is LEAVE and go to Starbucks/World of Disney area.


If you leave Disneyland, you don't get to experience the hush one minute before boarding groups open, or the cheers and celebrations that happen seconds after the boarding groups release. It really is a sight to see.


----------



## Tadich

Family and I did a 3 day trip last week.  In the park Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.  Like anything that I do, I research first so I am prepared.  This forum made a huge difference in my opinion.  Here are my results.

Day 1 - In the park about 15 minutes before the bell, was right outside Emporium/Fire House.  One try, got BG 25
Day 2 - In the park about 10 minutes early, same location.  One try, got BG 19
Day 3 - Had to come from the parking garage, got scanned into DL at about 8:58. Outside city hall, one try, got BG 17

ATT is my wireless carrier.  Did not hook up to the network.  All three days there was an eerie silence right before park opening... like out of a sci-fi movie quiet and still.  Then everyone starts celebrating and mayhem is restored.  Fair or not, I was prepared and executed the plan.  I actually got to ride 3 1/2 times as we were on it when it went down Wednesday and got walked out and given a fast pass for later.


----------



## SOCALMouseMommy

njchris said:


> Did you take the tram or walk?  The tram can be a hit or miss.  Sometimes they don't bring a new empty tram right away.  Although I haven't tried a tram at opening.  I always feel stressed when there are tons of people waiting for the trams.


I walked. Wait at DTD security around 8:00 was about 5-10 minutes.


----------



## DLgal

kyoshi said:


> If you leave Disneyland, you don't get to experience the hush one minute before boarding groups open, or the cheers and celebrations that happen seconds after the boarding groups release. It really is a sight to see.



Already experienced that last time when we didn't get squat and it honestly felt really crappy.


----------



## DLgal

I just wanted to say, I have NO intention of trying for another BG anytime soon. I'll take my time and saunter in 15 minutes after park opening for awhile. The ride is cool, but not a "must do" on every visit, so we will enjoy our sleep so others can have a chance.


----------



## ironband74

Skyegirl1999 said:


> I myself have ridden twice now (the second time was with my first-time riding husband), and I have little interest in investing the time and energy to get over there early enough to ride again anytime soon... it's a lot of ruckus.


I expect a lot of the locals and regulars will share your sentiment.  They'll ride a few times, then skip it until the new car smell wears off and BGs become a thing you use for MMRR.

But if I go for 3 days a year, you best believe I'm gonna try and ride it all three days I can.


----------



## unveilmyeyes

DLgal said:


> I just wanted to say, I have NO intention of trying for another BG anytime soon. I'll take my time and saunter in 15 minutes after park opening for awhile. The ride is cool, but not a "must do" on every visit, so we will enjoy our sleep so others can have a chance.



You’ll sleep an extra 15 min lol?


----------



## Skyegirl1999

unveilmyeyes said:


> You’ll sleep an extra 15 min lol?


Nah, you have to be parking like 70-90 minutes before the park opens to try for a BG.

Parking at 6:45 vs parking at 8:15 is a big difference.


----------



## DLgal

unveilmyeyes said:


> You’ll sleep an extra 15 min lol?



No, like an extra hour!  We woke up at 6:45 today to be there by 8, for a park open at 9.

I usually can wake up at 8 or 8:30 and be there by 9:15.


----------



## GoldeneyezCA

People! Yes, everyone is entitled to their opinions, and the Dis is wonderful, but can you please, please move this discussion to the other thread, as previously requested?  One thing that isn’t fair (or fun) is for those looking for tips on this thread to have to scroll through 3 pages of discussion on whether or not BG’s are fair....again!  This comes up every 2-3 days.  And thank you to all who keep posting tips and tricks to help increase the success of getting BG’s for this amazing attraction!


----------



## ironband74

GoldeneyezCA said:


> People! Yes, everyone is entitled to their opinions, and the Dis is wonderful, but can you please, please move this discussion to the other thread, as previously requested?  One thing that isn’t fair (or fun) is for those looking for tips on this thread to have to scroll through 3 pages of discussion on whether or not BG’s are fair....again!  This comes up every 2-3 days.  And thank you to all who keep posting tips and tricks to help increase the success of getting BG’s for this amazing attraction!



Yes...Let's take a moment and appreciate that the trend is looking good today:  All the Mondays so far:


----------



## Peachy0118

ironband74 said:


> Yes...Let's take a moment and appreciate that the trend is looking good today:  All the Mondays so far:
> View attachment 470826



Woohoo!!!


----------



## Skyegirl1999

GoldeneyezCA said:


> People! Yes, everyone is entitled to their opinions, and the Dis is wonderful, but can you please, please move this discussion to the other thread, as previously requested?  One thing that isn’t fair (or fun) is for those looking for tips on this thread to have to scroll through 3 pages of discussion on whether or not BG’s are fair....again!  This comes up every 2-3 days.  And thank you to all who keep posting tips and tricks to help increase the success of getting BG’s for this amazing attraction!


To refocus the conversation, here's the advice I sent a friend who wanted to know "how to get a boarding group:"

1. Get there early - you want to be lined up at the entrance at least 45 minutes before the park opens, so try to get to parking 70-90 minutes before opening.  Be prepared to wait in a line of cars to park. _(Note: that advice doesn't apply to those walking.)_  As long as you're scanned in to DL when the park opens, you're good (you can leave and go to Downtown Disney or whatever once you scan in if you want.)
2. Have as many phones trying as possible - you can even bring old phones and connect to Disney wi-fi.  I'd use your cell service other than wifi for any phones that have service.  If you have friends/family willing to "help out" by logging in from home, enlist them!
3. Make sure all phones trying have your entire group's tickets scanned in and the app updated.  Ideally, those would be the only tickets scanned in, so they could all log into your account if that works best.  If anyone has other tickets scanned in that they can't delete (including special event tickets like Disney After Dark), be prepared to unclick those really fast.
4. Try to find a good cell signal in the park.  You can use an app to test this (I didn't; I just went to Tomorrowland where I know I have great service, but people online are doing stuff like checking pings and other techy things.)  Shut down all other apps and relaunch the Disney app a few minutes before park opening.
5. Stay on the Disney app home screen until exactly park open (we used D's Apple Watch to count seconds).  Hit "Find out more" right at opening.  If your "Join Boarding Group" button doesn't light up, hit "My Status" and see if it lets you join from there.  If not, click back and see if your "Join Boarding Group" button lights up.  As soon as something gives you the option to join a group, click it.
6. Un-click anyone not riding really quick and confirm!
** I recommend "trying this from home" a couple of times so you're familiar with the system - you can play along until the point it would actually assign you a group.  You also want to run through it in advance with the other people trying.  There are lots of videos and pictures online if you Google.

Did I miss telling her anything important?


----------



## HydroGuy

Skyegirl1999 said:


> To refocus the conversation, here's the advice I sent a friend who wanted to know "how to get a boarding group:"
> 
> 1. Get there early - you want to be lined up at the entrance at least 45 minutes before the park opens, so try to get to parking 70-90 minutes before opening.  Be prepared to wait in a line of cars to park. _(Note: that advice doesn't apply to those walking.)_  As long as you're scanned in to DL when the park opens, you're good (you can leave and go to Downtown Disney or whatever once you scan in if you want.)
> 2. Have as many phones trying as possible - you can even bring old phones and connect to Disney wi-fi.  I'd use your cell service other than wifi for any phones that have service.  If you have friends/family willing to "help out" by logging in from home, enlist them!
> 3. Make sure all phones trying have your entire group's tickets scanned in and the app updated.  Ideally, those would be the only tickets scanned in, so they could all log into your account if that works best.  If anyone has other tickets scanned in that they can't delete (including special event tickets like Disney After Dark), be prepared to unclick those really fast.
> 4. Try to find a good cell signal in the park.  You can use an app to test this (I didn't; I just went to Tomorrowland where I know I have great service, but people online are doing stuff like checking pings and other techy things.)  Shut down all other apps and relaunch the Disney app a few minutes before park opening.
> 5. Stay on the Disney app home screen until exactly park open (we used D's Apple Watch to count seconds).  Hit "Find out more" right at opening.  If your "Join Boarding Group" button doesn't light up, hit "My Status" and see if it lets you join from there.  If not, click back and see if your "Join Boarding Group" button lights up.  As soon as something gives you the option to join a group, click it.
> 6. Un-click anyone not riding really quick and confirm!
> ** I recommend "trying this from home" a couple of times so you're familiar with the system - you can play along until the point it would actually assign you a group.  You also want to run through it in advance with the other people trying.  There are lots of videos and pictures online if you Google.
> *
> Did I miss telling her anything important?*


Something about using The Force???


----------



## VandVsmama

Aurora0427 said:


> I’ll pray for you



The way I see it, we're all praying for each other at the Jedi temple every night just to give everybody some extra good vibes for their run through the Galaxy's Edge gauntlet the next morning!  MAY THE FORCE BE WITH YOU!


----------



## ironband74

Skyegirl1999 said:


> To refocus the conversation, here's the advice I sent a friend who wanted to know "how to get a boarding group:"
> 
> 1. Get there early - you want to be lined up at the entrance at least 45 minutes before the park opens, so try to get to parking 70-90 minutes before opening.  Be prepared to wait in a line of cars to park. _(Note: that advice doesn't apply to those walking.)_  As long as you're scanned in to DL when the park opens, you're good (you can leave and go to Downtown Disney or whatever once you scan in if you want.)
> 2. Have as many phones trying as possible - you can even bring old phones and connect to Disney wi-fi.  I'd use your cell service other than wifi for any phones that have service.  If you have friends/family willing to "help out" by logging in from home, enlist them!
> 3. Make sure all phones trying have your entire group's tickets scanned in and the app updated.  Ideally, those would be the only tickets scanned in, so they could all log into your account if that works best.  If anyone has other tickets scanned in that they can't delete (including special event tickets like Disney After Dark), be prepared to unclick those really fast.
> 4. Try to find a good cell signal in the park.  You can use an app to test this (I didn't; I just went to Tomorrowland where I know I have great service, but people online are doing stuff like checking pings and other techy things.)  Shut down all other apps and relaunch the Disney app a few minutes before park opening.
> 5. Stay on the Disney app home screen until exactly park open (we used D's Apple Watch to count seconds).  Hit "Find out more" right at opening.  If your "Join Boarding Group" button doesn't light up, hit "My Status" and see if it lets you join from there.  If not, click back and see if your "Join Boarding Group" button lights up.  As soon as something gives you the option to join a group, click it.
> 6. Un-click anyone not riding really quick and confirm!
> ** I recommend "trying this from home" a couple of times so you're familiar with the system - you can play along until the point it would actually assign you a group.  You also want to run through it in advance with the other people trying.  There are lots of videos and pictures online if you Google.
> 
> Did I miss telling her anything important?


Only that, if  after a couple back and forth cycles of my status/ find out more none of the buttons are active, kill the app and start again.   

Also, MM has its nuances.


----------



## ironband74

122! Best weekday ever!


----------



## EmJ

ironband74 said:


> 122! Best weekday ever!


I have a superexciting graph but I'm scared to post it in case I jinx things again, lol. I'm waiting a half hour more.


----------



## katyringo

Are we debating again? Lol.

we travel to Disneyland. If boarding groups are still a thing in October We will deff try to be there at opening each day UNTIl we get a boarding group.. then just knowing our style won’t try again.  We usually get to the parks right after they open lol! We still take advantage of early morning. CrowDS but just usually always seem to arrive 15 minutes late lol! We always make our MM tho..


----------



## VandVsmama

This was me & my DH discussing this ride over dinner this evening.  HAHAHA!  Just had to share with y'all because you're my people and you understand!


----------



## Aurora0427

VandVsmama said:


> This was me & my DH discussing this ride over dinner this evening.  HAHAHA!  Just had to share with y'all because you're my people and you understand!
> 
> View attachment 470870



I am totally sending this meme to my parents. We were all there 1/25-1/27 and my dad just could not wrap his head around the ROTR process.  After our stressful boarding group Sunday, we went back to the hotel around 1 and he took a two hour nap and then said “ok, we are not doing this ROTR stuff again tomorrow right?”  

 We ended up riding both ROTR and Smugglers Run and he told me he liked SR better.


----------



## Skyegirl1999

EmJ said:


> I have a superexciting graph but I'm scared to post it in case I jinx things again, lol. I'm waiting a half hour more.


“I have a superexciting graph...” 

*nods expectantly*


----------



## VandVsmama

Aurora0427 said:


> I am totally sending this meme to my parents. We were all there 1/25-1/27 and my dad just could not wrap his head around the ROTR process.  After our stressful boarding group Sunday, we went back to the hotel around 1 and he took a two hour nap and then said “ok, we are not doing this ROTR stuff again tomorrow right?”
> 
> We ended up riding both ROTR and Smugglers Run and he told me he liked SR better.


I LOVE IT!


----------



## midnight star

Hahahahaha my friend sent this to me! She saw on some meme page. Definitely us when we did ROTR


----------



## Aurora0427

VandVsmama said:


> I LOVE IT!



Yes and we waited only 25 minutes for SR. I actually think that’s what he liked better.... a ride you just stand in line and wait for instead of the chaos that is ROTR. Or at least that’s what I’m telling myself.


----------



## VandVsmama

EmJ said:


> I have a superexciting graph but I'm scared to post it in case I jinx things again, lol. I'm waiting a half hour more.



We will wait patiently for your super exciting graph, but inside our heads, we are all doing this right now...


----------



## ironband74

EmJ said:


> I have a superexciting graph but I'm scared to post it in case I jinx things again, lol. I'm waiting a half hour more.


Ok, I think we're done at 126.  You're all clear, kid!


----------



## Aurora0427

Ok so one detail I left out of my BG day story that I posted on 1/26..... I suffered an injury! I was so excited when I got BG 21, I jumped up in the air and apparently my calves weren’t ready for that, because I badly strained my right calf. As in couldn’t walk. For hours. My parents tried to talk me into going back to the hotel and I just looked at them like they were insane. So I held onto the stroller and literally dragged my leg behind me and somehow managed to hobble on one leg. After we rode ROTR I bought Advil and took 800mg. The rest of the day is kind of a blur but at some point I know the Advil kicked in and I could walk slowly flat footed with a limp. 

I mean how ridiculous is that? I just started walking normally again yesterday. Anyway, it took me a week to not be mortified and share. If you’re gonna jump when you score a BG, make sure you stretch first.


----------



## dina444444

The chart:


----------



## montreid

10.5 per hour.   'crushed it'


----------



## EmJ

ironband74 said:


> Ok, I think we're done at 126.  You're all clear, kid!


Sorry everyone! My child *who is supposed to be sleeping* called me upstairs to ask whether I like mosquitos or moths better, and then quiz me on random addition facts. I’m pleased to say I passed 

Here is the graph!!! Despite the reemergence of the 2:30 curse, ROTR rebounded to kiss its all time high once again! But for the ride closing at 8:00 rather than 10:00 tonight, it might have exceeded it. Clearly Mr. Fix-It Tech was back on duty today. They need to give that guy a raise!


----------



## montreid

clearly 2:30 is his lunch hour


----------



## pokee99

EmJ said:


> Also if I'm annoying everyone with my graph-posting, someone please tell me. I find it fascinating, but am not sure if everyone else is like, omg yes we get it, graphs, will you stop already



I love it! And I'm a little disturbed and annoyed at myself for that!


----------



## HydroGuy

EmJ said:


> Here is the graph!!! Despite the reemergence of the 2:30 curse, ROTR rebounded to kiss its all time high once again! But for the ride closing at 8:00 rather than 10:00 tonight, it might have exceeded it. Clearly Mr. Fix-It Tech was back on duty today. They need to give that guy a raise!





montreid said:


> clearly 2:30 is his lunch hour


I told you all it is the Jawas...but no one believes me...


----------



## VandVsmama

HydroGuy said:


> I told you all it is the Jawas...but no one believes me...



It IS the jawas!


----------



## Skyegirl1999

VandVsmama said:


> It IS the jawas!
> 
> View attachment 470901


This explains so much...


----------



## MommyLove

DLgal said:


> ... I turned on "high performance mode"...
> Samsung Galaxy S10



I have an S10. How do you turn on high performance mode? 



VandVsmama said:


> We will wait patiently for your super exciting graph, but inside our heads, we are all doing this right now...
> View attachment 470872



SO MUCH YES!


----------



## ironband74

Hmm...time to disintegrate some Jawas.


----------



## Erin M

Well group 22 went off without a hitch. Only two in our group will try for BGs tomorrow. I will not. I loved the ride, thought it was incredible but I honestly can’t handle how the process kind of controls my day. The return time made our park hopping a little wonky and we got way less done today than we normally do.  We were definitely out of our normal rhythm. 

I feel very fortunate to have ridden it twice. Maybe if three of us refrain tomorrow someone else will get lucky.


----------



## ironband74

Erin M said:


> Well group 22 went off without a hitch. Only two in our group will try for BGs tomorrow. I will not. I loved the ride, thought it was incredible but I honestly can’t handle how the process kind of controls my day. The return time made our park hopping a little wonky and we got way less done today than we normally do.  We were definitely out of our normal rhythm.
> 
> I feel very fortunate to have ridden it twice. Maybe if three of us refrain tomorrow someone else will get lucky.


See, and I think that is part of the design of the thing.  For people who are used to a certain ebb and flow, this changes things enough to be too much of a hassle to do more than a few times.  It becomes self-limiting, in a way.  Sure, there will be die hards who want to do it every time.  But for each of them I think there are a few folks like Erin who will be "over it" after 2 or 3 times.


----------



## emchen

Sat 2/1 experience.
Family of five...3xDDs (11,13,14).
6 phones total (iPhones two 7s, one 8, two XRs, Huawei Mate20 Pro)
T-mobile family plan. All reported 4bars at time of attempt.
Extra iphone 8 was on Disney Wifi.

-Left parents’ home around 6:30am.
-Parked at Toy Story (TS) Parking in the Woody section by 7:00 am.
-Through Harbor security line by 7:20am (no security check at TS Parking Lot that morning). 
-Thru turnstiles by 7:40am (chose a center line adjacent to a tree planter for optimal 2.5:1 turnstiles:line ratio).
-Pre-planned dispersing of phones: DW w/ DD11 to train station platform. DD13 w/ DD14 to first Main St hub. Me to DCA Buena Vista St, Carthay Circle bench by 7:50am.
-Scored BG17 by DD14 on her Huawei phone with 4 bar T-mobile signal.
-All others except DW had red button and got to the “already in boarding group” message.
-This “race for a BG” experience was quite exciting and memorable, especially for my family who were on Main St. witnessing the novel scene of the hush descending followed by bursts of cheer. They reported witnessing a couple instances of young kids crying tears of disappointment, which made them appreciate their good luck even more.

All in all a remarkably fun experience even with all the stress. If the tension seems too much for you, I can report that it was definitely a lot more relaxed trying for a BG inside DCA. A caveat, my AP was rejected at DCA at first, but CM let me in when I explained that I had checked into DL not more than 5 min ago and that I was trying for the ROTR BGs. She said, “oh you’re doing that thing” and let me thru.

May the force be with you, always!


----------



## theluckyrabbit

kristabelle13 said:


> I am so grateful to you all!! I was able to snag boarding group 6! Sitting in front of train station.


Hooray!



DLgal said:


> BOARDING GROUP 1!!!!!
> YES!!!


Victory!!! So glad for you and your boys!



Erin M said:


> Group 22 for us today! Yay!!


Yippee! Did your new group member like the ride?



BigOHawk said:


> I should've bookmarked so sorry for the ask again. Top 3-5 spots for great cell reception, full bars and ping to get a BG?
> 
> I'm hearing Train Station (steps?), IASW, Mad Hatters and Submarines...others within DL?


There aren't any "guaranteed, sure fire" spots because the crowds around you can interfere with everything. You will need to walk around a bit to find good reception on your own, away from any crowds -- that's what's important. 



drrew76 said:


> Sorry if this has been covered.
> Can I enter DCA during EMH and try to get a boarding pass while inside DCA when DL opens, or do I have to head over to DL to try my luck?


Other posters have already answered you, but I would encourage you to read the first few posts on page one (as the title of this thread says) -- that's where the most important information is put (right up front!). Those first few posts are updated regularly, so the info is accurate.



kristabelle13 said:


> Should I spill the beans that group 6 was on Disneyland wifi  was infinitely faster ping speed than cellular.
> Also, did not close apps or change phone settings. Just an iPhone XS that hasn’t been rebooted in probably 6 months with every app open in the background lol old habits die hard.


Thank you! Non-techie me finds this very encouraging!



brightlined said:


> I also got group 1!!...


Congratulations!



aggieland03 said:


> What do you think are the chances to get a boarding group on Feb 18 (Tuesday) if I can't show up there until about 3pm? None point none?


Please read the first few posts on page one -- your question is answered there -- and there is so much helpful information in those posts. 



GoldeneyezCA said:


> People! Yes, everyone is entitled to their opinions, and the Dis is wonderful, but can you please, please move this discussion to the other thread, as previously requested?  One thing that isn’t fair (or fun) is for those looking for tips on this thread to have to scroll through 3 pages of discussion on whether or not BG’s are fair....again!...


Amen and amen. Those posts have been moved to: https://www.disboards.com/threads/boarding-group-issues-resolution-thoughts.3787676/. Anyone wanting to continue the argument can go to that thread. Please don't continue the argument in this thread. Thank you.



EmJ said:


> ... Clearly Mr. Fix-It Tech was back on duty today. They need to give that guy a raise!...


I have a feeling that Mr./Ms./Team Fix-It has quite a fan club here. I want to arrange a M&G so we can get photos and t-shirts signed.


----------



## theluckyrabbit

To Everyone Participating in This Thread:
Please take the discussion on fairness to the other thread: Boarding group issues resolution thoughts.
This is not the right thread for this discussion, and people looking for help with BGs don't need to get bogged down in an argument about what is and isn't someone's idea of "fair."
Thank you.
Now, back to the topic at hand and our awesome superthread!


----------



## theluckyrabbit

For Newcomers to this Superthread:
Welcome! Please take a minute to read the first few posts on page one (as the title of this thread suggests). There is a lot of very helpful information there -- updated frequently -- which may answer your questions. If you cannot find the answer to your question on page one, post here.


----------



## montreid

emchen said:


> Sat 2/1 experience.
> Family of five...3xDDs (11,13,14).
> 6 phones total (iPhones two 7s, one 8, two XRs, Huawei Mate20 Pro)
> T-mobile family plan. All reported 4bars at time of attempt.
> Extra iphone 8 was on Disney Wifi.
> 
> -Left parents’ home around 6:30am.
> -Parked at Toy Story (TS) Parking in the Woody section by 7:00 am.
> -Through Harbor security line by 7:20am (no security check at TS Parking Lot that morning).
> -Thru turnstiles by 7:40am (chose a center line adjacent to a tree planter for optimal 2.5:1 turnstiles:line ratio).
> -Pre-planned dispersing of phones: DW w/ DD11 to train station platform. DD13 w/ DD14 to first Main St hub. Me to DCA Buena Vista St, Carthay Circle bench by 7:50am.
> -Scored BG17 by DD14 on her Huawei phone with 4 bar T-mobile signal.
> -All others except DW had red button and got to the “already in boarding group” message.
> -This “race for a BG” experience was quite exciting and memorable, especially for my family who were on Main St. witnessing the novel scene of the hush descending followed by bursts of cheer. They reported witnessing a couple instances of young kids crying tears of disappointment, which made them appreciate their good luck even more.
> 
> All in all a remarkably fun experience even with all the stress. If the tension seems too much for you, I can report that it was definitely a lot more relaxed trying for a BG inside DCA. A caveat, my AP was rejected at DCA at first, but CM let me in when I explained that I had checked into DL not more than 5 min ago and that I was trying for the ROTR BGs. She said, “oh you’re doing that thing” and let me thru.
> 
> May the force be with you, always!
> View attachment 470918


Welcome to the Resistance!


----------



## Erin M

[QUOTE="theluckyrabbit, post: 61519368, member: 437135


Yippee! Did your new group member like the ride?

[/QUOTE]

She did! She’s going to try again today! She actually secured the BG yesterday so she felt like she won the lottery.

ETA: sorry for the formatting on that! My phone is being a jerk this morning. I think it’s tired of pulling fast passes.


----------



## natebenma

We’re here at turnstiles.


----------



## ironband74

theluckyrabbit said:


> I have a feeling that Mr./Ms./Team Fix-It has quite a fan club here. I want to arrange a M&G so we can get photos and t-shirts signed.



Rare exclusive pic of the main tech fixing the attraction yesterday:






Apparently sometimes out and about in the land, but unable to sign t-shirts.


----------



## ironband74

natebenma said:


> We’re here at turnstiles.


Keep us posted!  May the Force be With You!


----------



## Aurora0427

Erin M said:


> Well group 22 went off without a hitch. Only two in our group will try for BGs tomorrow. I will not. I loved the ride, thought it was incredible but I honestly can’t handle how the process kind of controls my day. The return time made our park hopping a little wonky and we got way less done today than we normally do.  We were definitely out of our normal rhythm.
> 
> I feel very fortunate to have ridden it twice. Maybe if three of us refrain tomorrow someone else will get lucky.



This was our experience as well..... it threw off our entire day even though we were done with the ride by 9:40. I think all of the stress made everyone in our group just feel off and I found us kind of wandering trying to figure out what to do even though we’ve done Disneyland at least ten times since June!


----------



## NorthernCalMom

ironband74 said:


> Rare exclusive pic of the main tech fixing the attraction yesterday:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Apparently sometimes out and about in the land, but unable to sign t-shirts.


So does that mean that on Sundays all the droids get drunk on motor oil and dance like no one is watching, while the substandard 2nd tier human techs try their best to keep things running...?


----------



## pokee99

Nothing bothers me more than poor crowd control and order in lineups. I don't mind waiting in long lines, but my blood boils when I see line cutters and people from the back running to be first when a line opens!

I keep seeing more and more reports of these unruly crowds in the am at DLR since the opening of ROTR and I think it's only going to get worse before it gets better. 

Is there anything we can do as a group to put the spotlight on it? Or does DLR know they have a problem, but just chooses to let it slide? Perhaps they just don't have the staffing to help get it under control? Maybe they can't do much because of the physical space limitation at the gates? Or they like the crowds because it creates a frenzy! More visitors = more money?! 

I can understand that they may have reasons why they can't always open up early enough to keep lines at a minimum, but good lord they need some crowd control if they can't!


----------



## natebenma

Let us in at 7:33.  We are resort guests. At Main Street rope


----------



## ironband74

natebenma said:


> Let us in at 7:33.  We are resort guests. At Main Street rope


Is that new for a Magic Morning?  I thought that they usually let the MM people in starting at park opening minus 1 hour...Possibly a measure to try and alleviate congestion in the esplanade?

If it is...I think it is a good move.


----------



## CaliforniaGirl09

ironband74 said:


> See, and I think that is part of the design of the thing.  For people who are used to a certain ebb and flow, this changes things enough to be too much of a hassle to do more than a few times.  It becomes self-limiting, in a way.  Sure, there will be die hards who want to do it every time.  But for each of them I think there are a few folks like Erin who will be "over it" after 2 or 3 times.


This was us, too. We decided not to go for it on Sunday a couple weekends ago after success on Saturday. (2of us had also ridden at WDW a few weeks before). The stress of early morning and waiting around most of the day weren’t worth it to us. But we are relatively frequent travelers to both parks so there wasn’t a sense of urgency. I also wasnt as wowed by the ride the second time around so that had something to do with it.


----------



## Skyegirl1999

I don’t think it’s as big of an issue as you’re suggesting.

Disney has been very wise in that their BG system doesn’t prioritize who’s in the park first, because you’re correct that many people don’t get into the park remotely in proportion to the time they arrived (more on that in a minute).  Other than Sunday, Jan. 26, though, when the backup didn’t clear by park open, it hasn’t mattered.  The fact that they’ve suspended photos at morning park entrance is HUGE and I credit them for that.

The planter placement makes it impossible for the lines to be truly orderly.  On Sunday, my husband, daughter, and I got into three different lines to see how they behaved.  The line I was in, near the right facing DL, won by a MILE.  First, they opened the park gates off to the side (by the strollers), so tons of people fled over there.  Then, the line I was in turned out to feed into a space between planters and actually was hitting FIVE turnstiles.  Super lucky!

Then you’ve got families joining their group after fetching Starbucks, people meeting up after getting separated at security... it’s just a lot of movement, even with no one intentionally “cutting” or anything.

So I got into the park while they were still behind the monorail track... but it *didn’t actually matter* because we were all in by 7:40, plenty of time to get a BG.  THIS is the key point.  I was very concerned about the inequitable entrance procedures at DL prior to ROTR opening, but it just hasn’t been a problem.  Thank goodness!


----------



## Peachy0118

I know people have said that they are understanding of reservations for Oga's and droid building and so on if you stop by and tell them you have a BG if there is a scheduling conflict... but what do you do about other reservations? I'm thinking Blue Bayou for example.
We are planning on booking WOC dessert party too, but since that is a specific time not much to do about that. 
Anyone have any experience with other scheduling conflicts?


----------



## Pickles2000

Quiet on this thread for opening! They’re boarding Group 1 already. Good sign.


----------



## dina444444

What time did backups run out?


----------



## ironband74

Regular groups appeared to run out in about 45 seconds.  Backups out at 9:03.  72 is the first backup, so we should see early-ish boarding at group 1.

Edit:  Groups 1-4 are already boarding.  brilliant!


----------



## closetmickey

Group 12! Thanks for all the tips!


----------



## vickiea

We got BG 14. I am so excited and so thankful for all of the tips. 

We were by coke corner using and old iPhone 5 on AT&T.


----------



## ironband74

In other news, I pulled out my wife's old S7 to play along at home along with my S7.  I had a really hard time getting a button to go active on either of them, and then the two of them did not behave the same, with different buttons active at different times and weird differentials.  As I sat pondering why this would be, I checked and realized that the recently inactive phone is still on Android 7 while my current phone is on 9.  So some differences in the operating system are causing some different behaviors.  I'll update this phone and try again tomorrow to see if they behave similarly or not.


----------



## PairOfDice

Aurora0427 said:


> This was our experience as well..... it threw off our entire day even though we were done with the ride by 9:40. I think all of the stress made everyone in our group just feel off and I found us kind of wandering trying to figure out what to do even though we’ve done Disneyland at least ten times since June!



I've been discussing this whole BG thing at length in preparation for our trip the last week of February. I say _I've_ been discussing it because it's become a monologue. Yesterday two family members said crazy things to me like, "It's just a ride" and "We'll just move on with our day if we don't get a BG". I'm going to work on not having an extreme level of anxiety or disappointment about it so hopefully it won't affect the rest of my day. My family will be fine.  I don't want to dwell on that one thing and be a Debbie Downer.  Anyway, I appreciate you posting about your feelings about it. It made me feel like I'm not the only one that has a stress response to these things. 

Funny how I never feel stressed about CA mornings. Only DL mornings.


----------



## Angrose

natebenma said:


> We’re here at turnstiles. View attachment 470975


Thanks for reporting! Do you recall how the non-MM lines looked at that time? I'll be there on Thursday, but I have an AP, so no MM. I plan to be at Harbor security by 7:30am just to be on the safe side. Turnstile lines stress me out!


----------



## smercerdiemont

VandVsmama said:


> This was me & my DH discussing this ride over dinner this evening.  HAHAHA!  Just had to share with y'all because you're my people and you understand!
> 
> View attachment 470870




This was me telling DH after I booked our hotel Jan.17th. He was like "you are crazy". Now he thinks it was the best decision ever after riding it.


----------



## salemk

Drove here from AZ. Got to GC at 7:45am. Dropped off DW/DS. She checked in while I did self park. Got in by 8:05 for early morning and rode Star Tours and got to see ROS scenes. 9a hit and my son with XR while on WiFi got BG 41 near Star Tours/Space Mountain. Followed everyone’s advice here so thank you all!!!!!!


----------



## Angrose

ironband74 said:


> Regular groups appeared to run out in about 45 seconds.  Backups out at 9:03.  72 is the first backup, so we should see early-ish boarding at group 1.
> 
> Edit:  Groups 1-4 are already boarding.  brilliant!


Thank you for all the updates. I've been following along for the past few weeks, playing at home and watching closely. I'll be there this Thursday, so really interested in how things go today since it will be a similar situation on Thu with 9am opening and MM/EMH at DL. Looks like BGs went super fast today, but playing at home I was able to get the red button right away with just 2 bars on my iPhone 8, AT&T cell data, wi-fi turned off. I'll have two friends trying too, so hopefully the force will be with us!
Also, I LOVE THIS THREAD!!


----------



## PairOfDice

DD thinks we should have three of four of us use our phones and one try a kiosk? She's concerned about her older phone. Any thoughts on that?


----------



## natebenma

70. Phew.  Galaxy  at&t. Benches on left side of castle


----------



## Skyegirl1999

PairOfDice said:


> DD thinks we should have three of four of us use our phones and one try a kiosk? She's concerned about her older phone. Any thoughts on that?


If you have three people trying who all know what they’re doing, dollars to donuts you’re going to get through no problem.

It’s only worth trying a kiosk if you’re going to be actually FIRST.  First to the gates, first in the park, first at the rope, move quickly... so, if that’s going to be you, it’s not going to hurt to try if you have three other phones going already.  But I probably wouldn’t bother.  I’d just throw that 4th phone in the mix and spread out.


----------



## EmJ

PairOfDice said:


> I've been discussing this whole BG thing at length in preparation for our trip the last week of February. I say _I've_ been discussing it because it's become a monologue. Yesterday two family members said crazy things to me like, "It's just a ride" and "We'll just move on with our day if we don't get a BG". I'm going to work on not having an extreme level of anxiety or disappointment about it so hopefully it won't affect the rest of my day. My family will be fine.  I don't want to dwell on that one thing and be a Debbie Downer.  Anyway, I appreciate you posting about your feelings about it. It made me feel like I'm not the only one that has a stress response to these things.
> 
> Funny how I never feel stressed about CA mornings. Only DL mornings.


Approximately 40% of the conversations between DH and me go like this these days:

Me: So guess what?

DH: What's that?

Me: I was reading on the Disney board...

DH: [Eyes glaze over and I can _see_ his brain switch over into "pretend to be interested mode"]

Me: … talk talk talk, Disney, ROTR, look at this graph, more talking ...

DH: [Nods blankly]


----------



## VandVsmama

EmJ said:


> Approximately 40% of the conversations between DH and me go like this these days:
> 
> Me: So guess what?
> 
> DH: What's that?
> 
> Me: I was reading on the Disney board...
> 
> DH: [Eyes glaze over and I can _see_ his brain switch over into "pretend to be interested mode"]
> 
> Me: … talk talk talk, Disney, ROTR, look at this graph, more talking ...
> 
> DH: [Nods blankly]



I've been driving my DH crazy with all of my ROTR talk lately!


----------



## DLgal

MommyLove said:


> I have an S10. How do you turn on high performance mode?
> 
> 
> 
> SO MUCH YES!



Swipe down from the top on the home screen to bring down all the quick launch settings. Under the battery icon, it says Power Mode. Click on that. Then select High Performance. Be prepared to be blown away by the lightning speed of your phone now. LOL. I couldn't believe the difference. It will absolutely KILL your battery though, so make sure to put it back afterwards.


----------



## PairOfDice

Skyegirl1999 said:


> If you have three people trying who all know what they’re doing, dollars to donuts you’re going to get through no problem.
> 
> It’s only worth trying a kiosk if you’re going to be actually FIRST.  First to the gates, first in the park, first at the rope, move quickly... so, if that’s going to be you, it’s not going to hurt to try if you have three other phones going already.  But I probably wouldn’t bother.  I’d just throw that 4th phone in the mix and spread out.



Thanks for sharing your thoughts. I'm going to get DH to do some practice sessions so we'll all know what to do. 



EmJ said:


> Approximately 40% of the conversations between DH and me go like this these days:
> 
> Me: So guess what?
> 
> DH: What's that?
> 
> Me: I was reading on the Disney board...
> 
> DH: [Eyes glaze over and I can _see_ his brain switch over into "pretend to be interested mode"]
> 
> Me: … talk talk talk, Disney, ROTR, look at this graph, more talking ...
> 
> DH: [Nods blankly]



*Exactly. *For my DH it's more like 'try not to look at her like she's crazy' but I can see it in his eyes. Especially last night when I told him my worries about the BG.


----------



## JWelch62

Skyegirl1999 said:


> If you have three people trying who all know what they’re doing, dollars to donuts you’re going to get through no problem.
> 
> It’s only worth trying a kiosk if you’re going to be actually FIRST.  First to the gates, first in the park, first at the rope, move quickly... so, if that’s going to be you, it’s not going to hurt to try if you have three other phones going already.  But I probably wouldn’t bother.  I’d just throw that 4th phone in the mix and spread out.


This.

Do some practice runs from home. Get the timing down. You'll have success in the park. My wife and son both tripped up trying to follow the process, because they hadn't practiced. I was able to secure three boarding passes on three successive days.

Unless you're the first person to the kiosk, you will probably not get a BG.


----------



## Skyegirl1999

Peachy0118 said:


> I know people have said that they are understanding of reservations for Oga's and droid building and so on if you stop by and tell them you have a BG if there is a scheduling conflict... but what do you do about other reservations? I'm thinking Blue Bayou for example.
> We are planning on booking WOC dessert party too, but since that is a specific time not much to do about that.
> Anyone have any experience with other scheduling conflicts?


First, since you typically have a 2-hour window to return, it’s unlikely that you’d actually have to miss a reservation in order to ride.  

If you do, though (particularly if you get stuck in line for 90 minutes due to a breakdown, AHEM), it shouldn’t be an issue.  Even apart from ROTR, historically DL will always honor reservations missed due to breakdowns or whatever.  Just make sure you screenshot your BG so you can show someone what you had and I’m sure they’ll squeeze you in.


----------



## Skyegirl1999

EmJ said:


> Approximately 40% of the conversations between DH and me go like this these days:
> 
> Me: So guess what?
> 
> DH: What's that?
> 
> Me: I was reading on the Disney board...
> 
> DH: [Eyes glaze over and I can _see_ his brain switch over into "pretend to be interested mode"]
> 
> Me: … talk talk talk, Disney, ROTR, look at this graph, more talking ...
> 
> DH: [Nods blankly]


This is why you have us.


----------



## Peachy0118

Skyegirl1999 said:


> First, since you typically have a 2-hour window to return, it’s unlikely that you’d actually have to miss a reservation in order to ride.
> 
> If you do, though (particularly if you get stuck in line for 90 minutes due to a breakdown, AHEM), it shouldn’t be an issue.  Even apart from ROTR, historically DL will always honor reservations missed due to breakdowns or whatever.  Just make sure you screenshot your BG so you can show someone what you had and I’m sure they’ll squeeze you in.



Thanks so much! That's great!


----------



## JWelch62

Skyegirl1999 said:


> This is why you have us.


Co-dependency?


----------



## Mathmagicland

Peachy0118 said:


> I know people have said that they are understanding of reservations for Oga's and droid building and so on if you stop by and tell them you have a BG if there is a scheduling conflict... but what do you do about other reservations? I'm thinking Blue Bayou for example.
> We are planning on booking WOC dessert party too, but since that is a specific time not much to do about that.
> Anyone have any experience with other scheduling conflicts?


Someone posted earlier in this thread about a WOC conflict as their BG was called in the evening so total conflict and unable to ride that day.  They went to DL CMs that day, showed the conflict, and I believe were given a pass to ride it the next day.


----------



## ironband74

PairOfDice said:


> *Exactly. *For my DH it's more like 'try not to look at her like she's crazy' but I can see it in his eyes. Especially last night when I told him my worries about the BG.


I can relate.

DW: What are you listening to?

Me: A Disneyland Podcast.

DW: (Eyeroll)

[later that day]

DW: Whatcha readin?

Me: A Disneyland message board.

DW: (Eyeroll)

[still later that day]

DW: Whatcha lookin' at?

Me: The news.

DW: Really? What do you think about the situation in...

Me: I was lying. I was seeing what group is boarding on the Disneyland App.

DW:  The first step is admitting you have a problem...


----------



## PairOfDice

ironband74 said:


> I can relate.
> 
> DW: What are you listening to?
> 
> Me: A Disneyland Podcast.
> 
> DW: (Eyeroll)
> 
> [later that day]
> 
> DW: Whatcha readin?
> 
> Me: A Disneyland message board.
> 
> DW: (Eyeroll)
> 
> [still later that day]
> 
> DW: Whatcha lookin' at?
> 
> Me: The news.
> 
> DW: Really? What do you think about the situation in...
> 
> Me: I was lying. I was seeing what group is boarding on the Disneyland App.
> 
> DW:  The first step is admitting you have a problem...



Me: There's something I want to talk to you about.

DH: OK, what is it? *looks concerned*

Me: I'm still really concerned that we won't get a BG.

DH: sigh


----------



## JWelch62

PairOfDice said:


> Me: There's something I want to talk to you about.
> 
> DH: OK, what is it? *looks concerned*
> 
> Me: I'm still really concerned that we won't get a BG.
> 
> DH: sigh


Me: (Watching the Iowa caucus debacle) If they had only practiced at home...


----------



## IsleofDisney

VandVsmama said:


> I've been driving my DH crazy with all of my ROTR talk lately!



Turns out ROTR Boarding Group talk is great way to put my DH to sleep after a long, stressful day of work. That's a plus right?


----------



## smiley_face2

Skyegirl1999 said:


> I don’t think it’s as big of an issue as you’re suggesting.
> 
> Disney has been very wise in that their BG system doesn’t prioritize who’s in the park first, because you’re correct that many people don’t get into the park remotely in proportion to the time they arrived (more on that in a minute).  Other than Sunday, Jan. 26, though, when the backup didn’t clear by park open, it hasn’t mattered.  The fact that they’ve suspended photos at morning park entrance is HUGE and I credit them for that.
> 
> The planter placement makes it impossible for the lines to be truly orderly.  On Sunday, my husband, daughter, and I got into three different lines to see how they behaved.  The line I was in, near the right facing DL, won by a MILE.  First, they opened the park gates off to the side (by the strollers), so tons of people fled over there.  Then, the line I was in turned out to feed into a space between planters and actually was hitting FIVE turnstiles.  Super lucky!
> 
> Then you’ve got families joining their group after fetching Starbucks, people meeting up after getting separated at security... it’s just a lot of movement, even with no one intentionally “cutting” or anything.
> 
> So I got into the park while they were still behind the monorail track... but it *didn’t actually matter* because we were all in by 7:40, plenty of time to get a BG.  THIS is the key point.  I was very concerned about the inequitable entrance procedures at DL prior to ROTR opening, but it just hasn’t been a problem.  Thank goodness!


This makes me feel a lot better! We only get to be in Disneyland every couple of years now so we try to go at a time when crowds are not too bad but there are not too many rides closed for refurb. Makes it tricky! We are going this month, arrive on the 19th. We will be down there for 9 days, and are trying to pick which days to hit which park, taking into consideration park hours versus crowds and working around 2 different birthdays, and a trip to universal! Lol! When I saw the pics of the lines in the morning, I really paniced!! Would you say that the general crowds in the parks are still low, and that it is just so many people desperate to get in before actual opening, that makes it look bad? We have 1 magic morning with our tickets and will be doing that on our first day which is thursday. We will already be in fantasyland/tomorrowland at actual opening time so we think we will be able to get a bg that day for sure! 3 of us have the app and all tickets already loaded, in case one of us crashes or has a bad connection!


----------



## Peachy0118

ironband74 said:


> I can relate.
> 
> DW: What are you listening to?
> 
> Me: A Disneyland Podcast.
> 
> DW: (Eyeroll)
> 
> [later that day]
> 
> DW: Whatcha readin?
> 
> Me: A Disneyland message board.
> 
> DW: (Eyeroll)
> 
> [still later that day]
> 
> DW: Whatcha lookin' at?
> 
> Me: The news.
> 
> DW: Really? What do you think about the situation in...
> 
> Me: I was lying. I was seeing what group is boarding on the Disneyland App.
> 
> DW:  The first step is admitting you have a problem...



So much yes.

I... I can stop anytime I want to.... if I wanted to... I just don't want to...

I say as I check the boards again.


----------



## NorthernCalMom

vickiea said:


> We got BG 14. I am so excited and so thankful for all of the tips.
> 
> We were by coke corner using and old iPhone 5 on AT&T.


That’ll be my setup in August. Your experience is giving me hope!!


----------



## BigOHawk

BG's 19-42 loading, another good day so far, no?


----------



## BigOHawk

This is about the 5th time I've heard Coke Corner, methinks I'll be stopping by there next month to try my luck!


----------



## Peachy0118

What about wifi... I hear varying reports. Any good locations anyone wants to share their luck with?


----------



## EmJ

BigOHawk said:


> BG's 19-42 loading, another good day so far, no?


It's currently exceeding the average and is on track to match the all-time high IF the Jawas don't take it down at 2:30 and/or Mr./Ms. Fix-It goes on lunch


----------



## ironband74

In any case, tracking well against the first two Tuesdays of operation:


----------



## Skyegirl1999

smiley_face2 said:


> This makes me feel a lot better! We only get to be in Disneyland every couple of years now so we try to go at a time when crowds are not too bad but there are not too many rides closed for refurb. Makes it tricky! We are going this month, arrive on the 19th. We will be down there for 9 days, and are trying to pick which days to hit which park, taking into consideration park hours versus crowds and working around 2 different birthdays, and a trip to universal! Lol! When I saw the pics of the lines in the morning, I really paniced!! Would you say that the general crowds in the parks are still low, and that it is just so many people desperate to get in before actual opening, that makes it look bad? We have 1 magic morning with our tickets and will be doing that on our first day which is thursday. We will already be in fantasyland/tomorrowland at actual opening time so we think we will be able to get a bg that day for sure! 3 of us have the app and all tickets already loaded, in case one of us crashes or has a bad connection!


The morning pictures look bad, and it's definitely chaotic and crazy-seeming... but you get in!  They clear that line pretty quickly.  It's a mass of people in a small space up until the park opens, but then once it opens and everyone spreads out, it's not that bad.

While the early morning hours are for sure busier than normal, they're not really packed... on Sunday, we got our BG over in Tomorrowland, then we walked over and did Storybook Land on the first boat, Casey Jr. with no wait, Mr. Toad's with about a five-minute wait... it wasn't the, "wow, this is suuuuuuper empty!" feeling you can sometimes get on a random Sunday rope drop, but it was very manageable.  I don't think the overall crowds at the park over the course of a day are busier because of ROTR, honestly.

You still might hit busy days, especially because that Presidents' Day week can be BRUTAL - but I bet some of your days will be light.  And DCA has looked pretty dreamy at rope drop since the masses are focused on DL.


----------



## naoboo

Has anyone tried getting a BG inside Plaza Inn? My family has a character breakfast reservation there at 8:30am on a Magic Morning next week when normal park open is 9am. If cell reception there isn't great, I can duck out for a few minutes to go somewhere better.

Also, how early do they let people in on MM days? I'm trying to figure when to arrive and have enough time to get through security and make it to our reservation on time.


----------



## Angrose

NorthernCalMom said:


> That’ll be my setup in August. Your experience is giving me hope!!
> ❤


<iframe src="https://giphy.com/embed/3oz8xQcHAjMWYY5oJy" width="480" height="196" frameBorder="0" class="giphy-embed" allowFullScreen></iframe><p><a href="



">via GIPHY</a></p>


----------



## LizzyS

Skyegirl1999 said:


> First, since you typically have a 2-hour window to return, it’s unlikely that you’d actually have to miss a reservation in order to ride.
> 
> If you do, though (particularly if you get stuck in line for 90 minutes due to a breakdown, AHEM), it shouldn’t be an issue.  Even apart from ROTR, historically DL will always honor reservations missed due to breakdowns or whatever.  Just make sure you screenshot your BG so you can show someone what you had and I’m sure they’ll squeeze you in.



I have 3 reservations on one of our DL days, too, and it's the only thing I'm worried about, tbh.  I figure my Savi's reservation is the only non-flexible one (or cancellable without a penalty) as the other two are Oga's and Blue Bayou.


----------



## Smrtalec33

Peachy0118 said:


> I know people have said that they are understanding of reservations for Oga's and droid building and so on if you stop by and tell them you have a BG if there is a scheduling conflict... but what do you do about other reservations? I'm thinking Blue Bayou for example.
> We are planning on booking WOC dessert party too, but since that is a specific time not much to do about that.
> Anyone have any experience with other scheduling conflicts?


We pulled group number 20 and had a plaza inn breakfast at 10:30. We went to the plaza inn around 930 and they took us pretty much right away. Cannot say whether this would have worked as well at a busier time.


----------



## SOCALMouseMommy

LizzyS said:


> I have 3 reservations on one of our DL days, too, and it's the only thing I'm worried about, tbh.  I figure my Savi's reservation is the only non-flexible one (or cancellable without a penalty) as the other two are Oga's and Blue Bayou.


They are not going to hassle you, even at Savi’s. The mood is very understanding and accommodating, particularly in Galaxy’s Edge but I suspect the same will be true for Blue Bayou. I would not stress about any of these things at all! I didn’t even tell Oga’s I was going to be late, showed up an hour after my reservation and they were 100% find me with it and I didn’t even have to wait.


----------



## DLgal

BigOHawk said:


> This is about the 5th time I've heard Coke Corner, methinks I'll be stopping by there next month to try my luck!



The Plaza Inn area (near the tables outside) is a GREAT area for AT&T. As is the area just outside Soarin in DCA. Super fast connection speeds there.


----------



## mom2rtk

I got to play from home today to help out friends in DL today.

I hard closed my iphone7 and reopened 10 minutes out. Launched the app 10 seconds out. Button was red. Got BG 33!


----------



## brightlined

Ride just went down.

(I'm in line - just announced no eta on reopen.)

Edit: apparently should restart soon (whew)


----------



## DLgal

It's not that bad. Yesterday we arrived to what looked like a HUGE mass of humanity, but got in line on the side entry gate closest to Downtown Disney and were in the gates in under 10 minutes. I would suggest avoiding the center turnstiles. They opened the gates an hour early yesterday (a non magic morning weekday). When we returned at 9:05 (we left the park to get a better cell signal), we walked right in, so it appears everyone who was in line got in easily.


----------



## PairOfDice

mom2rtk said:


> I got to play from home today to help out friends in DL today.
> 
> I hard closed my iphone7 and reopened 10 minutes out. Launched the app 10 seconds out. Button was red. Got BG 33!



Were you able to do this from home because you have an AP? I thought you had to be in DL park.


----------



## mom2rtk

PairOfDice said:


> Were you able to do this from home because you have an AP? I thought you had to be in DL park.


No, I was doing it for my friends who are in the park today. I was logged into their account.


----------



## ironband74

brightlined said:


> Ride just went down.
> 
> (I'm in line - just announced no eta on reopen.)
> 
> Edit: apparently should restart soon (whew)


R2!  That stabilizer has broken loose again...see if you can't lock it down?


----------



## gerilyne

brightlined said:


> Ride just went down.
> 
> (I'm in line - just announced no eta on reopen.)
> 
> Edit: apparently should restart soon (whew)


It's those darn Jawas


----------



## ironband74

All regular groups called by 2:53pm.  Impressive.  Most impressive.


----------



## disneyholic family

ironband74 said:


> All regular groups called by 2:53pm.  Impressive.  Most impressive.


i wonder when they'll run out of back up groups.  
Do we know how many backups they give out?

.


----------



## JWelch62

ironband74 said:


> All regular groups called by 2:53pm.  Impressive.  Most impressive.



They have caught (or nearly caught) the all time high. They've had good luck with any down time. It seems any interruptions have been short-lived.


----------



## JWelch62

disneyholic family said:


> i wonder when they'll run out of back up groups.
> Do we know how many backups they give out?
> 
> .


I wouldn't be surprised if they slowed down the rate at which they call BGs. I suspect that they don't want to hit the end of the backup groups too quickly. If they time it right the last backup BG would be called about an hour before park close.

Edit: added word.


----------



## ironband74

disneyholic family said:


> i wonder when they'll run out of back up groups.
> Do we know how many backups they give out?


We don't.   But I assume that they run a calculation with the target hourly rate and a best case scenario of no or minimal down time, fudge it for a percentage of no-shows, and issue for that. In other words, if they are going to run out of groups to call, it will happen close to the time they would stop calling anyway.


.


----------



## njchris

How have Friday mornings been?  I have off and was thinking of trying...


----------



## JWelch62

njchris said:


> How have Friday mornings been?  I have off and was thinking of trying...


Previous three Fridays, including opening day


----------



## ironband74

njchris said:


> How have Friday mornings been?  I have off and was thinking of trying...


NO!  Try not.  DO.  Or do not.  There is no try.

Fridays are not terrible as it is not a magic morning.   Backups last a while.  Not as nice as wednesdays... but better than Tues/Thurs for sure.


----------



## natebenma

N


brightlined said:


> Ride just went down.
> 
> (I'm in line - just announced no eta on reopen.)
> 
> Edit: apparently should restart soon (whew)



We are in line too. Where is your good news coming from?

BG 70. Entered at 3:40.  Went down like 20 minutes ago.


----------



## ironband74

natebenma said:


> N
> 
> 
> We are in line too. Where is your good news coming from?
> 
> BG 70. Entered at 3:40.  Went down like 20 minutes ago.


That post was from much earlier in the day.  Hopefully they get it back up quickly!

R2D2, where are you?  We need you at the bunker right away!


----------



## natebenma

ironband74 said:


> That post was from much earlier in the day.  Hopefully they get it back up quickly!
> 
> R2D2, where are you?  We need you at the bunker right away!



Darn!

having trouble converting time cues. We are from east coast running on very little sleep past two days.

still down and announcing first order activity


----------



## MickeyT

natebenma said:


> We are in line too. Where is your good news coming from?
> 
> BG 70. Entered at 3:40.  Went down like 20 minutes ago.


Say it ain't so.....Records involved here lady!


----------



## natebenma

Lights just when off.  Then back on.  Reboot?


----------



## ironband74

MickeyT said:


> Say it ain't so.....Records involved here lady!


Yeah, looks like this one is a full cycle.  Been down for an hour...hopefully up in the next 30 minutes.


----------



## natebenma

ironband74 said:


> Yeah, looks like this one is a full cycle.  Been down for an hour...hopefully up in the next 30 minutes.



Thanks. Where is the snack cart?


----------



## natebenma

Music has started again!!!


----------



## ironband74

natebenma said:


> Music has started again!!!


Be with me.  Be with me.  Be with me...


----------



## natebenma

And there is now more first order activity in the sector.  Premature jubilation


----------



## Aurora0427

PairOfDice said:


> I've been discussing this whole BG thing at length in preparation for our trip the last week of February. I say _I've_ been discussing it because it's become a monologue. Yesterday two family members said crazy things to me like, "It's just a ride" and "We'll just move on with our day if we don't get a BG". I'm going to work on not having an extreme level of anxiety or disappointment about it so hopefully it won't affect the rest of my day. My family will be fine.  I don't want to dwell on that one thing and be a Debbie Downer.  Anyway, I appreciate you posting about your feelings about it. It made me feel like I'm not the only one that has a stress response to these things.
> 
> Funny how I never feel stressed about CA mornings. Only DL mornings.



No, I totally get it. We arrived at 7:15 and the lines were already back to DCA, and my dad goes “This isn’t happening today.” We didn’t think we’d scan into dl by 8.  I got on here and ranted for one or two posts, and then accepted it. Because it didn’t mean as much to anyone else in our group except me- although my mom screamed out loud when I did get us a boarding group so I think she wanted to ride as badly as I did! I’d been preparing myself all weekend that we maybe had a 50/50 shot at getting a BG, but I really wanted my parents to ride, and I think I would’ve felt like a failure if I hadn’t been able to get one. Ha! 

I’m so glad we rode because I’m not even going to attempt to ride again until the youngest is tall enough. The next day at the parks was so relaxing and we even waltzed into SR with a 25 minute wait at 1:30!


----------



## ironband74

natebenma said:


> And there is now more first order activity in the sector.  Premature jubilation


I am one with the Force and the Force is with me.   I am  one with the Force and the Force is with me...


----------



## Peachy0118

ironband74 said:


> I am one with the Force and the Force is with me.   I am  one with the Force and the Force is with me...



This thread makes me so happy.


----------



## PairOfDice

ironband74 said:


> NO!  Try not.  DO.  Or do not.  There is no try.
> 
> Fridays are not terrible as it is not a magic morning.   Backups last a while.  Not as nice as wednesdays... but better than Tues/Thurs for sure.



So far we've planned on going to DL on Tues/Fri and CA on Wed/Th. Are Tuesdays terrible? I guess we'll have Friday as a backup. My family will really think I'm crazy if I change things up with less than three weeks to go. Who am I kidding? They already do think that. 



Aurora0427 said:


> No, I totally get it. We arrived at 7:15 and the lines were already back to DCA, and my dad goes “This isn’t happening today.” We didn’t think we’d scan into dl by 8.  I got on here and ranted for one or two posts, and then accepted it. Because it didn’t mean as much to anyone else in our group except me- although my mom screamed out loud when I did get us a boarding group so I think she wanted to ride as badly as I did! I’d been preparing myself all weekend that we maybe had a 50/50 shot at getting a BG, but I really wanted my parents to ride, and I think I would’ve felt like a failure if I hadn’t been able to get one. Ha!
> 
> I’m so glad we rode because I’m not even going to attempt to ride again until the youngest is tall enough. The next day at the parks was so relaxing and we even waltzed into SR with a 25 minute wait at 1:30!



That sounds crazy and would have made me so anxious. I was planning on arriving an hour before opening on our non-MM day. Are we thinking that's not nearly enough time? We'll be there at park opening on Thursday because we'll have MM. But I'm wondering about our Friday. They open at 8 that day.


----------



## natebenma

Second reboot


----------



## ironband74

Would it help if I got out and pushed?


----------



## ironband74

With two hours of downtime, I'm surprised they haven't cleared the queue and issued fast passes.  Keeping y'all captive for that long under threat of loss of boarding group is really uncool.


----------



## ironband74

84!


----------



## midnight star

ironband74 said:


> With two hours of downtime, I'm surprised they haven't cleared the queue and issued fast passes.  Keeping y'all captive for that long under threat of loss of boarding group is really uncool.


I don't understand why they can't just issue replacement fastpasses for those in line.


----------



## fac429

Went down... again. Been in line 2 hours and 20 minutes at this point.


----------



## socaldisneylover

midnight star said:


> I don't understand why they can't just issue replacement fastpasses for those in line.


Probably because the second the ride is ready, they want to have plenty of people to cycle through right away, rather than have to account for all those who now have FP's, and may decide to wait a few hours before returning.  It works better for them, even though you're stuck waiting around while Their ride malfunctions yet again.


----------



## socaldisneylover

fac429 said:


> Went down... again. Been in line 2 hours and 20 minutes at this point.


So essentially, now in addition to the whole Boarding Group thing, you actually can end up in a 1, 2 or 3 Hour Standby Queue after all.


----------



## natebenma

Still in holding pattern


----------



## gottalovepluto

fac429 said:


> Went down... again. Been in line 2 hours and 20 minutes at this point.


Obscene. Absolutely obscene they’ve left people in the line that long after all the BG crap. And dumb of Disney, the time people spend in the line under threat of losing their BG they could be using to spend money on snacks and souvenirs as they wander around SWGE and nearby lands...


----------



## gottalovepluto

midnight star said:


> I don't understand why they can't just issue replacement fastpasses for those in line.


Can’t and can’t be bothered are 2 different things.


----------



## natebenma

3rd reboot


----------



## EmJ

Ouch. Disney has got to come up with a better way for dealing with breakdowns. The boarding group system is fine. Keeping people in line for 3 hours while they repeatedly reboot is not. They know it takes 90 minutes to cycle the whole system, so they should do SOMETHING to get people out. Maybe that means they call fewer backup boarding groups and call all boarding groups at a slower pace so that people in line have a chance to come back. Idk. But this sucks as a policy.


----------



## pokee99

I guess it's the experience of it all that I fear will stress me out. The disorder, dishonest line jumpers, and general chaos. I'm gonna have to do some deep breathing exercises every morning!


----------



## ironband74

Someone on twitter indicated that they got fast passes... @natebenma @fac429 have they told you you had to stay in line, or have they offered to let you go with a fast pass?


----------



## hockey000

When you hit the button to join a boarding group will each ticket on your Disney app automatically be added to the boarding group?


----------



## pokee99

PairOfDice said:


> I've been discussing this whole BG thing at length in preparation for our trip the last week of February. I say _I've_ been discussing it because it's become a monologue. Yesterday two family members said crazy things to me like, "It's just a ride" and "We'll just move on with our day if we don't get a BG". I'm going to work on not having an extreme level of anxiety or disappointment about it so hopefully it won't affect the rest of my day. My family will be fine.  I don't want to dwell on that one thing and be a Debbie Downer.  Anyway, I appreciate you posting about your feelings about it. It made me feel like I'm not the only one that has a stress response to these things.
> 
> Funny how I never feel stressed about CA mornings. Only DL mornings.



Oh I so agree with this post. I feel like it's hard to not be stressed about wanting to succeed in something you've been preparing for for months! It would be like failing an exam you've been endlessly studying for! The SHAME! LOL!

But YES we all have to remember it's just one ride! And despite best efforts, it's still random at the end of the day! And most of us have more than one day to try. 

I'm also trying to be less obsessed about following this thread...and the graphs!


----------



## dina444444

hockey000 said:


> When you hit the button to join a boarding group will each ticket on your Disney app automatically be added to the boarding group?


It takes you to a page to confirm the tickets and you can select/deselect those that are or aren’t there then you click continue to confirm and get assigned a group.


----------



## ironband74

Sounds like they are moving again...Hopefully not another false start...


----------



## MickeyT

ironband74 said:


> Someone on twitter indicated that they got fast passes... @natebenma @fac429 have they told you you had to stay in line, or have they offered to let you go with a fast pass?


Hopefully they are on the ride now! It is the way.......


----------



## twodogs

We were stuck in line for almost 3 hours on opening Sunday, and I was frankly pretty furious by the time it was said and done.  They told us if we left the line, we could not ride that day with our BG since we were already scanned in.  To the OPs point that they want people in line so that when the ride comes back up, they have people to get on right away, I would say that during all breakdowns, people have lingered at the ride entrance, just waiting to rush back into the line when it reopens after a breakdown.  I don’t think it would sit there empty for more than a millisecond after it reopened, even if they cleared the entire line.  They could also send a push notification on the app to say it was open. People would come running.                        

I personally think that they should clear the line if they have to do a reboot, since they know that is 60-90 minutes, undoubtedly.  I just flat out don’t agree with treating guests like cattle that are in jail.  Disney should be smarter than that by now.


----------



## natebenma

6:45. Boarded.  Off the ride now. Wow!   But wiped out


----------



## Skyegirl1999

You already all know my feelings about this “hold everyone like prisoners in line” thing they’ve decided to do when the ride breaks down.  (Even worse when they *start* to clear the line and then change their mind.)



I’m sorry everyone had to go through that this afternoon.  I was thinking of emailing to express that while we love the ride and find the BG system an overall success, they need to change this breakdown policy.  Perhaps I will write that email after all...


----------



## Skyegirl1999

twodogs said:


> We were stuck in line for almost 3 hours on opening Sunday, and I was frankly pretty furious by the time it was said and done.  They told us if we left the line, we could not ride that day with our BG since we were already scanned in.  To the OPs point that they want people in line so that when the ride comes back up, they have people to get on right away, I would say that during all breakdowns, people have lingered at the ride entrance, just waiting to rush back into the line when it reopens after a breakdown.  I don’t think it would sit there empty for more than a millisecond after it reopened, even if they cleared the entire line.  They could also send a push notification on the app to say it was open. People would come running.
> 
> I personally think that they should clear the line if they have to do a reboot, since they know that is 60-90 minutes, undoubtedly.  I just flat out don’t agree with treating guests like cattle that are in jail.  Disney should be smarter than that by now.


I agree completely.  And I agree that while I’m sure the reasoning is to have people ready to ride, the few minutes they’d “lose” aren’t worth it.  Also, if they gave people the option, I am positive that some people would stay anyway!  But those who wanted to leave, could.


----------



## thewesterberg

I was in town for a work conference and Friday was the only day to try for a BG. Traveling with 3 friends, two who are big Disney fans and one who enjoys going with us to the parks but bowed out of the crazy morning. We were staying at the Embassy Suites south of the park. Our Lyft driver got a little confused as to where to pick us up so we got going a little later than I had hoped (6:59am). We headed up Harbor and did the U-turn back to the drop off area. My best friend (Friend 1) mentioned afterwards that she could tell I wanted to bail at the red light instead of waiting for it to turn green and then wait in the line to get into the drop-off... she knows me way too well because that exact thought was running through my mind! Drop off was at 7:11am.

The security line we picked was of course the slow one. He was looking in sunglasses cases and everything. Once we made it through there we hopped in a line over in the right hand side by the strollers. The two lines over there were way shorter as the rest of the lines were stretched back to DCA.



Our tickets were all linked and while waiting in line I went over the procedure with Friend 2 (Friend 1 had experienced ROTR at WDW between Christmas and NYE). We made it through the line around 7:45, and went between the flag pole and the train station to wait. Purchased MaxPass. Friend 2 was having issues with the app accepting the purchase so I ended up buying it for her so we could get a Fastpass booked. She had some sort of Android. Friend 1 and I have iPhone 8’s.

We were all just amazed at the hush that went over the crowd in that final minute! I counted the last 10 seconds down and then we were off! Amazingly, Friend 2 with her testy android phone who hadn’t been on the ride before (like Friend 1) or practiced multiple mornings from home (like me) was first in and pulled BG 13! (Started with 11 that day). Lucky lady! She was the first one in our area to yell and cheer and then soon the cries went up from others.



We went over to DCA to start our day (I became obsessed with Guardians this trip - first time to the parks since the change). Did a couple of other things because ROTR start was delayed. Eventually wandered back to the ride after we were called to find that it was down.  Came back around 10:45 and we walked on. Such a cool experience! Can’t wait for my DH and DS, the true Star Wars fans in our family, to experience it!


----------



## dina444444

Skyegirl1999 said:


> You already all know my feelings about this “hold everyone like prisoners in line” thing they’ve decided to do when the ride breaks down.  (Even worse when they *start* to clear the line and then change their mind.)
> 
> 
> 
> I’m sorry everyone had to go through that this afternoon.  I was thinking of emailing to express that while we love the ride and find the BG system an overall success, they need to change this breakdown policy.  Perhaps I will write that email after all...


This isn’t new though. They used to do this with racers when it broke down all the time in the beginning. They would say you could get out of line but they weren’t offering any compensation.


----------



## ten6mom

mom2rtk said:


> No, I was doing it for my friends who are in the park today. I was logged into their account.



I might do this for my son and his friend when they go NEXT WEEKEND (yeah... during President's Day weekend and the cheer convention) just to have one more chance.


----------



## midnight star

Skyegirl1999 said:


> You already all know my feelings about this “hold everyone like prisoners in line” thing they’ve decided to do when the ride breaks down.  (Even worse when they *start* to clear the line and then change their mind.)
> 
> 
> 
> I’m sorry everyone had to go through that this afternoon.  I was thinking of emailing to express that while we love the ride and find the BG system an overall success, they need to change this breakdown policy.  Perhaps I will write that email after all...


You should write the email. I'm not one to complain, but things like this really need to be addressed. 

Outside of having to deal with the early morning chaos of getting a BG, another reason why I don't want to ride again is the ride's lack of reliability, and the park having crazy line situations during breakdowns. And seeing all of these reports from people on here and facebook is confirming my decision.


----------



## Aurora0427

PairOfDice said:


> So far we've planned on going to DL on Tues/Fri and CA on Wed/Th. Are Tuesdays terrible? I guess we'll have Friday as a backup. My family will really think I'm crazy if I change things up with less than three weeks to go. Who am I kidding? They already do think that.
> 
> 
> 
> That sounds crazy and would have made me so anxious. I was planning on arriving an hour before opening on our non-MM day. Are we thinking that's not nearly enough time? We'll be there at park opening on Thursday because we'll have MM. But I'm wondering about our Friday. They open at 8 that day.



If you are lining up an hour before you’ll be fine. I would not be pulling into the parking lot or leaving my hotel an hour before. I’d be actually getting in line.


----------



## Skyegirl1999

dina444444 said:


> This isn’t new though. They used to do this with racers when it broke down all the time in the beginning. They would say you could get out of line but they weren’t offering any compensation.


I mean, I don’t necessarily agree with that either, but that didn’t block you from getting to ride entirely.  In this case, you lose your BG if you leave!  It’s a little different...


----------



## Aurora0427

twodogs said:


> We were stuck in line for almost 3 hours on opening Sunday, and I was frankly pretty furious by the time it was said and done.  They told us if we left the line, we could not ride that day with our BG since we were already scanned in.  To the OPs point that they want people in line so that when the ride comes back up, they have people to get on right away, I would say that during all breakdowns, people have lingered at the ride entrance, just waiting to rush back into the line when it reopens after a breakdown.  I don’t think it would sit there empty for more than a millisecond after it reopened, even if they cleared the entire line.  They could also send a push notification on the app to say it was open. People would come running.
> 
> I personally think that they should clear the line if they have to do a reboot, since they know that is 60-90 minutes, undoubtedly.  I just flat out don’t agree with treating guests like cattle that are in jail.  Disney should be smarter than that by now.



This.  

We knew that if it went down after we scanned, we wouldn’t be riding, because we have two small kids. Holding adults hostage is bad enough..... I cringe when I think about leaving kids in line that long. Plus you have people who do rider swap waiting with the kid too short to ride.... it actually made me enjoy the experience less because I was so freaked out it would go down once we were in line.


----------



## ironband74

Looks like we're done at 106 today.  So much potential,but setbacks like these are unfortunately still to be expected.  Hopefully when they do their post-mortem tonight they learn something about some system that killed the attraction for 3 hours today so that next time it breaks they can get it back up faster.


----------



## amfunsize

ironband74 said:


> NO!  Try not.  DO.  Or do not.  There is no try.
> 
> Fridays are not terrible as it is not a magic morning.   Backups last a while.  Not as nice as wednesdays... but better than Tues/Thurs for sure.



We're only going 1 day in May (playing hooky) and I was trying to decide between Wed 5th or Thurs 6th. It seems like Wed would be the preferred day.


----------



## closetmickey

PairOfDice said:


> So far we've planned on going to DL on Tues/Fri and CA on Wed/Th. Are Tuesdays terrible? I guess we'll have Friday as a backup. My family will really think I'm crazy if I change things up with less than three weeks to go. Who am I kidding? They already do think that.
> 
> 
> 
> That sounds crazy and would have made me so anxious. I was planning on arriving an hour before opening on our non-MM day. Are we thinking that's not nearly enough time? We'll be there at park opening on Thursday because we'll have MM. But I'm wondering about our Friday. They open at 8 that day.


We arrived to the gates today around 8:05. It was a MM- with regular opening at 9. We were in the park by 8:15. But we did benefit from them opening the MM lines to regular guests right before they opened the park for all guests. Choose a line next to the MM lines in the middle and keep an eye on the CM. They will motion people over as the lines convert.


----------



## EmJ

Here is the end-of-day graph. As others have noted, the day started with a bang and they *nearly* crossed the all-time high, but then 4:00 happened. Interestingly, the exemplary morning did allow them to rebound at least to the average. Condolences to everyone who waited in that 3-hour line though.


----------



## MommyLove

Oof, what a bad breakdown. I am so sorry for the people that had to wait there. And agree it's RIDICULOUS for Disney to make people wait there instead of issuing FPs so they can return later.

DH and older DD and I are headed there tomorrow morning for our first and only attempt to ride (at least for several months). Thankful for the helpful people on this thread. We'll be as prepared as possible! 

May the Force be with us!


----------



## ironband74

EmJ said:


> Here is the end-of-day graph. As others have noted, the started with a bang and they *nearly* crossed the all-time high, but then 4:00 happened. Interestingly, the exemplary morning did allow them to rebound at least to the average. Condolences to everyone who waited in that 3-hour line though.



And just like that it went from the best Tuesday ever (and fastest ever completion of regular BGs) to the worst Tuesday ever.  (Don't you just love small sample sizes?)


----------



## fac429

We finally got on after 3 hours. Great ride... but probably would’ve appreciated it more if not for the wait beforehand.


----------



## StarGirl11

i think my main issue with how they’re handling it is I don’t remember this being their policy for DHS. Or if it is they are handling it much better with the whole send food, drinks, and characters through the queue during down time. If your going to force me to stay in line that long at least implement the same tactic as your identical sister ride on the other coast. I don’t see why this at least isn’t an option.

It’s one thing to get stuck on the ride. It’s another to be stuck in the queue and being forced with a policy that is being done much better on the other coast.


----------



## natebenma

ironband74 said:


> Someone on twitter indicated that they got fast passes... @natebenma @fac429 have they told you you had to stay in line, or have they offered to let you go with a fast pass?



only saw 1 CM while in line and that was within first 1.5 hours of wait.  Only info we had was the occasional announcement that we may choose to stay in line but they didn’t know how long. Was not hopeful we would get returns to ride if we left.
one more day at the parks.  Early morning at CA today.  Don’t want to waste much Park time since we lost 3 hours yesterday.  Not sure if we will go through hassle again today.  Not good that I woke up at 1 am


----------



## theluckyrabbit

Skyegirl1999 said:


> First, since you typically have a 2-hour window to return, it’s unlikely that you’d actually have to miss a reservation in order to ride...


Is everyone now consistently getting a 2 hour window to return? Or is it still varying from 1 to 2 hours? 



JWelch62 said:


> Co-dependency?


We prefer to call it enabling.


----------



## natebenma

We had a two hour return.  BG 70 called for arrival between 2:45 and 4:45

edited post for poor math computation


----------



## disneyholic family

natebenma said:


> We had a two hour return.  BG 70 called for arrival between 2:45 and 3:45



wouldn't that be considered a one hour return?  from 2:45 to 3:45?

.


----------



## natebenma

disneyholic family said:


> wouldn't that be considered a one hour return?  from 2:45 to 3:45?
> 
> .



yes unless you post at 4 in the morning on 3 hours sleep.  I’ll edit my post

thx


----------



## HydroGuy

Skyegirl1999 said:


> You already all know my feelings about this “hold everyone like prisoners in line” thing they’ve decided to do when the ride breaks down.  (Even worse when they *start* to clear the line and then change their mind.)
> 
> 
> 
> I’m sorry everyone had to go through that this afternoon.  I was thinking of emailing to express that while we love the ride and find the BG system an overall success, they need to change this breakdown policy.  Perhaps I will write that email after all...





midnight star said:


> You should write the email. I'm not one to complain, but things like this really need to be addressed.
> 
> Outside of having to deal with the early morning chaos of getting a BG, another reason why I don't want to ride again is the ride's lack of reliability, and the park having crazy line situations during breakdowns. And seeing all of these reports from people on here and facebook is confirming my decision.


Your experience Sunday is something that you really should write about. Conflicting information given by Disney about whether to leave the queue? Then being shouted at by a CM when you do not know what to do? Then losing your original place where you had a seat? Then the long wait in the end when you had another commitment. And I would tell them it was your DH's birthday too.

Disney needs to handle this differently and better.


----------



## midnight star

StarGirl11 said:


> i think my main issue with how they’re handling it is I don’t remember this being their policy for DHS. Or if it is they are handling it much better with the whole send food, drinks, and characters through the queue during down time. If your going to force me to stay in line that long at least implement the same tactic as your identical sister ride on the other coast. I don’t see why this at least isn’t an option.
> 
> It’s one thing to get stuck on the ride. It’s another to be stuck in the queue and being forced with a policy that is being done much better on the other coast.


yes yes yes! At WDW when we rode ROTR, the ride was having a bad day. They had cleared the line (or at least it looked like it from the outside, and from what the CM told me). And the CM's told people you could leave and go do other things until the ride was back. Even if you came back after your boarding group was done, it would still be honored. People still waited outside the ride entrance, but that was their choice to, they weren't being forced. We left and did another ride and ate lunch before doing it.


----------



## Peachy0118

midnight star said:


> yes yes yes! At WDW when we rode ROTR, the ride was having a bad day. They had cleared the line (or at least it looked like it from the outside, and from what the CM told me). And the CM's told people you could leave and go do other things until the ride was back. Even if you came back after your boarding group was done, it would still be honored. People still waited outside the ride entrance, but that was their choice to, they weren't being forced. We left and did another ride and ate lunch before doing it.



That's what I am so confused about. I was explaining the ride being down situation to DH last night and he said, "That's so stupid of Disney. Then not only are people ticked off, but they also aren't out and about spending money!"

Disneyland is NOT a large park; you can go out, get lunch as you did (i.e. spend more money in the park!) and ride some rides and be overall more positive, get a notification when it is back open, and head on back. I literally see NO reason why this isn't happening. There is no way there would not be a flood of people back to ride as soon as it reopens. We don't have a problem with BG (seems the best solution), but this staying-in-line thing... It is just so illogical. Am I missing something?


----------



## natebenma

7:44


----------



## ironband74

Peachy0118 said:


> That's what I am so confused about. I was explaining the ride being down situation to DH last night and he said, "That's so stupid of Disney. Then not only are people ticked off, but they also aren't out and about spending money!"
> 
> Disneyland is NOT a large park; you can go out, get lunch as you did (i.e. spend more money in the park!) and ride some rides and be overall more positive, get a notification when it is back open, and head on back. I literally see NO reason why this isn't happening. There is no way there would not be a flood of people back to ride as soon as it reopens. We don't have a problem with BG (seems the best solution), but this staying-in-line thing... It is just so illogical. Am I missing something?


I don't think you're missing anything.  I get that they want to keep people around for a little while, if the system bounces back quickly then it doesn't make sense to leave.  But once you've pushed past 30 or 45 minutes (or you have a good probability of it exceeding that) I think it would go a long way for guest satisfaction to just grant a fastpass and get folks out of the queue.  Or, if the concern is that the fastpasses will bottleneck things and you want to control return time, it wouldn't be that hard to code something in where they scan your ticket and it gives you back your boarding group.

Or at least do what Batuu East does and send drinks and snacks and characters into the line.


----------



## ironband74

Twitter is showing lines backed up to DCA now.  @natebenma let us know when they let folks in!


----------



## natebenma

Now.


----------



## natebenma

In


----------



## ironband74

natebenma said:


> In


Are you going for it again today?  Perhaps if it goes down you can nap in the queue?  Sounds like you had a rough night...


----------



## natebenma




----------



## gottalovepluto

StarGirl11 said:


> i think my main issue with how they’re handling it is I don’t remember this being their policy for DHS. Or if it is they are handling it much better with the whole send food, drinks, and characters through the queue during down time. If your going to force me to stay in line that long at least implement the same tactic as your identical sister ride on the other coast. I don’t see why this at least isn’t an option.
> 
> It’s one thing to get stuck on the ride. It’s another to be stuck in the queue and being forced with a policy that is being done much better on the other coast.


According to this user WDW got cookies, bananas and Wookie pics when it went down 1/29 and people stayed in line (first report I've seen of this but I believe the poster) Link (reference middle of the 2nd paragraph)... I've asked over there for how long they are seeing people wait when the ride breaks for a Coast to Coast comparison.

ETA: a mod responded they hadn't seen reports over 2 hours before they evacuate the line in WDW


----------



## gottalovepluto

--


----------



## MommyLove

Group 20!

Thank you to everyone on this thread who participated with their experiences!


----------



## Katniss Mellark

Practicing at home. I saw it went to backups at 9:01:14 this morning.


----------



## natebenma

23


----------



## BigOHawk

Wow, playing from home I had some wonkiness happening for the first time in about 2 weeks. For reference, Galaxy S8, WIFI, Android Pie OS.

At exactly 9:00, app was already open and hit "Find Out More." Surprisingly, grey button. Quick back out, back in and button still grey...hmmm...
Quick app reboot, again, still grey but now...My Status > Join Boarding Group is active...I will say it seems Iphone users have better luck on this screen based on the blogs/YoutTube videos I've seen. They seem to click My Status at 8:59 and continually refresh. However, doing that, FOR ME, seems to hang the app and the blue circle of death spins with no last updated time.

Results of all this? I still think app already open and hitting Find out More at precisely 9:00 local time or park open is the best for me on Android Pie, Galaxy phone. IPhone seems to be the other way via my status however we will get to try all of this next month...live and in person!


----------



## BigOHawk

Backups still being distributed at 9:07


----------



## BigOHawk

natebenma said:


> 23


Where were you when you scored your BG?


----------



## BigOHawk

MommyLove said:


> Group 20!
> 
> Thank you to everyone on this thread who participated with their experiences!


Where did you pull your BG from?


----------



## Jung-li

natebenma said:


> View attachment 471222View attachment 471221



So much for Wednesdays being a good day to go to DL. That does not look fun to me. My version of one of the 7 circles of Hell.


----------



## salemk

Success 2days in a row BG 27. Heard Golden Horseshoe is the best spot and everyone around me got no less than BG 30. One party got BG 9


----------



## Skyegirl1999

Jung-li said:


> So much for Wednesdays being a good day to go to DL. That does not look fun to me. My version of one of the 7 circles of Hell.


That’s just because everyone is compacted into one spot before opening.

Once the park opens and they spread out, it’s not bad.

The fact that backups are still available indicates that Wednesday probably remains the best day!


----------



## ironband74

Jung-li said:


> So much for Wednesdays being a good day to go to DL. That does not look fun to me. My version of one of the 7 circles of Hell.


Wednesdays are typically the day that the backups last the longest.  Here we are at 9:13 and backups are still available.  Not saying it is "good", but it is "better" than other days.


----------



## BigOHawk

Jung-li said:


> So much for Wednesdays being a good day to go to DL. That does not look fun to me. My version of one of the 7 circles of Hell.


What's even more interesting is the YouTube videos of the people 'leaving' DL at 9:05, BG or not...I'm curious what that has done to wait times although it looks as if, today, most rides are at 5 minutes expect for Indy (45 min) and PP (20 min) at 9:15 a.m.


----------



## BigOHawk

Backups still available at 9:19, what's the record?


----------



## Skyegirl1999

I’m telling you guys, it’s really not that bad once the park opens.  It’s more people than you’d see at a normal rope drop, of course, but the total number of people is still way less people than would normally be in the park at, say, 10:30 on any normal day.  It’s the arriving all at once aspect that creates those “sea of humanity” photos.


----------



## Skyegirl1999

BigOHawk said:


> Backups still available at 9:19, what's the record?


45 minutes


----------



## ironband74

Looks like backups are gone.  79 and up are backups today.  Are they starting at BG 8 today then?  We shall see soon...


----------



## ironband74

Called it!  boarding 8-9.  Good luck everyone, May the Force be With You.


----------



## Peachy0118

Played along at home. Android S10. Glanced at the time and saw it was exactly open time, so figured I'd give it a go. Opened my app to realize I'd left it open on a menu (I visit the menus and dream about what we are going to try... I may have a problem...). Backed out to the main page, "join boarding group" was up and orange still, both on the main page and through "find out more". I was able to go ahead as far as we can at home through both. 

I'm aware Wednesday is a lot easier going, but I thought for sure having the app open to another page and backing out was going to freeze it. Luckily that didn't happen. I'm sure it's different at the park, but it made me slightly hopeful since Androids seems to have a tougher go than iPhones at the park.

Congrats to everyone who got their BG today!


----------



## Daisybelle

Skyegirl1999 said:


> I’m telling you guys, it’s really not that bad once the park opens.  It’s more people than you’d see at a normal rope drop, of course, but the total number of people is still way less people than would normally be in the park at, say, 10:30 on any normal day.  It’s the arriving all at once aspect that creates those “sea of humanity” photos.



That's encouraging!  I've been getting nervous about our trip next month because of all the crowd pics from first thing in the morning.


----------



## fac429

I appreciate the good thoughts and empathy from people here.  FWIW, here's my take on what went down yesterday (sorry it's so long):

We were boarding group 81 (backup group).  From reading the boards here I was reasonably confident we'd get on, as 81 seemed to be the minimum number of groups they'd gone through.  I was quite encouraged that they were moving through boarding groups pretty quickly, and at the rate we were going I figured we'd be able to get in line sometime before 4:00.  But we also knew that the ride has had quite a bit of down time, and therefore could break down at any time.  We hoped that there wouldn't be significant downtime while we were in line, but unfortunately that's exactly what happened.

They called our BG at 3:45, and it worked out that we were ready to go in right when we were called.  Park wasn't super-crowded throughout the day, so we had been able to ride almost everything we wanted to ride earlier in the day.  We figured we'd ride ROTR, get something to eat and see the park at dark, and call it a day.

I should probably mention that I'm a local who's lived in SoCal almost all of my life, so I've been to DL more times than I can count.  We used to be passholders but they've jacked the price up so high that we haven't had them for the past few years.  So while this was our first trip to DL in about 3 years, our primary goal was to ride ROTR and see the rest of GE.  We were using the SoCal 3 day pass and knew that we'd probably be coming back to DL one more day (using the last day for CA Adventure).  I guess I bring this up to give a little context- we're not AP's, so we wanted to make the most out of this trip, but we've been on the other rides in the park many, many times before.  So while we didn't have the luxury of knowing we could come back whenever we want, we were pretty committed to riding ROTR if we got a boarding group.  

As we were in line I noticed that a substantial amount of the queue is lined with benches.  So it seems that Disney anticipated that this ride could go down often, and for long periods of time.  

Shortly after we got in line (probably within 10-15 minutes) the ride went down.  Not really a surprise, as we knew this had been happening.  A few people left, but most people stayed.  They announced- over and over- that the ride was down, that they didn't know when it would be up, that you could stay or leave, and that they hoped to have the ride back up "soon."  I have no idea why they kept making the same announcement over the next 3 hours, as they mostly stopped taking new boarding groups after it went down (at one point they let another boarding group come in when it looked like the ride might be back up- although it was back down again within a few minutes).  So this wasn't new information for anybody in line after the announcements started.

At some point a cast member came out and was chatting with a couple of people in line.  They didn't really give any substantial update, which wasn't surprising (I know from past experience that you can't get a straight answer from a cast member about when a ride may be coming back up).  But that was the only cast member we saw the whole time we were in line.

There was a pattern to what was happening.  The line would stop moving, then the background music in the queue would stop.  The announcement would be made, and people would sit down or camp out.  A few people would leave.  We'd sit there for a half hour or more (listening to the same announcement every 10 minutes or so), then eventually the background music would start up.  People would get excited and stand up, the line would move forward a few feet... and then repeat.  Line stops, music stops, announcements made, people decided whether to stay or go.  This happened 3 or 4 times before they finally had it up and running and we were able to ride about 3 hours later.

Word got around the queue that they would let you leave to go to the bathroom so long as you had someone in line saving your place.  They made it clear that if you left the line without having someone saving your place you were done for the day.  You either stuck it out or you had to come back another day.  

After being in a line like that for an hour or more you realize you can't really win.  If you leave you feel stupid that you waited that long and didn't even get to experience the ride.  If you continue to wait you feel like no ride can possibly redeem wasting 3 hours of a day that you've spent hundreds of dollars to experience with your family.

All things considered I think Disney's move should have been to issue FP's to the people in line after an hour or so.  Others have already pointed out that if you're stuck in a line like that you're not spending money in the park, and that was definitely true for us- we were going to have dinner in the park and enjoy at least some of the evening there, but after being marooned in that queue for 3 hours we just wanted to go home.  We left the park and went to Burger King as soon as we finished the ride.  (Well, we stopped at the candy store on the way out- but we would have done that anyway.)  And as for people flooding the line after they re-open, I don't see that being a concern.  They can just wait for a while to call any more boarding groups.  The worst case scenario would have been that they re-open the ride and everybody who was in line and got a Fastpass gets back in line.  Nobody else can get in.  That makes the line only as long as it already was.  

As for the difference in handling the situation in FL vs. CA, my personal view is that it's related to the general way in which DL policy is different from FL due to the larger percentage of AP's who visit the parks.  While I think both places strive to deliver a positive guest experience to everyone I think that DL occasionally takes the position of "oh well, they can come back some other day" because a lot of those people CAN come back another day.  That's far less true in FL.  So while it may be true that a large number of people in that line yesterday were passholders who could've left and come back today, tomorrow, this weekend, or really anytime... there were definitely people in line who were visiting the park for the first time ever, and maybe the only time in their lives.  Those people spent no less than a quarter of that day waiting to see if this ride would ever get back up.  I feel bad for those people.  They got to ride ROTR, but probably at the expense of 3-4 other experiences they were hoping to have.  And when they go back home, their story isn't going to be about their Magical Day at Disneyland- it's going to be about how they waited in line for 3 hours.  Not a good look for the park.

So was it worth it?  ROTR is an amazing, immersive experience, and I'm glad I got to do it.  But I won't be going back until we visit DW in 2022, and after we use these 3 day SoCal passes I probably won't pass through the gates of DL for a very, very long time.


----------



## twodogs

StarGirl11 said:


> i think my main issue with how they’re handling it is I don’t remember this being their policy for DHS. Or if it is they are handling it much better with the whole send food, drinks, and characters through the queue during down time. If your going to force me to stay in line that long at least implement the same tactic as your identical sister ride on the other coast. I don’t see why this at least isn’t an option.
> 
> It’s one thing to get stuck on the ride. It’s another to be stuck in the queue and being forced with a policy that is being done much better on the other coast.


Knowing that is how they were handling it at WDW (and not hearing about any 3 hour line trappings there, even with snacks) made me even more mad at DLR opening weekend.  I knew that they have handled it better at WDW, and I knew they were severely mismanaging it at DLR.  No a single CM ever came through the line the entire almost 3 hours we were in line.  Not one.  Only information was the cryptic overhead announcements about First Order activity, and then reports from others who got out of line to go back to the CMs scanning the BGs in, who just said stay or leave, but you can't ride today if you leave.

Can someone post the email address for Disney customer service please?  I think I have calmed down enough to write an effective email.  I was also waiting to see if that was just an opening weekend fluke of mishandling, and to see if they didn't do it again.  However, the exact same thing happened to OP yesterday, so they have clearly not changed the way they are handling these prolonged breakdowns.  I want to express my dissatisfaction with this policy directly to Disney.


----------



## Skyegirl1999

Daisybelle said:


> That's encouraging!  I've been getting nervous about our trip next month because of all the crowd pics from first thing in the morning.


Current wait times are low!

5 minutes for Pirates?  20 for Star Tours?  Even MF:SR is at 40.

That shows the disconnect between those “pre-park-opening” photos and actual crowds once the park opens.

I will say that FPs are running out/further ahead sooner than normal for the crowds/time of year.  That makes sense since people are there so early, on the app, pulling FPs.


----------



## PairOfDice

Can someone explain why they would go to My Status if they are not able to click on Join BG immediately after opening?


----------



## Skyegirl1999

PairOfDice said:


> Can someone explain why they would go to My Status if they are not able to click on Join BG immediately after opening?


Because you can join a BG from there.  It’ll tell you that you aren’t currently in a BG and give you a button to join one. 

That’s how my husband and I both got in on Sunday.


----------



## PairOfDice

Skyegirl1999 said:


> Because you can join a BG from there.  It’ll tell you that you aren’t currently in a BG and give you a button to join one.
> 
> That’s how my husband and I both got in on Sunday.



OK, thank you. I must not be seeing that because I don't have my tickets linked yet but this is really helpful. Thanks!


----------



## aymiewilson

Reading through people's experiences who were in line (or on the ride) during a breakdown makes me think Disney should create and distribute special buttons that say "I Survived Rise of the Resistance's Queue" in addition to all those snacks and drinks. YEESH. Three hours? I would die.

Are people still showing up super early to get into the parks at rope drop on weekends? I know we experienced that two weekends ago on our trip. Sunday was especially bad. The queue went all the way to the DCA gates and then wrapped around back towards DL gates. They didn't start letting people through until... I think about 7:35 am (for 8 am opening), but they got us through QUICKLY. We were wrapped back around about 30 people deep, but we got thru the turnstiles at 7:54. I noticed that on those mornings, NO ONE got stopped to take a picture to go with their ticket. They just ran you through. But later in the afternoon when we came back in from nap time, people WERE getting pictures taken if it was their first use of a ticket. Thought that was a smart policy on Disneyland's part.


----------



## HydroGuy

twodogs said:


> Knowing that is how they were handling it at WDW (and not hearing about any 3 hour line trappings there, even with snacks) made me even more mad at DLR opening weekend.  I knew that they have handled it better at WDW, and I knew they were severely mismanaging it at DLR.  No a single CM ever came through the line the entire almost 3 hours we were in line.  Not one.  Only information was the cryptic overhead announcements about First Order activity, and then reports from others who got out of line to go back to the CMs scanning the BGs in, who just said stay or leave, but you can't ride today if you leave.
> 
> *Can someone post the email address for Disney customer service please? * I think I have calmed down enough to write an effective email.  I was also waiting to see if that was just an opening weekend fluke of mishandling, and to see if they didn't do it again.  However, the exact same thing happened to OP yesterday, so they have clearly not changed the way they are handling these prolonged breakdowns.  I want to express my dissatisfaction with this policy directly to Disney.


https://disneyland.disney.go.com/help/phone/


----------



## natebenma

BigOHawk said:


> Where were you when you scored your BG?



Rode cars at ca then entered dl

upper deck train station.  iPhone 11. AT&T.  Heard lots of low BGs

then we took train to Orleans  square to tide pirates

rode around 10:30


----------



## disneyholic family

on mornings that have the extra hour (magic morning?), at what time do the gates open for regular visitors? 
do they get through the gates in time to get a boarding group?

.


----------



## ironband74

disneyholic family said:


> on mornings that have the extra hour (magic morning?), at what time do the gates open for regular visitors?
> do they get through the gates in time to get a boarding group?
> 
> .


The time has varied a little as far as I can tell, but they seem to convert a number of the Magic Morning turnstiles and start letting regular guests in around half an hour before opening.  Most folks have not had a problem getting through the gates in time for the Boarding Group Battleroyale.


----------



## LizzyS

SOCALMouseMommy said:


> They are not going to hassle you, even at Savi’s. The mood is very understanding and accommodating, particularly in Galaxy’s Edge but I suspect the same will be true for Blue Bayou. I would not stress about any of these things at all! I didn’t even tell Oga’s I was going to be late, showed up an hour after my reservation and they were 100% find me with it and I didn’t even have to wait.



Thank you so much for sharing your experience; that really makes me feel better!


----------



## vickiea

I got BG 39 this morning while on the path to MFSR, about half way between Big Thunder and GE. Using an iPhone 6 on AT&T.

We got in line at 12:50, started the ‘experience’ at 1:08.


----------



## Aurora0427

fac429 said:


> I appreciate the good thoughts and empathy from people here.  FWIW, here's my take on what went down yesterday (sorry it's so long):
> 
> We were boarding group 81 (backup group).  From reading the boards here I was reasonably confident we'd get on, as 81 seemed to be the minimum number of groups they'd gone through.  I was quite encouraged that they were moving through boarding groups pretty quickly, and at the rate we were going I figured we'd be able to get in line sometime before 4:00.  But we also knew that the ride has had quite a bit of down time, and therefore could break down at any time.  We hoped that there wouldn't be significant downtime while we were in line, but unfortunately that's exactly what happened.
> 
> They called our BG at 3:45, and it worked out that we were ready to go in right when we were called.  Park wasn't super-crowded throughout the day, so we had been able to ride almost everything we wanted to ride earlier in the day.  We figured we'd ride ROTR, get something to eat and see the park at dark, and call it a day.
> 
> I should probably mention that I'm a local who's lived in SoCal almost all of my life, so I've been to DL more times than I can count.  We used to be passholders but they've jacked the price up so high that we haven't had them for the past few years.  So while this was our first trip to DL in about 3 years, our primary goal was to ride ROTR and see the rest of GE.  We were using the SoCal 3 day pass and knew that we'd probably be coming back to DL one more day (using the last day for CA Adventure).  I guess I bring this up to give a little context- we're not AP's, so we wanted to make the most out of this trip, but we've been on the other rides in the park many, many times before.  So while we didn't have the luxury of knowing we could come back whenever we want, we were pretty committed to riding ROTR if we got a boarding group.
> 
> As we were in line I noticed that a substantial amount of the queue is lined with benches.  So it seems that Disney anticipated that this ride could go down often, and for long periods of time.
> 
> Shortly after we got in line (probably within 10-15 minutes) the ride went down.  Not really a surprise, as we knew this had been happening.  A few people left, but most people stayed.  They announced- over and over- that the ride was down, that they didn't know when it would be up, that you could stay or leave, and that they hoped to have the ride back up "soon."  I have no idea why they kept making the same announcement over the next 3 hours, as they mostly stopped taking new boarding groups after it went down (at one point they let another boarding group come in when it looked like the ride might be back up- although it was back down again within a few minutes).  So this wasn't new information for anybody in line after the announcements started.
> 
> At some point a cast member came out and was chatting with a couple of people in line.  They didn't really give any substantial update, which wasn't surprising (I know from past experience that you can't get a straight answer from a cast member about when a ride may be coming back up).  But that was the only cast member we saw the whole time we were in line.
> 
> There was a pattern to what was happening.  The line would stop moving, then the background music in the queue would stop.  The announcement would be made, and people would sit down or camp out.  A few people would leave.  We'd sit there for a half hour or more (listening to the same announcement every 10 minutes or so), then eventually the background music would start up.  People would get excited and stand up, the line would move forward a few feet... and then repeat.  Line stops, music stops, announcements made, people decided whether to stay or go.  This happened 3 or 4 times before they finally had it up and running and we were able to ride about 3 hours later.
> 
> Word got around the queue that they would let you leave to go to the bathroom so long as you had someone in line saving your place.  They made it clear that if you left the line without having someone saving your place you were done for the day.  You either stuck it out or you had to come back another day.
> 
> After being in a line like that for an hour or more you realize you can't really win.  If you leave you feel stupid that you waited that long and didn't even get to experience the ride.  If you continue to wait you feel like no ride can possibly redeem wasting 3 hours of a day that you've spent hundreds of dollars to experience with your family.
> 
> All things considered I think Disney's move should have been to issue FP's to the people in line after an hour or so.  Others have already pointed out that if you're stuck in a line like that you're not spending money in the park, and that was definitely true for us- we were going to have dinner in the park and enjoy at least some of the evening there, but after being marooned in that queue for 3 hours we just wanted to go home.  We left the park and went to Burger King as soon as we finished the ride.  (Well, we stopped at the candy store on the way out- but we would have done that anyway.)  And as for people flooding the line after they re-open, I don't see that being a concern.  They can just wait for a while to call any more boarding groups.  The worst case scenario would have been that they re-open the ride and everybody who was in line and got a Fastpass gets back in line.  Nobody else can get in.  That makes the line only as long as it already was.
> 
> As for the difference in handling the situation in FL vs. CA, my personal view is that it's related to the general way in which DL policy is different from FL due to the larger percentage of AP's who visit the parks.  While I think both places strive to deliver a positive guest experience to everyone I think that DL occasionally takes the position of "oh well, they can come back some other day" because a lot of those people CAN come back another day.  That's far less true in FL.  So while it may be true that a large number of people in that line yesterday were passholders who could've left and come back today, tomorrow, this weekend, or really anytime... there were definitely people in line who were visiting the park for the first time ever, and maybe the only time in their lives.  Those people spent no less than a quarter of that day waiting to see if this ride would ever get back up.  I feel bad for those people.  They got to ride ROTR, but probably at the expense of 3-4 other experiences they were hoping to have.  And when they go back home, their story isn't going to be about their Magical Day at Disneyland- it's going to be about how they waited in line for 3 hours.  Not a good look for the park.
> 
> So was it worth it?  ROTR is an amazing, immersive experience, and I'm glad I got to do it.  But I won't be going back until we visit DW in 2022, and after we use these 3 day SoCal passes I probably won't pass through the gates of DL for a very, very long time.



This is absolutely unbelievable. I hope you will email guest services. Anyone who gets stuck in that line needs to.... SHAME ON YOU, DISNEYLAND.


----------



## montreid

Aurora0427 said:


> This is absolutely unbelievable. I hope you will email guest services. Anyone who gets stuck in that line needs to.... SHAME ON YOU, DISNEYLAND.


Exactly -- with the guaranteed BG low at 72 per day;  even with horrible breakdowns of 3+ hours now, it's able to recover and push through those so -- really what's the harm for issuing some 200 FPs that probably 10% may not utilize and risk of needing to issue service recovery guarantees?    

Come on folk;  give the CMs a break and a fighting chance to do it right.


----------



## twodogs

HydroGuy said:


> https://disneyland.disney.go.com/help/phone/


Thank you!


----------



## ironband74

Looks like the sand people are at it again...


----------



## StarGirl11

fac429 said:


> I appreciate the good thoughts and empathy from people here.  FWIW, here's my take on what went down yesterday (sorry it's so long):
> 
> We were boarding group 81 (backup group).  From reading the boards here I was reasonably confident we'd get on, as 81 seemed to be the minimum number of groups they'd gone through.  I was quite encouraged that they were moving through boarding groups pretty quickly, and at the rate we were going I figured we'd be able to get in line sometime before 4:00.  But we also knew that the ride has had quite a bit of down time, and therefore could break down at any time.  We hoped that there wouldn't be significant downtime while we were in line, but unfortunately that's exactly what happened.
> 
> They called our BG at 3:45, and it worked out that we were ready to go in right when we were called.  Park wasn't super-crowded throughout the day, so we had been able to ride almost everything we wanted to ride earlier in the day.  We figured we'd ride ROTR, get something to eat and see the park at dark, and call it a day.
> 
> I should probably mention that I'm a local who's lived in SoCal almost all of my life, so I've been to DL more times than I can count.  We used to be passholders but they've jacked the price up so high that we haven't had them for the past few years.  So while this was our first trip to DL in about 3 years, our primary goal was to ride ROTR and see the rest of GE.  We were using the SoCal 3 day pass and knew that we'd probably be coming back to DL one more day (using the last day for CA Adventure).  I guess I bring this up to give a little context- we're not AP's, so we wanted to make the most out of this trip, but we've been on the other rides in the park many, many times before.  So while we didn't have the luxury of knowing we could come back whenever we want, we were pretty committed to riding ROTR if we got a boarding group.
> 
> As we were in line I noticed that a substantial amount of the queue is lined with benches.  So it seems that Disney anticipated that this ride could go down often, and for long periods of time.
> 
> Shortly after we got in line (probably within 10-15 minutes) the ride went down.  Not really a surprise, as we knew this had been happening.  A few people left, but most people stayed.  They announced- over and over- that the ride was down, that they didn't know when it would be up, that you could stay or leave, and that they hoped to have the ride back up "soon."  I have no idea why they kept making the same announcement over the next 3 hours, as they mostly stopped taking new boarding groups after it went down (at one point they let another boarding group come in when it looked like the ride might be back up- although it was back down again within a few minutes).  So this wasn't new information for anybody in line after the announcements started.
> 
> At some point a cast member came out and was chatting with a couple of people in line.  They didn't really give any substantial update, which wasn't surprising (I know from past experience that you can't get a straight answer from a cast member about when a ride may be coming back up).  But that was the only cast member we saw the whole time we were in line.
> 
> There was a pattern to what was happening.  The line would stop moving, then the background music in the queue would stop.  The announcement would be made, and people would sit down or camp out.  A few people would leave.  We'd sit there for a half hour or more (listening to the same announcement every 10 minutes or so), then eventually the background music would start up.  People would get excited and stand up, the line would move forward a few feet... and then repeat.  Line stops, music stops, announcements made, people decided whether to stay or go.  This happened 3 or 4 times before they finally had it up and running and we were able to ride about 3 hours later.
> 
> Word got around the queue that they would let you leave to go to the bathroom so long as you had someone in line saving your place.  They made it clear that if you left the line without having someone saving your place you were done for the day.  You either stuck it out or you had to come back another day.
> 
> After being in a line like that for an hour or more you realize you can't really win.  If you leave you feel stupid that you waited that long and didn't even get to experience the ride.  If you continue to wait you feel like no ride can possibly redeem wasting 3 hours of a day that you've spent hundreds of dollars to experience with your family.
> 
> All things considered I think Disney's move should have been to issue FP's to the people in line after an hour or so.  Others have already pointed out that if you're stuck in a line like that you're not spending money in the park, and that was definitely true for us- we were going to have dinner in the park and enjoy at least some of the evening there, but after being marooned in that queue for 3 hours we just wanted to go home.  We left the park and went to Burger King as soon as we finished the ride.  (Well, we stopped at the candy store on the way out- but we would have done that anyway.)  And as for people flooding the line after they re-open, I don't see that being a concern.  They can just wait for a while to call any more boarding groups.  The worst case scenario would have been that they re-open the ride and everybody who was in line and got a Fastpass gets back in line.  Nobody else can get in.  That makes the line only as long as it already was.
> 
> As for the difference in handling the situation in FL vs. CA, my personal view is that it's related to the general way in which DL policy is different from FL due to the larger percentage of AP's who visit the parks.  While I think both places strive to deliver a positive guest experience to everyone I think that DL occasionally takes the position of "oh well, they can come back some other day" because a lot of those people CAN come back another day.  That's far less true in FL.  So while it may be true that a large number of people in that line yesterday were passholders who could've left and come back today, tomorrow, this weekend, or really anytime... there were definitely people in line who were visiting the park for the first time ever, and maybe the only time in their lives.  Those people spent no less than a quarter of that day waiting to see if this ride would ever get back up.  I feel bad for those people.  They got to ride ROTR, but probably at the expense of 3-4 other experiences they were hoping to have.  And when they go back home, their story isn't going to be about their Magical Day at Disneyland- it's going to be about how they waited in line for 3 hours.  Not a good look for the park.
> 
> So was it worth it?  ROTR is an amazing, immersive experience, and I'm glad I got to do it.  But I won't be going back until we visit DW in 2022, and after we use these 3 day SoCal passes I probably won't pass through the gates of DL for a very, very long time.



I have so many questions towards DL. I swear I felt my BP spike reading what happened. But I think what jumps out at me is this:

What the heck are they going to do when the inenvitable happens and it’s a wheelchair or an ECV that needs to leave the queue for the restroom. Because unless a mobility aid user has an issue that dictates needing the DAS they will be using the standard queue. And my god I can’t imagine the nightmare of trying to get one of those out of the queue on your own. And this in my opinion is only a matter of when not if it happens. WHEN it happens. I feel like this has to be breaking the ADA somehow by having a blanket policy that says you have to decide between riding and taking care of your medical need.

I would ask if the CM could let you into the backstage restrooms. But if your stuck for three hours with only seeing them once then that’s not even an option.

Right now this policy is not friendly to the disabled. And unless they start doing something different (ie having CMs around and communicating) this is going to blow up in their face eventually.

And before anyone asks ‘Why not send someone to talk to the CMs at the front?’ Reminder we also do the parks solo. If this happened to me theoretically (I have a DAS so it wouldn’t but bear with me) on a day where I’m by myself. Which is most days I would be twenty levels of screwed if I had to leave due to either migraine triggers, low blood sugar, or just my GI track acting up.


----------



## closetmickey

disneyholic family said:


> on mornings that have the extra hour (magic morning?), at what time do the gates open for regular visitors?
> do they get through the gates in time to get a boarding group?
> 
> .


Yesterday, MM started at 8 with regular opening at 9. Regular lines began moving at about 8:15.


----------



## fac429

Here's the kicker to my story: just found out by watching a video of the ride that it didn't function entirely properly while we were on it.  I kind of suspected something was wrong- I won't spoil anything, I'll just say that something seemed out of sync.  So I went back and watched a video of the full ride to find out what was supposed to be happening, and sure enough there was a fairly significant error in the last part of the ride.  So hopefully in 2 years I'll get to experience that part the way it's supposed to be...

As for contacting DL customer service, I've gone back and forth about it.  While we were in line I mentioned to my wife that I might do that, but also said that it could just be more aggravating if they say "we're very sorry, but you know you could have left at any time if you wanted to."  But all things considered I should probably do it in hopes that they'll change their policy for future guests.


----------



## ironband74

They just wrapped up a 2 hour plus stint of downtime.  Anyone observe the queue?  Was it a repeat of yesterday's situation or was it managed better today?


----------



## crystal1313

fac429 said:


> Here's the kicker to my story: just found out by watching a video of the ride that it didn't function entirely properly while we were on it.  I kind of suspected something was wrong- I won't spoil anything, I'll just say that something seemed out of sync.  So I went back and watched a video of the full ride to find out what was supposed to be happening, and sure enough there was a fairly significant error in the last part of the ride.  So hopefully in 2 years I'll get to experience that part the way it's supposed to be...
> 
> As for contacting DL customer service, I've gone back and forth about it.  While we were in line I mentioned to my wife that I might do that, but also said that it could just be more aggravating if they say "we're very sorry, but you know you could have left at any time if you wanted to."  But all things considered I should probably do it in hopes that they'll change their policy for future guests.


I would contact them.  Contacting them at least gets it documented. If enough people contact them, I would hope they would look into the issue for the future.  Bummer that the ride wasn't functioning correctly for you as well....


----------



## PairOfDice

We planned to do the following:
Tuesday DL
Wednesday CA
Thursday CA
Friday DL

But now I'm considering switching the first two days to have a better chance at a BG after hearing Wednesdays are the best bet. What are the pros and cons of using your MM? What are the pros and cons to going to CA on a MM. Is it worth switching up what we've already planned? The only thing I'd need to change is an Oga's Cantina res.


----------



## midnight star

fac429 said:


> Here's the kicker to my story: just found out by watching a video of the ride that it didn't function entirely properly while we were on it.  I kind of suspected something was wrong- I won't spoil anything, I'll just say that something seemed out of sync.  So I went back and watched a video of the full ride to find out what was supposed to be happening, and sure enough there was a fairly significant error in the last part of the ride.  So hopefully in 2 years I'll get to experience that part the way it's supposed to be...
> 
> As for contacting DL customer service, I've gone back and forth about it.  While we were in line I mentioned to my wife that I might do that, but also said that it could just be more aggravating if they say "we're very sorry, but you know you could have left at any time if you wanted to."  But all things considered I should probably do it in hopes that they'll change their policy for future guests.


Something similar happened at WDW too. Everything worked when we rode but the same day there were complaints of significant parts of the ride not working.

Post on the ROTR spoiler thread on what it is. Not here


----------



## midnight star

fac429 said:


> As for the difference in handling the situation in FL vs. CA, my personal view is that it's related to the general way in which DL policy is different from FL due to the larger percentage of AP's who visit the parks. While I think both places strive to deliver a positive guest experience to everyone I think that DL occasionally takes the position of "oh well, they can come back some other day" because a lot of those people CAN come back another day. That's far less true in FL. So while it may be true that a large number of people in that line yesterday were passholders who could've left and come back today, tomorrow, this weekend, or really anytime... there were definitely people in line who were visiting the park for the first time ever, and maybe the only time in their lives. Those people spent no less than a quarter of that day waiting to see if this ride would ever get back up. I feel bad for those people. They got to ride ROTR, but probably at the expense of 3-4 other experiences they were hoping to have. And when they go back home, their story isn't going to be about their Magical Day at Disneyland- it's going to be about how they waited in line for 3 hours. Not a good look for the park.


I just got back from WDW. I will say, I think the customer service seems about even with the CM's there and here in California. Where the CM's WDW do have a big edge on though, is dealing with disappointed and frantic guests. When we were at one of the guest services kiosks trying to figure out if we would need a return time for DAS with the BG, the family in front of us complained that they came all this way to see the new Star wars ride. And even though they had a BG, the boarding was delayed, and it was negatively impacting their park experience. The CM gave them multiple experience fastpasses for each of the family member's favorite ride (it was a family of 4, so that is 4 multiple passes, each!). The CM let them know that even though the ride was down, their BG would still be honored and they could do those rides in the meantime. The guests, obviously walked away happy.  I personally don't think the DL CM's would have done that..and this is coming from someone who LOVES DL CM's. They make my day. But they can def improve on handling those guests who seem rude or demanding, but are really just stressed and worried about their trips going well.


----------



## midnight star

Jung-li said:


> So much for Wednesdays being a good day to go to DL. That does not look fun to me. My version of one of the 7 circles of Hell.





Skyegirl1999 said:


> That’s just because everyone is compacted into one spot before opening.
> 
> Once the park opens and they spread out, it’s not bad.
> 
> The fact that backups are still available indicates that Wednesday probably remains the best day!


I was at the park on Saturday. Crowds were not bad at all. I arrived at 9:30 had no lines at the structure, walked right through security, got on the tram, and was in the gates before 10am. Headliners such as Space Big Thunder, and Indy still had fastpasses at 3:30pm.


----------



## ironband74

Woof... looks like we might be done for the night. Rough afternoon...


----------



## pokee99

Can anyone recommend a plan for a 3 day hopper, where Sun, Mon & Tues are days of visit, and all 3 mornings are planned for BG lottery at DLR at rope drop, but wanting to enjoy DCA each day too?

We are probably bigger fans of a lot of the rides at DCA - so hoping to hop back over to DCA after DLR BG frenzy (by the time BG awarded or backups are done - whichever comes first). I'm hoping to do a MaxPass selection at DLR each morning while waiting inside the park for 8:AM/9:AM rope drop, then depending on BG results,  head over to DCA for next MaxPass selection. 

Hope this makes sense! In a nutshell, I just don't want to miss out on good DCA MaxPasses because of the morning ROTR BG situation!


----------



## HydroGuy

pokee99 said:


> Can anyone recommend a plan for a 3 day hopper, where Sun, Mon & Tues are days of visit, and all 3 mornings are planned for BG lottery at DLR at rope drop, but wanting to enjoy DCA each day too?
> 
> We are probably bigger fans of a lot of the rides at DCA - so hoping to hop back over to DCA after DLR BG frenzy (by the time BG awarded or backups are done - whichever comes first). I'm hoping to do a MaxPass selection at DLR each morning while waiting inside the park for 8:AM/9:AM rope drop, then depending on BG results,  head over to DCA for next MaxPass selection.
> 
> Hope this makes sense! In a nutshell, I just don't want to miss out on good DCA MaxPasses because of the morning ROTR BG situation!


I think it just means scanning thru DL and then hopping to DCA. You can get your MP selection for DL or DCA even if inside DL waiting for BGs to open. Or you can get your BGs after hopping to DCA. Getting the MP for DCA will not be impacted by BGs.


----------



## laugard

Hi. Would anyone be willing to offer thoughts on trying for a BG tomorrow? I've never been to DL on a day when there's MM and EMH and still unclear how it affects the lineup crowds. (I'm assuming, however, that parking and security are busier.) Any suggestions on what time we should be at the esplanade to get in line? The park opens at 9; do you think 8 is early enough? (I had a super rotten day at work so am behind on posts; sincerest apologies if someone else has already asked a similar question.) Appreciate any advice - thanks!


----------



## HydroGuy

laugard said:


> Hi. Would anyone be willing to offer thoughts on trying for a BG tomorrow? I've never been to DL on a day when there's MM and EMH and still unclear how it affects the lineup crowds. (I'm assuming, however, that parking and security are busier.) Any suggestions on what time we should be at the esplanade to get in line? The park opens at 9; do you think 8 is early enough? (I had a super rotten day at work so am behind on posts; sincerest apologies if someone else has already asked a similar question.) Appreciate any advice - thanks!


Sorry about your day! If you can get to the Esplande at 8AM you should be fine getting thru the DL tunrstiles for a 9AM park opening.

There will be separate turnstiles and lines for MM and EMH. Get in a regular non-MM/EMH line. DL will open those turnstiles probaby by 8:15-8:30 to let you into the park. But you will be held somewhere on Main Street or maybe as far as the hub.

Then follow advice here to find a place where your phone has good speed, make sure you have the latest DLR app downloaded, and work to get a BG at 9AM sharp.


----------



## EmJ

Hey everyone. Rough day at work, so I wasn’t able to look at ROTR until now. Looks like it had a bad day too. Bummer.


----------



## salemk

PairOfDice said:


> We planned to do the following:
> Tuesday DL
> Wednesday CA
> Thursday CA
> Friday DL
> 
> But now I'm considering switching the first two days to have a better chance at a BG after hearing Wednesdays are the best bet. What are the pros and cons of using your MM? What are the pros and cons to going to CA on a MM. Is it worth switching up what we've already planned? The only thing I'd need to change is an Oga's Cantina res.


Wednesday is probably best day to get a BG and get a lower one as well but I was able to get BG 41 this past Tuesday near Space Mountain and was then able to get BG 21 today near Golden Horseshoe. If you are inside park at reasonable time and have a good cell signal you should be able to get BG.


----------



## PairOfDice

salemk said:


> Wednesday is probably best day to get a BG and get a lower one as well but I was able to get BG 41 this past Tuesday near Space Mountain and was then able to get BG 21 today near Golden Horseshoe. If you are inside park at reasonable time and have a good cell signal you should be able to get BG.



Thank you


----------



## theluckyrabbit

twodogs said:


> ... Can someone post the email address for Disney customer service please?  I think I have calmed down enough to write an effective email.  I was also waiting to see if that was just an opening weekend fluke of mishandling, and to see if they didn't do it again.  However, the exact same thing happened to OP yesterday, so they have clearly not changed the way they are handling these prolonged breakdowns.  I want to express my dissatisfaction with this policy directly to Disney.


You can go to the DLR website, scroll to the bottom, click on the Contact Us link. Use the email option. Be sure to include all your contact information and don't be surprised if someone actually does get back to you in a few days  to a week or so, Disney Guest Experience CMs really do want to know what's going on and how it is affecting guests' experience at DLR. Be as calm and as detailed as you can be about what happened, when, where, what went wrong, how it affected your day, how it could have gone better, whether any CMs were involved (include names and/or descriptions if relevant), etc. This isn't about blaming or shaming or venting, but about trying to improve the current situation for future guests. Let Disney know that you know they can do better.


----------



## theluckyrabbit

StarGirl11 said:


> I have so many questions towards DL....
> 
> Right now this policy is not friendly to the disabled. And unless they start doing something different (ie having CMs around and communicating) this is going to blow up in their face eventually.
> 
> And before anyone asks ‘Why not send someone to talk to the CMs at the front?’ Reminder we also do the parks solo. If this happened to me theoretically (I have a DAS so it wouldn’t but bear with me) on a day where I’m by myself. Which is most days I would be twenty levels of screwed if I had to leave due to either migraine triggers, low blood sugar, or just my GI track acting up.


This is pretty much why we decided not to try to ride for a while, at least until the initial insanity dies down and Disney comes up with some less "Darwinian" options for getting on the ride. Just not worth the health risks or consequences to try to ride one (awesome) ride which we might not even get on (e.g. might not get a BG, ride might break down and we don't get on, ride breaks down and we get held hostage in line and my health won't stand however many hours of waiting, etc.). For now, I'll enjoy the vicarious adventures of others in this thread.


----------



## BigOHawk

theluckyrabbit said:


> You can go to the DLR website, scroll to the bottom, click on the Contact Us link. Use the email option. Be sure to include all your contact information and don't be surprised if someone actually does get back to you in a few days  to a week or so, Disney Guest Experience CMs really do want to know what's going on and how it is affecting guests' experience at DLR. Be as calm and as detailed as you can be about what happened, when, where, what went wrong, how it affected your day, how it could have gone better, whether any CMs were involved (include names and/or descriptions if relevant), etc. This isn't about blaming or shaming or venting, but about trying to improve the current situation for future guests. Let Disney know that you know they can do better.


This X1000! A few years back at WDW, a few of us in our family got sick while on vacation to the point of not being able to visit the parks, etc. I heard via other resort guests saying this too and upon getting home, I sent a calm, detailed email explaining our situation and how it impacted our family vacation, park touring, etc and how we thought a bug might have been going around the resort. Someone called me within a week or two and long story short we got free park passes to come back and visit, which we used next year!

Also I had a billing error last spring that didn't get resolved for awhile, called WDW guest services and did get a free photo package and several days of extra fastpasses. I've found the key is not to yell or get mildly angry, stick to facts and usually something will be offered if you can get to the right person.


----------



## Fuzeon

Good Morning!

My two sons and I will be at DLR from Wednesday, 2/12-Sunday 2/16. We arrive around 2 pm, and bought 4 day hoppers to take advantage of our half day at DL. Staying at GCH. Since we don’t come to the park often, I was planning to use our three full days to try and get a BG for ROTR.

How would you recommend we plan our time at both DL and DCA, given our days, and desire to ride ROTR, likely more than once?  Use all three EMH/MM to get inside DL for BG? What time do you recommended getting to security at GCH?

Thank you!


----------



## ironband74

Fuzeon said:


> Good Morning!
> 
> My two sons and I will be at DLR from Wednesday, 2/12-Sunday 2/16. We arrive around 2 pm, and bought 4 day hoppers to take advantage of our half day at DL. Staying at GCH. Since we don’t come to the park often, I was planning to use our three full days to try and get a BG for ROTR.
> 
> How would you recommend we plan our time at both DL and DCA, given our days, and desire to ride ROTR, likely more than once?  Use all three EMH/MM to get inside DL for BG? What time do you recommended getting to security at GCH?
> 
> Thank you!


A lot of that depends on what your priorities are beyond ROTR.  

If it were me, I'd use the opening afternoon/evening to enjoy Galaxy's edge, maybe do the Cantina (get a reservation ASAP if you want to do this), and any other GE experiences (Droid/Lightsaber etc), hit the Millenium Falcon, and maybe some other attractions in DL.

Thursday would be MM in DL, so I'd plan on that - enjoy MM and attempt a BG. 

Friday would be EMH in DCA, so I'd plan on that...depending on if you rode ROTR the day previous you might bug out early to go scan into DL so you can get a BG. Or you could just make this your DCA day and not worry about it. You could also gamble and go over to DL after EMH is over since on Fridays the backup BGs have so far lasted over half an hour, so if you got over there say 10 after 8 you could probably get a backup with a decent shot at riding.

Saturday is again MM in DL.

I can't speak to doing security at GCH, only that most folks for the DCA EMH agree that using the main gate is better than trying to use the GCH entrance to get in.

Have a great trip.


----------



## JWelch62

ironband74 said:


> A lot of that depends on what your priorities are beyond ROTR.
> 
> If it were me, I'd use the opening afternoon/evening to enjoy Galaxy's edge, maybe do the Cantina (get a reservation ASAP if you want to do this), and any other GE experiences (Droid/Lightsaber etc), hit the Millenium Falcon, and maybe some other attractions in DL.
> 
> Thursday would be MM in DL, so I'd plan on that - enjoy MM and attempt a BG.
> 
> Friday would be EMH in DCA, so I'd plan on that...depending on if you rode ROTR the day previous you might bug out early to go scan into DL so you can get a BG. Or you could just make this your DCA day and not worry about it. You could also gamble and go over to DL after EMH is over since on Fridays the backup BGs have so far lasted over half an hour, so if you got over there say 10 after 8 you could probably get a backup with a decent shot at riding.
> 
> Saturday is again MM in DL.
> 
> I can't speak to doing security at GCH, only that most folks for the DCA EMH agree that using the main gate is better than trying to use the GCH entrance to get in.
> 
> Have a great trip.


We've stayed at GCH a number of times. Unless you are in line VERY early at the GCH entrance it is faster to go to the main DCA entrance. Plus, I use my Starbucks fastpass (mobile order) and pick up my coffee on the way.


----------



## ironband74

Good morning Risers!  I'm very curious to see how today goes.

The last three days have shown an interesting pattern of the attraction being pretty reliable in the first 4-5 hours or so of operation, and then tanking.  

Yesterday, we hit 59 BGs just after 2pm before things went bad for the afternoon and evening
Tuesday, we hit 82 BGs just before 4pm before things went bad for the evening.
Monday we hit 63 BGs just after 2pm before a decent delay and then things went well for the rest of the evening.

If we see a fourth day of good morning ops, that could mean that they are getting into an overnight groove for getting the attraction ready for the day. Or it could be purely coincidence. Either way, interesting to watch the trends.

May the Force be with You.


----------



## Angrose

ironband74 said:


> Good morning Risers!  I'm very curious to see how today goes.
> 
> The last three days have shown an interesting pattern of the attraction being pretty reliable in the first 4-5 hours or so of operation, and then tanking.
> 
> Yesterday, we hit 59 BGs just after 2pm before things went bad for the afternoon and evening
> Tuesday, we hit 82 BGs just before 4pm before things went bad for the evening.
> Monday we hit 63 BGs just after 2pm before a decent delay and then things went well for the rest of the evening.
> 
> If we see a fourth day of good morning ops, that could mean that they are getting into an overnight groove for getting the attraction ready for the day. Or it could be purely coincidence. Either way, interesting to watch the trends.
> 
> May the Force be with You.


Hoping for the best this morning. Lines aren’t quite back to DCA yet, but they opened gates early for MM.


----------



## cuteinnocent

Angrose said:


> Hoping for the best this morning. Lines aren’t quite back to DCA yet, but they opened gates early for MM.


What time were gates open for MM? We will be there on Sat!


----------



## Angrose

cuteinnocent said:


> What time were gates open for MM? We will be there on Sat!


I think it was 7:50am. They just opened the main turnstiles at 8:15 and the lines are moving fast. Of course my brother isn’t here yet so just letting everyone go ahead until they get here.


----------



## harmon54

My friend is at WDW and ride went down right now - she said they got snacks and pics in line!  I am sorry but that seems like it would be easy to make uniform in both parks using a BG system- I would probably write and email or something if I got stuck for long with no compensation.


----------



## ironband74

Regular groups gone at 9:01:00


----------



## MommyLove

Ok, I can share our experience from yesterday, a Wednesday with DL park opening at 9am and early entry over at DCA at 8am.

We arrived at the parking garage at 7:21am. It opens 90 minutes before park opening, so we were sitting in a stopped line of cars that stretched to just inside the covered part of the entrance, waiting for 7:30am. They started taking cars in promptly at 7:30am.

After getting lucky with a line split at the parking garage, we were one of the first cars through and we were directed to Pixar Cars level. There was one line (two tables) for security at first, and then shortly a 2nd line with two tables opened and we were on the tram (the first tram of the morning I believe) by 7:46am. 

In the turnstiles line by 7:52am with the Monorail track hitting at about half way the length of the lines. There were short lines over at DCA for early entry there. By 8:02am it appeared to me from where we were standing that the DL lines reached all the way to DCA. By 8:07am they started letting us in at DL, I'm guessing to alleviate the congestion in the esplanade. 

We got lucky again by noticing a short line behind a planter and we were inside DL by 8:11am. DH needed some coffee so we got in a short line at Starbucks, then waited for the rope to drop which it finally did at 8:54am.

We went over to the Splash FP machines, not to race to be the first ones there, but... what if the whole app system went down and the only people that would get BGs were the ones using the machines?? Not likely I know, but it was REALLY important to us to cover all the possibilities that we could. So to answer this question:



BigOHawk said:


> Where did you pull your BG from?



My DH and I were both in line at the Splash FP machines, him on an iPhone, me with my Galaxy S10, both of us on T-Mobile. (DD didn't end up going with us). 

Now, I'd been playing at home (using cellular, not WiFi) and my S10 and every time I had no problems getting the orange Join Boarding Group to light up immediately at park opening. BUT TODAY WAS NOT THAT DAY. We used the second hand on DH's Apple watch, and I was not able to get an orange button, even after clicking on My Status. DH was the one that scored BG 20 for us. We were elated, of course. And with them starting BGs at 8, we had our boarding group called by 10:03am! We were in the queue by 10:07am. And without any slowdowns in the queue or RotR experience, we were off by 10:34am.

Thanks again to those who have shared their experiences and graphs! We had an epic day that started with an incredible morning!


----------



## ironband74

Backups gone at 9:02:00


----------



## BigOHawk

Can't even get a backup BG at 9:02 playing from home!


----------



## laugard

BG 8!!!


----------



## BigOHawk

So does the Thursday EMH theory hold true in that there are just "that" many more people at DL on a Thursday vs. Wednesday, etc?


----------



## ironband74

74 and up are backups.  Suggests that they will start at BG 3?


----------



## TheyCallMeStacey

With the crowd in the morning, i want to be sure to be early enough to get through the LONG lines we've been seeing on this thread.  Our first park day is next week on Thursday with an opening of 8 and MM at 7.  If we get there by 7 should we be ok?  Also - is there any note of people being on US Cellular's network. I see a lot for other providers and just don't know what to expect for ours.  THANKS TO YOU ALL for this thread and the great information provided!


----------



## karenc15

BigOHawk said:


> Can't even get a backup BG at 9:02 playing from home!


Same experience here


----------



## Angrose

BG 28! Sitting on curb in front of train station,  iPhone 8, AT&T. CAN NOT WAIT!!!!!!


----------



## IsleofDisney

Playing along at work today - seemed like there were no back up boarding groups. Did anyone else experience this? 

Also, I noticed when I played along yesterday that if I opened the app at the park opening hour, select Find Out More, the Join Boarding Group button is greyed out. I hit My Status button, select the blue outlined Join a Boarding Group and was greeted by the  back up boarding group message. This morning, I opened the app around 8:58am, when 9:00:00 hit the Join Boarding Group on the ROTR landing page was active and would have been able to get a BG if we were in the park. 

I have a fairly new Android phone, v10 & was on work WiFi. I'll try again tomorrow with cell data.


----------



## njchris

What time does the entrance to Pixar Pals open? I had heard 7:10 (on days they open at 8).


----------



## wonderfuller

I got boarding group 23 with an iPhone 6s over by the teacups!   Hope the timing works for us as we have a toddler’s schedule to work around...


----------



## ironband74

And we're boarding 1-4...so They are feeling bold today increasing the regular groups to 73!


----------



## JWelch62

TheyCallMeStacey said:


> With the crowd in the morning, i want to be sure to be early enough to get through the LONG lines we've been seeing on this thread.  Our first park day is next week on Thursday with an opening of 8 and MM at 7.  If we get there by 7 should we be ok?  Also - is there any note of people being on US Cellular's network. I see a lot for other providers and just don't know what to expect for ours.  THANKS TO YOU ALL for this thread and the great information provided!


If you are in line at 7:00 you will be fine. Make sure to leave enough time to park (if you are driving) and to clear security. They have been opening the gates around  30 minutes before park opening to get folks through the turnstiles. They have been very efficient. I was almost to DCA at 7:15 and was in the park with plenty of time to spare.


----------



## ironband74

wonderfuller said:


> I got boarding group 23 with an iPhone 6s over by the teacups!   Hope the timing works for us as we have a toddler’s schedule to work around...


If the morning holds, you'll be called between 10 and 10:45.


----------



## wonderfuller

ironband74 said:


> If the morning holds, you'll be called between 10 and 10:45.


Thank you!!!!!


----------



## Laur0406

On our first day in the parks ( a Monday), we have to return a rental car at 200 W Katella.  They don't open until 7:30 and don't have after-hours drop off (I've called the location to confirm).

DLP opens at 8am.  I am thinking we go to the park early, like 7am, and all get scanned in.  Then my husband can leave his bag with me, run and return the rental car, and then still be able to try for a boarding group at 8am whether he makes it back in time or not.  Is that possible?


----------



## JWelch62

Laur0406 said:


> On our first day in the parks ( a Monday), we have to return a rental car at 200 W Katella.  They don't open until 7:30 and don't have after-hours drop off (I've called the location to confirm).
> 
> DLP opens at 8am.  I am thinking we go to the park early, like 7am, and all get scanned in.  Then my husband can leave his bag with me, run and return the rental car, and then still be able to try for a boarding group at 8am whether he makes it back in time or not.  Is that possible?


Once your husband scans in he can leave. You can actually both try for boarding groups. Him from outside, you from inside. Just make sure that you have your tickets linked in both his app and yours. He can take his time coming back. No need to rush.


----------



## ValpoCory

I just wanted to say thank you for all the helpful posters on this thread.   My family and I are going next month, and this thread is helpful.    Please keep it up!  You guys rock!


----------



## Laur0406

JWelch62 said:


> Once your husband scans in he can leave. You can actually both try for boarding groups. Him from outside, you from inside. Just make sure that you have your tickets linked in both his app and yours. He can take his time coming back. No need to rush.


thank you! You have made me feel better...we got a really good deal at this Budget location so didn't want to have to change it.

and just to confirm, they start scanning tickets before park opening?


----------



## ValpoCory

JWelch62 said:


> Once your husband scans in he can leave. You can actually both try for boarding groups. Him from outside, you from inside. Just make sure that you have your tickets linked in both his app and yours. He can take his time coming back. No need to rush.



A quick tangent from the linking topic ... we are going in March, and we will have 5-day parkhoppers with MaxPass (from GetAwayToday).  My DW, DD14, and I have phones with the DL app.   Should they sign in to the app on their phones with my account credentials, or create their own accounts?    And how does that impact getting RotR boarding groups?  Thank you!


----------



## JWelch62

Laur0406 said:


> thank you! You have made me feel better...we got a really good deal at this Budget location so didn't want to have to change it.
> 
> and just to confirm, they start scanning tickets before park opening?


Yes, they have been opening the gates and scanning tickets around 30 minutes before park opening.


----------



## JWelch62

ValpoCory said:


> A quick tangent from the linking topic ... we are going in March, and we will have 5-day parkhoppers with MaxPass (from GetAwayToday).  My DW, DD14, and I have phones with the DL app.   Should they sign in to the app on their phones with my account credentials, or create their own accounts?    And how does that impact getting RotR boarding groups?  Thank you!


This has been discussed a few times. There does not seem to be any advantage to everyone logging into one account over everyone logging in to their own account. However, if you are each using your own account, you must have all tickets linked in each account. 

We had three folks in our group. We each logged into our own account. If anyone happens to secure a boarding group the others will get a notification to the effect of "you're already in a boarding group".


----------



## ValpoCory

JWelch62 said:


> This has been discussed a few times. There does not seem to be any advantage to everyone logging into one account over everyone logging in to their own account. However, if you are each using your own account, you must have all tickets linked in each account.
> 
> We had three folks in our group. We each logged into our own account. If anyone happens to secure a boarding group the others will get a notification to the effect of "you're already in a boarding group".



Thank you.    So I'll get my 4 passes for me, DW, DD14, and DS10, and after I add the passes to my DL account, do I just hand them to my DW to load them onto her account, and then to my DD14 to load them onto her account?


----------



## JWelch62

ValpoCory said:


> Thank you.    So I'll get my 4 passes for me, DW, DD14, and DS10, and after I add the passes to my DL account, do I just hand them to my DW to load them onto her account, and then to my DD14 to load them onto her account?


Yup.

Your 14YO will need a valid email address to create a disney account if she doesn't have an account already.


----------



## ValpoCory

JWelch62 said:


> Yup.
> 
> Your 14YO will need a valid email address to create a disney account if she doesn't have an account already.



Ok, thank you.  I appreciate the info!!


----------



## jenmiller114

We just got back last night from the parks.  We were there Monday - Wednesday and this was our experience.

We stayed at the DLH.  You would think 9 am was a nice late start but by the time we got up and head breakfast, it was still a struggle.  Fortunately, security lines are not too bad there. We left at 8:30.  Got to turnstiles around 8:40 and in the park at 8:50.  They are not taking photos so people were getting through pretty quick.  We went by the flagpole.  Lots of people in there just waiting.  Did a speed test and it was good so we stayed. That day we were all successful getting the red button as soon as the time switched.  DS20 finally made good use of his many many wasted hours on his phone and secured group 16.  We are called up by 10 am.  Line was a little slow but we kept moving and it was great!

Tuesday we had MM at DL but didn't make it into the park any earlier.  We checked into the monorail and rode it in and got there around 8:50.  We decided to try from Fantasyland to try to get back to Galaxy's Edge and ride MFSR.  Bad idea.  The speed test was much slower where we were standing.  We were by Small World which was another mistake.   We didn't have much time to move so we went with it. None of us could get the red button once the time changed.  I heard a few cheers around us but not near as many as we heard at the flag pole.  DS20 finally got through with backup group 81.  That was disappointing but they moved at a pretty good clip all day long so we were optimistic.  Of course, until we got there to ride and it was down.  Waited over an hour and finally decided to head back to the hotel.  Stopped at the ice cream shop on Main Street and saw that it opened back up.  Walked back there again and it was down again. A lot less people were waiting around at that point.   It was cold and we had another day ahead of us so we decided to leave.  We were back at the hotel by the time it opened agin (6:30 ish).  We decided it was not worth the journey back.  (we went back there 5 times that day!).  They ended up getting up to group 120 I think.  I assume because it was cold and kept breaking down so people just gave up and left.  

Yesterday we left the hotel at 8:35. We got into the park around 8:50 again.  Speed test not as good by the flag pole so we walked back by the entrance (not outside of the park) and it was quite a lot higher there.  I think 80 vs. 25.  We waited with lots of other people and DS20 got group 16 (they started with group 8 so that was equivalent to to group 9).  I could not get the red button to load before he secured the pass.  So it questions the theory of closing everything out and restarting.  I did all of that and it didn't work.  He probably hasn't closed his apps out since he got the phone!  Anyway, they started with group 8 and we were called up around 10:00 again.  The line moved at about the same pace. Probably 45 minutes to get through.

Overall 2 out of 3 days were a success.  The second day was frustrating on a number of levels.   Since we did not get there early enough to do anything for EMH, we really should have just scanned or tickets at the monorail, exited and walked down to the esplanade.  Once we secured our boarding passes, we would have decided which park to go to based on our expected return time.  With 81, it was a waste to stay at DL because it was already very crowded. And the line for MFSR was 45 minutes as soon as the park opened because there were tons of people already waiting.  So we weren't the only people with that idea.  I also think we would have got better than group 81 had we waited up towards the front where we know the connection speeds are better (at least for us).  And it would have been a much more efficient use of our time because it was a long walk from Galaxy's Edge to TSMM!

FWIW, we are AT&T.  DS20 used an iPhone XR and got our Boarding Passes all 3 days.  I have an XS, DH has an X and DS18 has a 7.  

A few other notes. I am not sure this was ever mentioned but there was a lot of speculation/discussion as to why they close the ride early.   It's because they need to give people time to return to get on the ride.  He said they would call the last group at 7:45 to give them time to get back before the park closes at 9:00.  Not sure why I never thought about that but it certainly makes sense.  And they do not notify you when the ride is down.  it says Open but you walk back there to find it closed.  He said keep checking to see when they call the next boarding group because that would indicate it opened back up.  Also, I screenshot all of our passes because they were expired by the time they reopened the ride but it really wasn't necessary.  You could still open them even after the time expired and we were told that they would still honor them because they knew the ride had been closed.  Not that the screenshots hurt.  But you can still access the passes which I think is good to know.  The only people who were actually issued return passes were those who were already on the ride.  They were told they would enter through a different line once the ride opened back up so they would't have to go through the VERY long general line.  And I did not receive a notification that our boarding pass had been called.  I only knew because I kept checking the app.  I think my son received the notice.  Presumably because he was the one who go the passes?  It wasn't a big deal.  I imagine most people check constantly just to see how close they are.  Just don't rely on the push notification.

I know that there were frustrated people who didn't know what to do but most seemed to take it in stride because they had multiple days at the park.  We were happy to share info. with anyone we spoke to about how to link tickets, do the speed test and be ready because they are consistently gone in the first minute.  One lady I spoke with had 7 people in her party (all friends) and they didn't know anything about linking tickets.  They would have tried the next day and possibly got 7 different groups because they didn't know to do it all together.  Or they wouldn't have got one at all because they were trying to figure out how to get them together.  So I was glad I could help her and I hope they were successful.  I honestly would have been very ill prepared if I didn't spend so much time reading this thread so I am thankful for everyone sharing their experiences. I hope my experience will help someone else!!


----------



## ironband74

ironband74 said:


> If the morning holds, you'll be called between 10 and 10:45.


I was off by 2 minutes.  They're calling slow and steady, limping along.  I'm curious to see if it improves suddenly at some point or just goes down entirely.  Good luck!


----------



## Laur0406

jenmiller114 said:


> We went by the flagpole.


I've only been to DL once - where is the flagpole exactly, on main street?


----------



## dina444444

njchris said:


> What time does the entrance to Pixar Pals open? I had heard 7:10 (on days they open at 8).


It should open at 6:30 when mickeys and friends opens. It did when I went on 1/18.


----------



## IsleofDisney

ValpoCory said:


> A quick tangent from the linking topic ... we are going in March, and we will have 5-day parkhoppers with MaxPass (from GetAwayToday).  My DW, DD14, and I have phones with the DL app.   Should they sign in to the app on their phones with my account credentials, or create their own accounts?    And how does that impact getting RotR boarding groups?  Thank you!



They can sign in with your account, as long as all the tickets are scanned into your account. The more phones are trying to join a boarding group, the greater your chances are to get one! This is the simplest method. Also, DD14 can mobile order from the account. Depending on your trust levels with your DD, this could be totally convenient or wreck a well planned budget! 

The BG process would work also if they each had their own DL account, just make sure they scan each other's ticket into their account. Others prefer to use a separate accounts since you can unlink tickets if someone from the party won't be at the park that day or wont' be attempting to ride ROTR. This saves precious seconds when going through the process.


----------



## JWelch62

Laur0406 said:


> I've only been to DL once - where is the flagpole exactly, on main street?


----------



## jenmiller114

Laur0406 said:


> I've only been to DL once - where is the flagpole exactly, on main street?



Yes.  Right in front of the train station.   A lot of people there but most seemed to be successful.  We found the speed yesterday to be significantly better on the back side in between the train station and turnstiles. It's not as practical if you are in a hurry to get to a specific ride.  But we learned from our experience on Tuesday that our plan for the day would depend on what our boarding group was and that would dictate which park to start at.  So being by the exit made it easier to get over to DCA quicker if we got a higher boarding group.


----------



## wowsmom

theluckyrabbit said:


> This is pretty much why we decided not to try to ride for a while, at least until the initial insanity dies down and Disney comes up with some less "Darwinian" options for getting on the ride. Just not worth the health risks or consequences to try to ride one (awesome) ride which we might not even get on (e.g. might not get a BG, ride might break down and we don't get on, ride breaks down and we get held hostage in line and my health won't stand however many hours of waiting, etc.). For now, I'll enjoy the vicarious adventures of others in this thread.



Same here!  I live 5 miles from the parks and it's killing me to not go try to get BGs, but I can't stand for very long without pain, so getting to the turnstiles an hour (or more) before park opening doesn't work for me.  And the thought of being stuck in the line for hours, possibly without seating...    So I wait and read other people's stories, hoping to ride it eventually.


----------



## DLRExpert

Please confirm.
Say that both parks open at 8am and there is Early Entry at California Adventure on the same day.

Can I attend the Early Entry at California Adventure, leave at 730am and enter Disneyland before 8am to get the Boarding Group Pass?


----------



## Skyegirl1999

BigOHawk said:


> So does the Thursday EMH theory hold true in that there are just "that" many more people at DL on a Thursday vs. Wednesday, etc?


Yes.  A day with MM/EMH has many more people in the park at park open than a day without it.  The speed with which BG/backups disappear is simply a function of how many people are in the park at that point.  The day they lasted 45 minutes just means it took that long for enough people to enter the park to claim them all.


----------



## Skyegirl1999

DLRExpert said:


> Please confirm.
> Say that both parks open at 8am and there is Early Entry at California Adventure on the same day.
> 
> Can I attend the Early Entry at California Adventure, leave at 730am and enter Disneyland before 8am to get the Boarding Group Pass?


Yes, unless they're very backed up at the DL entrance for some reason.  That only seems to have happened once since ROTR opened.


----------



## ironband74

Approaching noon and we're limping along at about 2/3 the usual rate.  We'll see how the afternoon proceeds.  Makes me wonder if perhaps they are testing a lower rate to see if giving certain parts of the attraction longer to "cool down" between triggers improves their longevity between breakdowns.


----------



## Kellina

jenmiller114 said:


> We just got back last night from the parks.  We were there Monday - Wednesday and this was our experience.
> 
> We stayed at the DLH.  You would think 9 am was a nice late start but by the time we got up and head breakfast, it was still a struggle.  Fortunately, security lines are not too bad there. We left at 8:30.  Got to turnstiles around 8:40 and in the park at 8:50.  They are not taking photos so people were getting through pretty quick.  We went by the flagpole.  Lots of people in there just waiting.  Did a speed test and it was good so we stayed. That day we were all successful getting the red button as soon as the time switched.  DS20 finally made good use of his many many wasted hours on his phone and secured group 16.  We are called up by 10 am.  Line was a little slow but we kept moving and it was great!
> 
> Tuesday we had MM at DL but didn't make it into the park any earlier.  We checked into the monorail and rode it in and got there around 8:50.  We decided to try from Fantasyland to try to get back to Galaxy's Edge and ride MFSR.  Bad idea.  The speed test was much slower where we were standing.  We were by Small World which was another mistake.   We didn't have much time to move so we went with it. None of us could get the red button once the time changed.  I heard a few cheers around us but not near as many as we heard at the flag pole.  DS20 finally got through with backup group 81.  That was disappointing but they moved at a pretty good clip all day long so we were optimistic.  Of course, until we got there to ride and it was down.  Waited over an hour and finally decided to head back to the hotel.  Stopped at the ice cream shop on Main Street and saw that it opened back up.  Walked back there again and it was down again. A lot less people were waiting around at that point.   It was cold and we had another day ahead of us so we decided to leave.  We were back at the hotel by the time it opened agin (6:30 ish).  We decided it was not worth the journey back.  (we went back there 5 times that day!).  They ended up getting up to group 120 I think.  I assume because it was cold and kept breaking down so people just gave up and left.
> 
> Yesterday we left the hotel at 8:35. We got into the park around 8:50 again.  Speed test not as good by the flag pole so we walked back by the entrance (not outside of the park) and it was quite a lot higher there.  I think 80 vs. 25.  We waited with lots of other people and DS20 got group 16 (they started with group 8 so that was equivalent to to group 9).  I could not get the red button to load before he secured the pass.  So it questions the theory of closing everything out and restarting.  I did all of that and it didn't work.  He probably hasn't closed his apps out since he got the phone!  Anyway, they started with group 8 and we were called up around 10:00 again.  The line moved at about the same pace. Probably 45 minutes to get through.
> 
> Overall 2 out of 3 days were a success.  The second day was frustrating on a number of levels.   Since we did not get there early enough to do anything for EMH, we really should have just scanned or tickets at the monorail, exited and walked down to the esplanade.  Once we secured our boarding passes, we would have decided which park to go to based on our expected return time.  With 81, it was a waste to stay at DL because it was already very crowded. And the line for MFSR was 45 minutes as soon as the park opened because there were tons of people already waiting.  So we weren't the only people with that idea.  I also think we would have got better than group 81 had we waited up towards the front where we know the connection speeds are better (at least for us).  And it would have been a much more efficient use of our time because it was a long walk from Galaxy's Edge to TSMM!
> 
> FWIW, we are AT&T.  DS20 used an iPhone XR and got our Boarding Passes all 3 days.  I have an XS, DH has an X and DS18 has a 7.
> 
> A few other notes. I am not sure this was ever mentioned but there was a lot of speculation/discussion as to why they close the ride early.   It's because they need to give people time to return to get on the ride.  He said they would call the last group at 7:45 to give them time to get back before the park closes at 9:00.  Not sure why I never thought about that but it certainly makes sense.  And they do not notify you when the ride is down.  it says Open but you walk back there to find it closed.  He said keep checking to see when they call the next boarding group because that would indicate it opened back up.  Also, I screenshot all of our passes because they were expired by the time they reopened the ride but it really wasn't necessary.  You could still open them even after the time expired and we were told that they would still honor them because they knew the ride had been closed.  Not that the screenshots hurt.  But you can still access the passes which I think is good to know.  The only people who were actually issued return passes were those who were already on the ride.  They were told they would enter through a different line once the ride opened back up so they would't have to go through the VERY long general line.  And I did not receive a notification that our boarding pass had been called.  I only knew because I kept checking the app.  I think my son received the notice.  Presumably because he was the one who go the passes?  It wasn't a big deal.  I imagine most people check constantly just to see how close they are.  Just don't rely on the push notification.
> 
> I know that there were frustrated people who didn't know what to do but most seemed to take it in stride because they had multiple days at the park.  We were happy to share info. with anyone we spoke to about how to link tickets, do the speed test and be ready because they are consistently gone in the first minute.  One lady I spoke with had 7 people in her party (all friends) and they didn't know anything about linking tickets.  They would have tried the next day and possibly got 7 different groups because they didn't know to do it all together.  Or they wouldn't have got one at all because they were trying to figure out how to get them together.  So I was glad I could help her and I hope they were successful.  I honestly would have been very ill prepared if I didn't spend so much time reading this thread so I am thankful for everyone sharing their experiences. I hope my experience will help someone else!!



It might be on here somewhere but how do you speed test your phone? I have a pixel 3 on Verizon if it matters


----------



## Cupcaker

I'll be there tomorrow morning where they open at 8am. I'm staying at the DLH. What's the latest time I should be in the line to enter? Also, I've read tons of the posts on where to stand when trying for a BG and what phone service people have, but I haven't seen Sprint come up. Does anyone know where's a good place for Sprint? I'm on an iphone XR. Thanks everyone!


----------



## wonderfuller

wonderfuller said:


> I got boarding group 23 with an iPhone 6s over by the teacups!   Hope the timing works for us as we have a toddler’s schedule to work around...


Update: we were called about 10:45, got in line around 11:05, line went slowwwwwly but we were off by 12:05.  Amazing ride!  My husband and my jaws were dropped the whole time.  I’m so happy we got to ride; our trip had been off to a not great start and that made things so much better!


----------



## shannon006

Here now. Yesterday got BG 52. Same spot to try as yesterday and got back up group 122


----------



## cuteinnocent

shannon006 said:


> Here now. Yesterday got BG 52. Same spot to try as yesterday and got back up group 122


Sorry.  What spot?


----------



## shannon006

cuteinnocent said:


> Sorry.  What spot?


Near IASW


----------



## ironband74

ironband74 said:


> Approaching noon and we're limping along at about 2/3 the usual rate.  We'll see how the afternoon proceeds.  Makes me wonder if perhaps they are testing a lower rate to see if giving certain parts of the attraction longer to "cool down" between triggers improves their longevity between breakdowns.


Now past 1pm they have gotten their mojo back...for most of the hour they were boarding a group every 5 minutes, then decided to kick it up a notch and call 8 groups in 20 minutes and push past 50 groups.  It'll be interesting to see how long they keep this up.


----------



## disneyholic family

how do you test the speed on an iphone?  
i'm just familiar with looking at how many bars i have...is there something else i should be doing?
.


----------



## manicmonkey

wonderfuller said:


> Update: we were called about 10:45, got in line around 11:05, line went slowwwwwly but we were off by 12:05.  Amazing ride!  My husband and my jaws were dropped the whole time.  I’m so happy we got to ride; our trip had been off to a not great start and that made things so much better!


Did you do rider swap?


----------



## wonderfuller

manicmonkey said:


> Did you do rider swap?


We did not, grandma and grandpa took her while we were on!


----------



## disneyholic family

wonderfuller said:


> We did not, grandma and grandpa took her while we were on!


grandma and grandpa didn't ride it?
.


----------



## wonderfuller

disneyholic family said:


> grandma and grandpa didn't ride it?
> .


Not today. I was supposed to report back on it to tell them if they would like it.  Maybe tomorrow.


----------



## DLgal

To do a speed test, just go to your internet browser (I use chrome) and search "speed test." Then just use the first result.


----------



## ironband74

Well, It's 2pm...time to punch ROTR in the face...and it goes down.

We managed 57 groups by 1:45 and there we presently sit. We'll see if this is a shorter break or a longer one.

Still, a good 4.5 hours of ops to start the day, for the fourth day in a row.  If it happens again tomorrow, I might dare to call it progress.


----------



## manicmonkey

wonderfuller said:


> We did not, grandma and grandpa took her while we were on!


Doh! We are not lucky enough to have a grandparent along when we go.


----------



## ironband74

Still down...looks like a full cycle situation.


----------



## ironband74

Hey, look, it's back up .

I'm just having fun with the conjecture because it's all I've got, with no trips scheduled in the near future. My engineer side enjoys thinking through the scenarios.   The coolest job I can imagine right now would be as a QA /failure analysis engineer on this beast.

I have reasons for my optimism, though.   The system will improve and eventually meet a minimum standard of reliability. 
It'll take time to get there, but it will. 

At least ticket prices didn't go up with the debut. If they had, I'd probably cry foul. 

In a year... maybe two... we'll be trying to remember what the problem was.


----------



## JWelch62

ironband74 said:


> Hey, look, it's back up .
> 
> I'm just having fun with the conjecture because it's all I've got, with no trips scheduled in the near future. My engineer side enjoys thinking through the scenarios.   The coolest job I can imagine right now would be as a QA /failure analysis engineer on this beast.
> 
> I have reasons for my optimism, though.   The system will improve and eventually meet a minimum standard of reliability.
> It'll take time to get there, but it will.
> 
> At least ticket prices didn't go up with the debut. If they had, I'd probably cry foul.
> 
> In a year... maybe two... we'll be trying to remember what the problem was.


I was shocked that I was able to renew my AP without a price hike this year.


----------



## dina444444

JWelch62 said:


> I was shocked that I was able to renew my AP without a price hike this year.


They’ve done that before. There were two years my pass was the same price before skyrocketing up this past year. Let’s hope we can make it to July without another price hike.


----------



## mmkaiser

Fearing long lines at the entrance gate, I got 7:30 AM reservations for our family at the Plaza Inn for Minnie & Friends breakfast so that we would be in the park for sure by 8AM to get our ROTR BG.  I thought maybe that would allow us to bypass some crowds if things were backed up.  So, several questions... anyone know what our chances of getting cell reception to get our ROTR BG from the Plaza Inn?  Not sure if we can run off from breakfast to the flagpole with our phones.  Also, if the crowds are really bad then since they do seem to be opening the gates around 7:30 will we be able to jump any lines if we have reservations in the park?  I remember many years ago there was a separate gate opened for us when we had reservations before the park opened.  (This is for Saturday, 2/15 - park opens at 8AM and it is a MM/EMH day).


----------



## Winnowill

One time, prior to MP, I left our Plaza Inn breakfast to run over to Splash Mountain to get a FP. No problem - just left everyone else at breakfast.


----------



## deejdigsdis

I'm curious...has anyone following this thread and utilizing the tips shared NOT gotten a Boarding Group?  It seems like most people returning to post are sharing which BG they ended up with.  I get that's more exciting to post than sharing a BG wasn't secured.  Just curious.


----------



## DLgal

mmkaiser said:


> Fearing long lines at the entrance gate, I got 7:30 AM reservations for our family at the Plaza Inn for Minnie & Friends breakfast so that we would be in the park for sure by 8AM to get our ROTR BG.  I thought maybe that would allow us to bypass some crowds if things were backed up.  So, several questions... anyone know what our chances of getting cell reception to get our ROTR BG from the Plaza Inn?  Not sure if we can run off from breakfast to the flagpole with our phones.  Also, if the crowds are really bad then since they do seem to be opening the gates around 7:30 will we be able to jump any lines if we have reservations in the park?  I remember many years ago there was a separate gate opened for us when we had reservations before the park opened.  (This is for Saturday, 2/15 - park opens at 8AM and it is a MM/EMH day).



With AT&T, Plaza Inn is one of the spots in the parks with the fastest network speeds. You should be fine there.


----------



## DLgal

deejdigsdis said:


> I'm curious...has anyone following this thread and utilizing the tips shared NOT gotten a Boarding Group?  It seems like most people returning to post are sharing which BG they ended up with.  I get that's more exciting to post than sharing a BG wasn't secured.  Just curious.



Yep. I didn't get one the first time I tried. All my buttons remained greyed out. Many people on this thread have reported having multiple people in their party trying at the same time and only one person actually scoring them, while experiencing various glitches and errors on other phones.


----------



## Fuzeon

ironband74 said:


> A lot of that depends on what your priorities are beyond ROTR.
> 
> If it were me, I'd use the opening afternoon/evening to enjoy Galaxy's edge, maybe do the Cantina (get a reservation ASAP if you want to do this), and any other GE experiences (Droid/Lightsaber etc), hit the Millenium Falcon, and maybe some other attractions in DL.
> 
> Thursday would be MM in DL, so I'd plan on that - enjoy MM and attempt a BG.
> 
> Friday would be EMH in DCA, so I'd plan on that...depending on if you rode ROTR the day previous you might bug out early to go scan into DL so you can get a BG. Or you could just make this your DCA day and not worry about it. You could also gamble and go over to DL after EMH is over since on Fridays the backup BGs have so far lasted over half an hour, so if you got over there say 10 after 8 you could probably get a backup with a decent shot at riding.
> 
> Saturday is again MM in DL.
> 
> I can't speak to doing security at GCH, only that most folks for the DCA EMH agree that using the main gate is better than trying to use the GCH entrance to get in.
> 
> Have a great trip.



Thank you for your response! I took your advice from my previous post and have planned Wednesday after we arrive for GE and maybe some other big rides. We have a 5 pm reservation for Oga’s, just to grab a drink, then will head somewhere in the park or DTD for dinner. Park closes at 8, which is 10 our time, so kids should be ready for bed in order to wake up in time for MM next day.

I’ve read all the entire thread, but can’t remember what time is recommended to arrive at the turnstiles for DL MM?


----------



## brightlined

One thing I wanted to add about my experiences on Monday and Tuesday (S10/Android):

As mentioned before, I had tremendous luck on Monday getting Group 1. 

Tuesday was different.

On Tuesday, I set up the same situation in relatively the same spot. At 9:00am, I went through the same process, and was shocked to get the gray button. I blanked for a second - through all of my practicing at home, I'd never had that happen. I heard people cheering before my brain reminded me to go to My Status, and I managed to get BG 51.

Afterward, I thought about, and realized that I had been a lot less meticulous in prepping on Tuesday (probably out of a little bit of hubris from Monday), and I think one major thing had an impact.

On Monday, I opened the DL app, booked an FP, then Force Stopped the app and cleared its cache, and re-opened it at 8:59am.

On Tuesday, I opened the DL app, booked an FP, then re-opened the app at 8:59am.

I think the Force Stop and cache-clearing on the app made a difference. We've had that discussion before about the Info page resisting a reload after an initial load, and I know I loaded that page before I booked the FP.

So I think the Force Stop / Clear Cache on the DL app might be a helpful part of the process if it's not already on people's list.

(On Android, go to Apps > Disneyland. Force Stop is at the bottom of the first page, Clear Cache is under Storage. Just make sure not to Clear Data.)

Btw - BG 51 ended up being absolutely perfect for the day. My good fortune came around in a completely different way than Monday. (Though I honestly thought it was almost unfair that I got two great rides in two days while people later that day had to suffer through all of that downtime.)

I needed to leave DL around 2pm. I ended up getting called just after 1pm, so I finished in perfect time - my last ride of the trip. I walked off the ride, headed out to the Esplanade, and said goodbye to two and a half absolutely lovely days at Disneyland.


----------



## deejdigsdis

DLgal said:


> Yep. I didn't get one the first time I tried. All my buttons remained greyed out. Many people on this thread have reported having multiple people in their party trying at the same time and only one person actually scoring them, while experiencing various glitches and errors on other phones.



The glitches/errors would be especially frustrating when you are familiar with the process of how to get a BG.  I have to wonder about the people who are less in-the-know, and what those statistics are.   Just thinking of my SIL who is going in a few months.   I needed to correct a lot of info she has received regarding BG attempts.  Glad I had this thread to prepare me before I went last week.


----------



## unveilmyeyes

DLgal said:


> No, like an extra hour!  We woke up at 6:45 today to be there by 8, for a park open at 9.
> 
> I usually can wake up at 8 or 8:30 and be there by 9:15.



Did you read your post before sending? You have an hour fifteen both cases. And why show up at 8 when you don’t need to be there til 8:55?


----------



## Skyegirl1999

unveilmyeyes said:


> Did you read your post before sending? You have an hour fifteen both cases. And why show up at 8 when you don’t need to be there til 8:55?


Ummm... this is a weird response.

I’m not the poster you’re responding to, but we live close as well.  Currently, if the park opens at 8, I’d typically leave my house at about 7:45 and be fine getting in between 8:15-8:30.  That’s what we usually do... sometimes we get lucky with timing and get in pretty close to rope drop, sometimes we’re in up to half an hour later. That’s about the same time we leave for school each day, so it doesn’t involve “getting up early” or any real effort on our part.

There is a *substantial* difference between that and last Sunday, when we left our house at 6:30am, which involved waking up at 6.  Getting out of our house at 6:30 is a FAR CRY from 7:45.  And that was pretty much necessary to ensure we’d get in to have a chance at a BG... we had 20 minutes to spare, so you could argue we could have left at 6:50 (still earlier than I’d be out of bed on a normal Disney day); HOWEVER, there’s so many variables to being *certain* you’re in by park open that that’s not really a fair claim. 20 minutes isn’t a huge cushion given all of the potential delays.


----------



## socaldisneylover

Looks like 95 is the last group called today.


----------



## dina444444

socaldisneylover said:


> Looks like 95 is the last group called today.


Thank you


----------



## dina444444

The chart:


----------



## Aurora0427

manicmonkey said:


> Doh! We are not lucky enough to have a grandparent along when we go.



Lol we had grandparents and I could tell my mother was going to run my husband down if he attempted to ride first  Grammy was getting on ROTR. Ha. My poor husband stayed with the kids while I rode with my parents. He then had to leave to go to the airport for a conference. But we are local and my parents aren’t, and he’s a Star Trek fan (gasp!) so I think it all worked out properly! 

My point is the OP has really nice grandparents!


----------



## ZCarroll

karrit2000 said:


> Anyone have any experience with using xfinity mobile trying to get a bg?  I've only seen people mention the big service providers, Verizon, Sprint, AT & T and T mobile.



I'm wondering this as well... I may have missed it but I think I still haven't read anyone mention trying to get a BG with xfinity?  We are actually thinking of switching sometime soon, but maybe not as soon if it makes any difference in Disneyland!


----------



## franandaj

I'm here at DHS hoping the process is basically the same here as discussed on this thread. I spent an hour on my phone last night with tech support, removing people from my app that I haven't toured with in years.

Crossing my fingers!


----------



## disneyholic family

deejdigsdis said:


> The glitches/errors would be especially frustrating when you are familiar with the process of how to get a BG.  I have to wonder about the people who are less in-the-know, and what those statistics are.   Just thinking of my SIL who is going in a few months.   I needed to correct a lot of info she has received regarding BG attempts.  Glad I had this thread to prepare me before I went last week.



my daughter and son in law will be at DHS in the summer.
Today when were were working out her schedule so that she could book her ADRs today, i opened up my app to show her how to get a BG.
She refused to even look, claiming they won't be doing it that way in the summer.
Time will tell, but i can't see the demand going down any time soon, so i don't know why they would change the process.
But she was adamant that she didn't want to see.  Oh well. She has time before then, but i didn't quite get why it was such a big deal.  I'm not going until October (to DL), but i still find it all fascinating. 

.


----------



## theluckyrabbit

unveilmyeyes said:


> Did you read your post before sending? You have an hour fifteen both cases. And why show up at 8 when you don’t need to be there til 8:55?


I don't know how closely you've been following this thread, but getting to the gates at 8:55 am for a 9 am opening isn't going to get you anywhere NEAR the turnstiles in time to be inside DL when the BGs are released for the day. It's fine if you don't want a BG. But if your goal is to ride ROTR, as the OP's goal was, then you need to plan for plenty of time to park, go through bag check, get to the gates, wait in the line (which might be all the way back to DCA and curving back around), get through the DL turnstiles, and find a spot with good cell reception -- all before park opening so you can be ready to go to get a BG. All of that is not going to happen if you show up at 8:55 for a 9:00 opening. And with two special needs kids in tow like the OP had? Playing it safe with more time is wise.


----------



## Beachwood58

My first ever trip to DL is coming up near the end of this month. I will be solo and can do what I want, when I want. I am hoping to get a BG for ROTR and am crossing my fingers that the process smooths out a little more before my trip. I will be driving  by myself, from our airBNB near Beverly Hills to the park. I am not familiar with the route, traffic (although I know it's HORRENDOUS), easiest parking, etc. Any help/suggestions would be greatly appreciated! Also, what else in the park is a must-do for a first time (possibly only time) visitor?


----------



## theluckyrabbit

Beachwood58 said:


> My first ever trip to DL is coming up near the end of this month. I will be solo and can do what I want, when I want. I am hoping to get a BG for ROTR and am crossing my fingers that the process smooths out a little more before my trip. I will be driving  by myself, from our airBNB near Beverly Hills to the park. I am not familiar with the route, traffic (although I know it's HORRENDOUS), easiest parking, etc. Any help/suggestions would be greatly appreciated! Also, what else in the park is a must-do for a first time (possibly only time) visitor?


For traffic, use Google and Waze -- and look at them before your visit to get an idea of what the traffic might be like on your travel day (date, time, etc.). Coming from BH, you'll most likely be parking in the Mickey & Friends/Pixar Pals structures. As the first page information states, the structure/s open 90 minutes before park opening. Parking is $25/day, with in/out privileges. From there, you'll go through bag check and either take the tram or walk to the gates -- your choice.
It seems you have WDW experience, so this thread will have good information for you: A DLR Guide for WDW Vets .
For first time visit suggestions, try asking in a new thread so this thread doesn't get sidetracked.
ETA: We have many solo visitors to DLR -- many of whom are regular solo visitors! -- who will be more than happy to help you with planning your day. Do a search on this forum for solo visits/solo trip planning. You'll find lots of information.


----------



## cuteinnocent

Omg, after practicing for all these weeks finally driving down from Bay Area tonight.  One day in the park tomorrow, will have 7 phones trying for our group. Already nervous,  lol.


----------



## aymiewilson

DLgal said:


> With AT&T, Plaza Inn is one of the spots in the parks with the fastest network speeds. You should be fine there.



I can confirm this. Our third and final day of the trip, we were back towards the Corn dog cart right outside Plaza Inn. I had the fastest upload and download speeds I’d seen (I downloaded the speed test app prior to the trip.)I have ATT. Although it was my friend on Verizon who actually got the BG first that day. So maybe it’s a good spot in general.


----------



## ironband74

OK, I know that there are a lot of folks out there who think this ride is a hot mess.  And for now, you're probably right.  We've now been in operation for 3 weeks total.  

Performance of the attraction in WDW does not inspire much in the way of hope. At the same time, there are variables at play between Batuu East and Batuu West that make comparison and forecasting based on what's happening at one and applying it to the other problematic.

So , on this 22nd day of operation, I present a few data points which might be early indicators that our attraction is making incremental improvements:

1. If we compare the first 10 days of operation to the second ten days of operation, We can see that the best days of the second ten days were better than the best days of the first ten days. We can also see that the worst days of the second ten days were better than the worst days of the first ten days. This holds true for boarding groups, rates of load, and time spent in delay. 

2. The last four days of operation have seen decent morning reliability, with the first extended breakdown not happening until at least 4.5 hours into operations. If you look at the data for the 17 days prior, you see only 3,(maybe 4) days which meet that criteria,and they are not consecutive. If we see good morning reliability today, it will suggest that something changed this week with regard to the overnight maintenance, or some root cause of morning failure was tied off. Yes, it could be luck and noise, but when something changes for 5 days in a row it typically means something is improving. 

3. Start times this week have also been more consistent. The last four days we have seen 3 days start loading 15 minutes after opening. All week we've seen low start numbers. If this holds, it is a good sign. Yes, we've seen this before, but in concert with #2 it feels more relevant.

4. This is kind of a small deal, but I mention it - for the first time yesterday DL increased the number of regular groups by 2. Contrast this to WDW decreasing their regular groups. It will be interesting to see if this holds today, or if they go back to the 71 groups we customarily have.

Now some of you will say this is all very premature, and you would be right. We really shouldn't be looking for statistically relevant improvement until we've been at this for a few months. We're really just setting the baseline here still...but I'm impatient and like to look at the data and try to predict trends.


----------



## HydroGuy

cuteinnocent said:


> Omg, after practicing for all these weeks finally driving down from Bay Area tonight.  One day in the park tomorrow, will have 7 phones trying for our group. Already nervous,  lol.


----------



## ironband74

disneyholic family said:


> my daughter and son in law will be at DHS in the summer.
> Today when were were working out her schedule so that she could book her ADRs today, i opened up my app to show her how to get a BG.
> She refused to even look, claiming they won't be doing it that way in the summer.
> Time will tell, but i can't see the demand going down any time soon, so i don't know why they would change the process.
> But she was adamant that she didn't want to see.  Oh well. She has time before then, but i didn't quite get why it was such a big deal.  I'm not going until October (to DL), but i still find it all fascinating.
> 
> .


It is possible that by summer we won't be doing boarding groups.  Demand will be there, but if reliability rises to the point where breakdowns are further and fewer between, capacity will increase, and it could operate more like a regular attraction.  I'm not sure if they'll get to that point quite so quickly, but it isn't outside the realm of possibility.  Four months is a fair amount of time.


----------



## ironband74

Twitter makes it look like the Esplanade is slammed.  Can anyone report when they opened the gates today?


----------



## thedarksyde

They opened at 7:21.  My friend is there today and I am walking her through it all.


----------



## thedarksyde

She got Boarding Pass 20.  How do you know what passes they start with and when do they start calling passes?


----------



## ironband74

Regular groups out at 8:02:10


----------



## AmyJamer

ironband74 said:


> Regular groups out at 8:02:10


An extra minute sounds like a lot these days!


----------



## ironband74

thedarksyde said:


> She got Boarding Pass 20.  How do you know what passes they start with and when do they start calling passes?


On the app they have a "Now Boarding" section.  She'll see numbers start popping up there when they start boarding.  She can also go to "My Status" to get a status update.

This week they've started calling within the first 40 minutes of park opening. We'll see if that holds today.

Once the backup passes are gone, they will also indicate which passes are backups in the message on the app.  This will give a clue to which pass they start with.


----------



## laugard

HydroGuy said:


> Sorry about your day! If you can get to the Esplande at 8AM you should be fine getting thru the DL tunrstiles for a 9AM park opening.
> 
> There will be separate turnstiles and lines for MM and EMH. Get in a regular non-MM/EMH line. DL will open those turnstiles probaby by 8:15-8:30 to let you into the park. But you will be held somewhere on Main Street or maybe as far as the hub.
> 
> Then follow advice here to find a place where your phone has good speed, make sure you have the latest DLR app downloaded, and work to get a BG at 9AM sharp.



HydroGuy, this is delayed, but thank you so much for your reply the other day. (Sorry it wasn't sooner - I fell asleep after reading your message and woke up at 5:45 to get to the park.) But with no experience with MM/EMH, having you share your thoughts about what to expect and 8 a.m. being sufficient to get in by 9 was very reassuring and appreciated. Thanks again!

I plan to share an update shortly about our second experience with the BG process!


----------



## ImDMous

We'll be trying tomorrow morning.  Friend is there this morning and got BG 19 and I've been practicing.  I think I would have got one this morning also, go to the Not So Fast page since I wasn't scanned in.  So excited, work is going to be really Looooong today....


----------



## ironband74

Lowest group I've seen posted to twitter today is 11, so it is possible that they are having a delayed start.  Looking at the data I see that Friday has always started at 11 (or 12 on the first day) with 81 being the last regular group.


----------



## BigOHawk

Backups still available at 9:23!


----------



## BigOHawk

Park open until midnight tonight...wonder if the record will be challenged, what is it, 130 ish total BG's?


----------



## njchris

I got boarding group 10.
Left ten mins late so lucky there was no line at security at downtown Disney walking from parking structure.  Got in at 7:51. .


----------



## ironband74

BigOHawk said:


> Park open until midnight tonight...wonder if the record will be challenged, what is it, 130 ish total BG's?


The record is 131 groups called.  That was last Saturday.  But the park being open until midnight doesn't do much for us since the attraction shuts down around 10 for maintenance anyhow.  We expect last BGs to be called between 8:30 and 9.


----------



## SOCALMouseMommy

I played along from home today but with higher stakes. I was helping a friend and her family to try to get a boarding group. First DL visit for her boys (5 and 8) and first visit for her and her husband since the kids were born. Boarding group 34!


----------



## AmyJamer

ironband74 said:


> The record is 131 groups called.  That was last Saturday.  But the park being open until midnight doesn't do much for us since the attraction shuts down around 10 for maintenance anyhow.  We expect last BGs to be called between 8:30 and 9.


 That’s nice of you! I’m still trying to find someone reliable to help when we go


----------



## BigOHawk

Backup BG's still going strong at 8:47, wow! Quiet Friday at DL with no EMH and an early open?


----------



## ironband74

Group 10 now boarding.  Backups still available at 8:54


----------



## BigOHawk

Looks like record for backups is 75 minutes..wonder if we will get close?


----------



## DLgal

unveilmyeyes said:


> Did you read your post before sending? You have an hour fifteen both cases. And why show up at 8 when you don’t need to be there til 8:55?



We had to wake up extra early because there had been no consistency as to when DL was opening up the gates to let people in. Some days, it's an hour ahead, some days 20 minutes. I needed to account for the fact that they may not open the gates until 8:30 for a 9am opening, security lines, etc. There are a lot of variables. 

The first time we attempted, on a Sunday, it was an 8:00 opening. We left the house at 7:10. Arrived to MASSIVE security lines at the parking structure at 7:25. Decided to walk. MASSIVE lines at Downtown Disney security. Literally RAN through DtD and arrived to long lines in the esplanade at 7:45. Just barely made it into the park at around 7:55. 

We didn't want to repeat that experience the second time. So we STILL woke up at 6:45 but this time it was a 9am opening. It was a Monday, though, not a Sunday. Lines were nonexistent at the parking structure security and although the lines were long at the turnstiles, they opened them promptly at 8 and we were in 8 minutes later. On this day, we *could* have slept in until 7:30 or even 8 and still made it in by 9, but there is no way to know that ahead of time. It's a roll of the dice every time.


----------



## ironband74

BigOHawk said:


> Backup BG's still going strong at 8:47, wow! Quiet Friday at DL with no EMH and an early open?





BigOHawk said:


> Looks like record for backups is 75 minutes..wonder if we will get close?


Maybe.  Wednesdays and Fridays seem to be the "Big Red" of backup boarding groups.


----------



## dina444444

Backups are gone now. No number yet.


----------



## ironband74

My button is greyed out as of 9:12am


----------



## ironband74

81 is the first backup.


----------



## njchris

Ugh it’s down before I got to the line


----------



## ironband74

Well...shoot.  There goes my theory.  They couldn't go 15 minutes without falling apart.


----------



## JWelch62

ironband74 said:


> 81 is the first backup.


Just a SWAG, but if you plan for 10 BGs/hr then backups would start around 4:00 PM. The park closes at midnight, but ROTR will probably close at 10. I would estimate that the backup BGs went to 140. (80 + (6hrs * 10BG/hr))

Does anyone have anything above 140?


----------



## pharmama

ZCarroll said:


> I'm wondering this as well... I may have missed it but I think I still haven't read anyone mention trying to get a BG with xfinity?  We are actually thinking of switching sometime soon, but maybe not as soon if it makes any difference in Disneyland!



Xfinity uses the Verizon network so you should be fine.


----------



## JWelch62

njchris said:


> Ugh it’s down before I got to the line


On the bright side, you're not stuck in line.


----------



## Bigrob37

JWelch62 said:


> On the bright side, you're not stuck in line.


I got boarding group 11 and stuck in line... 30 minutes so far..


----------



## JWelch62

Bigrob37 said:


> I got boarding group 11 and stuck in line... 30 minutes so far..


Uggh.


----------



## DLRExpert

This video starting at the 2 minute mark is a great example as to why you only want the tickets that are going to be in the park for the day scanned into your Disneyland App.
As he was removing the tickets that are not in the park his return time got later and later.






ME


----------



## Cupcaker

We got to the esplanade at 7:10 and was backed up to DCA. They started letting people in around 7:20. We got in about 7:35. I stood in front of the hat shop next to great moments with Abraham Lincoln. Got BG 11 on an iPhone XR on sprint. There were full bars there. They started calling BGs around 9am. They started with 10. We went in promptly right after. Went through the entire line, and as soon as we were going to board, it broke down. They gave us passes to come back anytime today. Glad we didn’t have to wait there!


----------



## montreid

yeah 2minutes!    100% improvement  
crowds that much lower on a Friday?  Interesting.


----------



## thedarksyde

Boarding group 20 was just called, so I guess it is back open.


----------



## lalasmama

Any thoughts about how long they will keep BGs going? 

Thinking of my Parkeology plan for May.... Trying to figure out the best schedule 3 months in advance, hahahaha!


----------



## HydroGuy

ironband74 said:


> Well...shoot.  There goes my theory.  They couldn't go 15 minutes without falling apart.


The Jawas decided to mix things up?


----------



## ironband74

thedarksyde said:


> Boarding group 20 was just called, so I guess it is back open.


Yeah...now let's see if it stays up.  Fingers crossed!


----------



## ironband74

lalasmama said:


> Any thoughts about how long they will keep BGs going?
> 
> Thinking of my Parkeology plan for May.... Trying to figure out the best schedule 3 months in advance, hahahaha!


Plan for the worst, hope for the best.

I would hope that by May the shakedown is done and this thing has 95% uptime and BGs are no longer necessary.

But it is possible that it will take longer and BGs will remain part of life through the summer or beyond.


----------



## vickiea

montreid said:


> yeah 2minutes!    100% improvement
> crowds that much lower on a Friday?  Interesting.


Ugh, the lines to get in today were crazy. 

They handled them pretty efficiently, although the CM that dropped my daughters ticket while scanning it at 7:59 stressed me out. Then she asked us why everyone was cheering and yelling. I wanted to I ask her which rock she lived under.


----------



## SOCALMouseMommy

vickiea said:


> Then she asked us why everyone was cheering and yelling.



SERIOUSLY???? That is kind of frightening.


----------



## LizzyS

brightlined said:


> One thing I wanted to add about my experiences on Monday and Tuesday (S10/Android):
> 
> As mentioned before, I had tremendous luck on Monday getting Group 1.
> 
> Tuesday was different.
> 
> On Tuesday, I set up the same situation in relatively the same spot. At 9:00am, I went through the same process, and was shocked to get the gray button. I blanked for a second - through all of my practicing at home, I'd never had that happen. I heard people cheering before my brain reminded me to go to My Status, and I managed to get BG 51.
> 
> Afterward, I thought about, and realized that I had been a lot less meticulous in prepping on Tuesday (probably out of a little bit of hubris from Monday), and I think one major thing had an impact.
> 
> On Monday, I opened the DL app, booked an FP, then Force Stopped the app and cleared its cache, and re-opened it at 8:59am.
> 
> On Tuesday, I opened the DL app, booked an FP, then re-opened the app at 8:59am.
> 
> I think the Force Stop and cache-clearing on the app made a difference. We've had that discussion before about the Info page resisting a reload after an initial load, and I know I loaded that page before I booked the FP.
> 
> So I think the Force Stop / Clear Cache on the DL app might be a helpful part of the process if it's not already on people's list.
> 
> (On Android, go to Apps > Disneyland. Force Stop is at the bottom of the first page, Clear Cache is under Storage. Just make sure not to Clear Data.)
> 
> Btw - BG 51 ended up being absolutely perfect for the day. My good fortune came around in a completely different way than Monday. (Though I honestly thought it was almost unfair that I got two great rides in two days while people later that day had to suffer through all of that downtime.)
> 
> I needed to leave DL around 2pm. I ended up getting called just after 1pm, so I finished in perfect time - my last ride of the trip. I walked off the ride, headed out to the Esplanade, and said goodbye to two and a half absolutely lovely days at Disneyland.



Thank you so much for the clear cache tip!  I knew to Force Stop, but had no clue about this, too!


----------



## njchris

LizzyS said:


> Thank you so much for the clear cache tip!  I knew to Force Stop, but had no clue about this, too!


Use the Force, Luke


----------



## SOCALMouseMommy

My friend and her family boarded the ride, got a certain way through and then it broke down. They were escorted off and given multiple experience passes.


----------



## ironband74

ROTR today be like:





And I had such high hopes.


----------



## ironband74

And we're back up.  Can we go 6 hours straight to make a run at a decent day?  Show us what you got!


----------



## ironband74

NOPE.




It's going to be a rough day for the resistance.

At this point I realize that my commentary is very far afield from getting boarding groups, and so I shall cease.  I may start a separate thread on failure modes.


----------



## JWelch62

ironband74 said:


> NOPE.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> It's going to be a rough day for the resistance.
> 
> At this point I realize that my commentary is very far afield from getting boarding groups, and so I shall cease.  I may start a separate thread on failure modes.


That would be a good thread


----------



## Beachwood58

ImDMous said:


> We'll be trying tomorrow morning.  Friend is there this morning and got BG 19 and I've been practicing.  I think I would have got one this morning also, go to the Not So Fast page since I wasn't scanned in.  So excited, work is going to be really Looooong today....


How does one "practice" this? I just watched a video of someone obtaining a BG and am seeing they are typically GONE in about one minute.....should I just resign myself to touring without this on my plan?


----------



## unveilmyeyes

Beachwood58 said:


> How does one "practice" this? I just watched a video of someone obtaining a BG and am seeing they are typically GONE in about one minute.....should I just resign myself to touring without this on my plan?



You resign yourself to getting to the park before it opens! A minute is a long time if you're paying attention!


----------



## ironband74

Beachwood58 said:


> How does one "practice" this? I just watched a video of someone obtaining a BG and am seeing they are typically GONE in about one minute.....should I just resign myself to touring without this on my plan?


You practice by essentially seeing how your hardware best gets you to an active "join boarding group" button at park opening time, which you can do even if you aren't in the park and/or don't have any tickets.  It gets you used to how the process works and how your hardware might behave (I say might because there have been reports of things going awry in the parks) and what buttons to tap and when.


----------



## MommyLove

ironband74 said:


> ... At this point I realize that my commentary is very far afield from getting boarding groups, and so I shall cease.  I may start a separate thread on failure modes.




Personally, I like having the break down info & chatter on this thread...


----------



## Sarahelizabeth

MommyLove said:


> Personally, I like having the break down info & chatter on this thread...



Me too.  When I get bored at work I come here for entertainment.    Now, I might not be laughing when it is me stuck in line next week but until then....


----------



## hjgaus

We are hanging out in our villa *right now (3:10pm) waiting for our BG # 59 to pop up! 
NOW showing BG 47 - 58  so we shall head into park NOW.... BYE!!!*


----------



## StarGirl11

This week seems like it’s oddly rough for the ride. This is what day 3 where we keep having major down time.


----------



## ironband74

StarGirl11 said:


> This week seems like it’s oddly rough for the ride. This is what day 3 where we keep having major down time.


We've had about 3 hours of down time today so far.  And yeah, yesterday and Wednesday were both rough after 2pm with about 4 hours of downtime.


----------



## brightlined

Seems like things have been rough since I left on Tuesday afternoon. Would it help if I went back? Should I set up a GoFundMe? I'm more than happy to make this sacrifice.


----------



## IsleofDisney

ironband74 said:


> We've had about 3 hours of down time today so far.  And yeah, yesterday and Wednesday were both rough after 2pm with about 4 hours of downtime.



That's a lot of phones being dropped in the attraction and  breaking the ride


----------



## ironband74

IsleofDisney said:


> That's a lot of phones being dropped in the attraction and  breaking the ride


Riiiighhttt.


----------



## ironband74

Well, we just hit the last of the regular groups.  We've been operating 2 hours continuously.  Hopefully they can keep it together...It could still be a slightly above average day!


----------



## socaldisneylover

Assuming no breakdowns, it has a chance to get into the mid 130's.  If I had to put money on it, I would not bet on that, and would go with around 120 as the final result.


----------



## ironband74

Hmm...a 26 group spread. They're doing ok for now.


----------



## julietcf14

First off, thank you guys so much for all the advice and updates.

question: my husband and I are going March 5th.  We have a park hopper ticket for the day AND tickets for the Pixar after hours party at CA that night. When it comes to deselecting once I have hit “join boarding group” will having two tickets for the same day affect us? If so, how can I fix this?

Thanks!!


----------



## dina444444

julietcf14 said:


> First off, thank you guys so much for all the advice and updates.
> 
> question: my husband and I are going March 5th.  We have a park hopper ticket for the day AND tickets for the Pixar after hours party at CA that night. When it comes to deselecting once I have hit “join boarding group” will having two tickets for the same day affect us? If so, how can I fix this?
> 
> Thanks!!


Just make sure you select your park hopper ticket and not your party ticket. If you are sure which is which them all selected then on the next page it will ask you to remove who is not their by individual ticket and you will click remove from party at that point then go forward.


----------



## julietcf14

dina444444 said:


> Just make sure you select your park hopper ticket and not your party ticket. If you are sure which is which them all selected then on the next page it will ask you to remove who is not their by individual ticket and you will click remove from party at that point then go forward.


Thanks!  I will makes sure I pay attention to the numbers of the tickets!


----------



## ironband74

socaldisneylover said:


> Assuming no breakdowns, it has a chance to get into the mid 130's.  If I had to put money on it, I would not bet on that, and would go with around 120 as the final result.



Well, she had a good 3.5 hour stint, pulling over 50BGs...but she just can't seem to stay on her feet today...


----------



## JWelch62

ironband74 said:


> Well, she had a good 3.5 hour stint, pulling over 50BGs...but she just can't seem to stay on her feet today...


And we're back up!


----------



## ironband74

JWelch62 said:


> And we're back up!


Amazing!  A quick control thrust, and he's back on course!


----------



## SOCALMouseMommy

Man, what a day for this ride. I felt so bad for my friend and her family getting escorted out but they ended up riding later and said it was amazing.


----------



## 94bruin

Beachwood58 said:


> How does one "practice" this? I just watched a video of someone obtaining a BG and am seeing they are typically GONE in about one minute.....should I just resign myself to touring without this on my plan?


You can actually practice the first few steps at home. You just won't get all the way to the end. You'll stop at the screen that asks about the tickets.


----------



## vickiea

We rode around 6pm for BG 78 (we didn’t go there right when we were called).

It was a quick process, in and out in 20-30 minutes, I didn’t time it exactly. Somethings are not running the ‘main’ way, but are running in their ‘backup’ way. 

Still a great ride and the ‘changes’ don’t take away from the experience.

I hope it holds together for many more BG’s today.


----------



## jxhide

Does anyone know what time the Mickey parking lot will open tomorrow?


----------



## ironband74

The drama is real.  We go from early breakdowns to the best Friday ever for the attraction.  I'm not sure if when I actually go on the attraction if it will be quite as exciting as watching all of this unfold from my bunker.


jxhide said:


> Does anyone know what time the Mickey parking lot will open tomorrow?



Tomorrow is 8AM open, so M&F will open at 6:30AM as per the custom.


----------



## dina444444

Up to 129. Wonder what time they will or did stop calling numbers.


----------



## ironband74

Looks like they are making a final push for BGs...


----------



## ironband74

dina444444 said:


> Up to 129. Wonder what time they will or did stop calling numbers.


They're still calling...129 was just called about 2 minutes ago.  My guess is 8:30.


----------



## montreid

I NEED MY CHARTS!


----------



## ironband74

montreid said:


> I NEED MY CHARTS!


Patience...I'm just waiting for them to stop calling...


----------



## ironband74

OK, looks like 131 is it for the night unless they pull a fast one...
Best Friday ever, despite the slow start.


----------



## theluckyrabbit

jxhide said:


> Does anyone know what time the Mickey parking lot will open tomorrow?


This is answered on the first page of this superthread. Look at the second post for the information on the parking structure and parking lot.


----------



## theluckyrabbit

Hey, all you Resistance fighters! Send positive thoughts and use the Force for @EmJ  -- MIA right now for a family emergency and very much missed on this board! 
We miss you, Girl, and hope to see you back here soon. Hope that things are well with you and your family.


----------



## MinnieMama09

Standing in line now at 7… It looks like all gates are magic morning, does anyone know if there a particular lines we should stand in if we don’t have magic morning?


----------



## Etonduf

Just a couple of quick data points from my phone before we head home after two days in the park.

We got BG 27 Thursday near The Mad Hatter and BG 25 at the entrance to Adventureland. Both were my 10-year-old on an iPhone 6S using Mint Mobile, which resells bandwidth from T-Mobile and throttles speed significantly whenever the network is busy. It’s not unusual for her to have significant bandwidth issues in busy parts of town around home, so we were shocked she got it. The rest of the group was two newer iPhones on AT&T and two newer iPhones at home.

Process was closing all open apps, started DLR app about 5 mins mins ahead. Pressed Find Out More when she saw the :59 change to :00. Both days, the button was gray so she went to My Status and got right in. She had practiced a lot at home and decided  My Status worked better than backing out, though I disagreed and ping ponged back and forth in frustration. It’s hard to replicate at home because it always worked smoothly. I couldn’t believe the Mint Mobile phone beat out the two phones at home on WiFi.

A nearby group was trying to figure it out and I told them our plan. They got ahold of someone at home, who quickly installed the app  got them 53.

Rode both days without a hitch, including a great rider swap experience one day. Thursdays line lasted a bit longer but wasn’t that bad. Loved the ride, and found it well worth the hassle.

The BG process doesn’t bother me, but it did hold us hostage the rest of your day as we didn’t know we’d be called and felt we couldn’t do the parks the way we normally do. But again, well worth it.

Lines to get in Friday were really stressful. I was shocked to log in and not see reports of people unable to get in. Line just inside Harbor security went to DCA and wrapped BACK to DLP gates. Or at least that’s what everyone thought was happening, but it was really chaotic. Those people then turned around and crowded forward, essentially jumping a LOT of angry people.

Thanks to everyone who has been posting tips and data points.


----------



## Etonduf

MinnieMama09 said:


> Standing in line now at 7… It looks like all gates are magic morning, does anyone know if there a particular lines we should stand in if we don’t have magic morning?



On Thursday a few gates at the far right were normal Entrance. Don’t know if that’s standard practice or not.


----------



## IsleofDisney

theluckyrabbit said:


> Hey, all you Resistance fighters! Send positive thoughts and use the Force for @EmJ  -- MIA right now for a family emergency and very much missed on this board!
> We miss you, Girl, and hope to see you back here soon. Hope that things are well with you and your family.


@EmJ Sending prayers and good thoughts to you & your family. Hope to see you back on the boards soon!


----------



## ironband74

MinnieMama09 said:


> Standing in line now at 7… It looks like all gates are magic morning, does anyone know if there a particular lines we should stand in if we don’t have magic morning?


Usually the gates on the far right are regular entrance.  Though I'm guessing you know by now since Magic Morning started 15 minutes ago...


----------



## sarajoy

MinnieMama09 said:


> Standing in line now at 7… It looks like all gates are magic morning, does anyone know if there a particular lines we should stand in if we don’t have magic morning?


We’re here too and and almost every line is magic morning. I stood in 2 separate lines for a few minutes until I realized they were magic morning. Only a few lines on the far left (and probably far right- but haven’t checked) are normal. There are hundreds of people in this line already. We’re wrapped in a curve to the monorail and the line continues to downtown Disney. We got in this line a couple minutes before 7am.


----------



## mel2014

We're in line now. The far right and far left lines are non-Magic Morning and are wrapped around back by DCA. Security took about 20 minutes to get in.


----------



## ironband74

mel2014 said:


> We're in line now. The far right and far left lines are non-Magic Morning and are wrapped around back by DCA. Security took about 20 minutes to get in.


----------



## mel2014

ironband74 said:


>



It's ridiculous. We're still a long way back and not moving fast at all


----------



## ironband74

By now hopefully they've converted all the lines and ya'll are in the park or close to it.

May the Force Be With You, and good luck!


----------



## ironband74

Meanwhile, in my bunker:


----------



## casjen

Hello,

If I want to go to Disneyland park and it is not an EMH or Manic Morning then it will be regular entry time correct?  or is Magic morning an anytime perk if you qualify for it?

Trying to figure out the best ROTR line strategy and can't understand if this will be an issue or not.


----------



## ironband74

Regular groups gone at 8:01:00


----------



## mel2014

After a stressful entrance, got group 11 from Buena Vista street!


----------



## jackbo487

Wow, it’s a madhouse here. Hot dog cart, decent reception on ATT, app glitched and didn’t load boarding group so ended up with 99. Let’s hope the system goes smoothly today!


----------



## jackbo487

Oops double post


----------



## MinnieMama09

Yay!! We got group 28! Beyond excited! So nervous waiting, standing next to Jolly Holiday, hit join boarding group with app open right at 8:00


----------



## ironband74

As a first for a Saturday, backup groups still available at 8:05


----------



## sarajoy

Boarding group 24!! Stood in front of Plaza Inn. On data on a tracfone. We had 4 phones- 1 tracfone on wifi, 1 tracfone on data, 1 iPhone XR on T-Mobile on data, 1 Samsung galaxy s9 on Verizon on data. Tracfone on data for the win! What a crazy stressful morning!


----------



## Peachy0118

Playing at home... 13 minutes past and backups are still available? Really?


----------



## ironband74

It _is_ Saturday, right?

8:12 and backups still being distributed...


----------



## ironband74

mel2014 said:


> After a stressful entrance, got group 11 from Buena Vista street!


Nice grab!  That will probably be the first group of the day, maybe the second.  I haven't seen anything lower than 11 today.


----------



## ironband74

8:15 and we're done.  82 is the first backup today.

On twitter someone posted at 8:12 or so that they got group 128.


----------



## ironband74

jackbo487 said:


> Wow, it’s a madhouse here. Hot dog cart, decent reception on ATT, app glitched and didn’t load boarding group so ended up with 99. Let’s hope the system goes smoothly today!


We'll be pulling for you!


----------



## jackbo487

If today’s like yesterday and it’s smooth, when might I expect group 99 to be called? That is, give me hope! I need hope, people.


----------



## JWelch62

jackbo487 said:


> If today’s like yesterday and it’s smooth, when might I expect group 99 to be called? That is, give me hope! I need hope, people.


If you figure 10 BGs/hr (good day) you're looking 9 hoursish from first BG. Depending on what group is called first


----------



## ironband74

jackbo487 said:


> If today’s like yesterday and it’s smooth, when might I expect group 99 to be called? That is, give me hope! I need hope, people.


Yesterday was NOT smooth in the morning and early afternoon.  There were two length downtimes...but they had a pretty good late afternoon and evening that made up for it.

If it is like yesterday, you'd be called between 6 and 6:30 PM.

If they have a day like their best day ever (last Saturday) you'd be called between 5 and 5:30 PM

And if they have a perfect day, you might get called around 3PM.

May the Force Be With You.


----------



## ironband74

Now Boarding Group 11!

Go @mel2014 !


----------



## ironband74

ironband74 said:


> Yesterday was NOT smooth in the morning and early afternoon.  There were two length downtimes...but they had a pretty good late afternoon and evening that made up for it.
> 
> If it is like yesterday, you'd be called between 6 and 6:30 PM.
> 
> If they have a day like their best day ever (last Saturday) you'd be called between 5 and 5:30 PM
> 
> And if they have a perfect day, you might get called around 3PM.
> 
> May the Force Be With You.


Oh, and if it is like the worst Saturday ever... just before 8PM



Hopefully that gives you some hope.


----------



## mel2014

ironband74 said:


> Now Boarding Group 11!
> 
> Go @mel2014 !


 
Redeeming our Guardians FP now and then headed to ride. Crossing our fingers for no breakdowns.


----------



## disneygrandma

Anyone have Verizon?  Wondering what to expect.


----------



## ironband74

disneygrandma said:


> Anyone have Verizon?  Wondering what to expect.


Verizon Search on this Thread


----------



## disneygrandma

Thank you!  I appreciate that!


----------



## HydroGuy

Yes, regular time. EMH/MM at DL park are Saturday, Tuesday and Thursday.

https://disneyland.disney.go.com/guest-services/early-admission-options/


----------



## ironband74

casjen said:


> Hello,
> 
> If I want to go to Disneyland park and it is not an EMH or Manic Morning then it will be regular entry time correct?  or is Magic morning an anytime perk if you qualify for it?
> 
> Trying to figure out the best ROTR line strategy and can't understand if this will be an issue or not.


DL has magic morning/EMH on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday.

On those days, people with early entry privileges can enter the park an hour early.

On other days, everyone has the same opening time.

You might want to check out the Boarding Group thread.  Bottom line is that MM doesn't help you get a BG in most cases because BGs become available via the app at opening time to everyone who is in the park at that time.  MM might help you get in position at BG kiosk for a paper BG, but that's about it.


----------



## BobaFettFan

How hard is getting a boarding pass on the week days?  Is it like this every morning or just weekends?


----------



## ironband74

BobaFettFan said:


> How hard is getting a boarding pass on the week days?  Is it like this every morning or just weekends?


Every day is nutty, and almost every day the regular boarding groups are gone within a minute of park open (yesterday, though, they lasted for 2 min.  However, non MM days typically see backup BGs last much longer - though today we saw backups last for 15 minutes which was unheard of for a Saturday.


----------



## ironband74

I will not say anything...but...


----------



## socaldisneylover

I had been thinking of going tomorrow.  Sundays are my usual day since it is normally less crowded than Saturday.  I also still have 3 Sip & Savor passes for the Lunar New Year festival that have to be used by Monday.

I figured tomorrow might be even a little less busy due to the Academy Awards starting later in the afternoon.  So those who wanted to watch it probably won't wait around if they get a higher boarding group.

But now it sounds like a certainty that it will be raining all day tomorrow.  This morning, the forecast showed showers starting around sunrise, and continuing into the afternoon.  I suspect that many, like myself, who don't particularly relish walking around in the rain, won't bother going for the 8 AM "lottery."

While I could perhaps work around spending time at the parks in the rain, I don't relish the idea of driving to & from Disneyland in it.  Not to mention I wouldn't mind sleeping in tomorrow, especially if it's raining, so I'm starting to lean against going.  For those willing to brave it, I think the "guaranteed" groups might last a little bit longer, and even more likely would be the backup groups being available for lots of minutes.


----------



## mom2rtk

socaldisneylover said:


> For those willing to brave it, I think the "guaranteed" groups might last a little bit longer, and even more likely would be the backup groups being available for lots of minutes.


Unless @yulilin3 's theory is right and they really are just giving boarding groups to everyone for the first minute of the day.


----------



## montreid

ironband74 said:


> I will not say anything...but...
> View attachment 472078


Yeah rocking a 24 group spread right now.  That's as about as high as seen.


----------



## Blue32

mom2rtk said:


> Unless @yulilin3 's theory is right and they really are just giving boarding groups to everyone for the first minute of the day.


It’s not a theory. The boarding groups given out for each day only last one Minute. That’s how many people are in the park at park opening. It only takes about one minute to fill the regular group numbers for the day _every day._


----------



## montreid

Blue32 said:


> It’s not a theory. The boarding groups given out for each day only last one Minute. That’s how many people are in the park at park opening. It only takes about one minute to fill the regular group numbers for the day _every day._


There's a difference between guaranteeing boarding groups for ALL until :01:00  vs all guaranteed boarding groups running out at about :01:00.   

There's an opinion that there's a former happening but evidence to date tends to support the latter.   The question is as capacity/reliability rises (or opening crowds dwindle-- gasp!)  will the :01:00 remain or not?  Will Disney adjust the # of guaranteed groups to remain at :01:00 or will it go adjust the guaranteed CALLED 72 groups as it stands now at DLR?


----------



## StarGirl11

Ummm didn’t the regular boarding groups last two minutes a couple of days ago? Which disproves the whole ‘one minute for regular’ thing. 

 I know that’s not much longer but the point stands.


----------



## unveilmyeyes

Blue32 said:


> It’s not a theory. The boarding groups given out for each day only last one Minute. That’s how many people are in the park at park opening. It only takes about one minute to fill the regular group numbers for the day _every day._




That’s not what the person just posted ... different topics


----------



## SOCALMouseMommy

StarGirl11 said:


> Ummm didn’t the regular boarding groups last two minutes a couple of days ago? Which disproves the whole ‘one minute for regular’ thing.
> 
> I know that’s not much longer but the point stands.


It’s actually 100% longer... pretty significant I think! I would have to agree with you.


----------



## ironband74

All regular groups called as of 2:39pm.  On to the backups!


----------



## casjen

Thank you.  I did read that, but wasn't sure if MM was a "you pick the day" perk or not.


----------



## jackbo487

Boarding group 99, just called. At 4 PM. I’m not complaining


----------



## ironband74

jackbo487 said:


> Wow, it’s a madhouse here. Hot dog cart, decent reception on ATT, app glitched and didn’t load boarding group so ended up with 99. Let’s hope the system goes smoothly today!


@jackbo487 ...your time has come!


----------



## ironband74

jackbo487 said:


> Boarding group 99, just called. At 4 PM. I’m not complaining


So far they are having a stellar day.  Let's hope it continues!


----------



## SOCALMouseMommy

ironband74 said:


> So far they are having a stellar day.  Let's hope it continues!


So there’s only what, 30 groups left? Wonder what happens when they call them all?


----------



## Katiebird

Fingers crossed the force is with them and tomorrow is a good day too  we’re finally going tomorrow, rain and everything lol.


----------



## kalishea

Was able to get a boarding group both days we were in the park, last Saturday and Monday, thanks to this thread! 
Saturday park opened at 8:00am, got Boarding Group 42! Rode around 12:15
Monday park opened at 9:00am, got Boarding Group 2! Rode around 10:00am (because we chose to go ride Space Mountain first)


----------



## BRDisney

I just received a message saying to be there by 7:04. Does it mean I should be there AT 7:04 or be there until 7:04? English is not my first language.


----------



## Ensusieasm

BRDisney said:


> I just received a message saying to be there by 7:04. Does it mean I should be there AT 7:04 or be there until 7:04? English is not my first language.





BRDisney said:


> I just received a message saying to be there by 7:04. Does it mean I should be there AT 7:04 or be there until 7:04? English is not my first language.


You have UNTIL 7:04 to ride.


----------



## dina444444

BRDisney said:


> I just received a message saying to be there by 7:04. Does it mean I should be there AT 7:04 or be there until 7:04? English is not my first language.


You have to return between now and 7:04.


----------



## BRDisney

Ensusieasm said:


> You have UNTIL 7:04 to ride.


Thanks, just got there and it is down....


----------



## JWelch62

BRDisney said:


> Thanks, just got there and it is down....


Hopefully not for much longer. Full restart seems to take 90 minutes. It's been down for about 1:15 or so as I write this.


----------



## BRDisney

JWelch62 said:


> Hopefully not for much longer. Full restart seems to take 90 minutes. It's been down for about 1:15 or so as I write this.


I just enter and am waiting in the line just before entering the building. Do you know how long until the ride.?


----------



## dina444444

BRDisney said:


> I just enter and am waiting in the line just before entering the building. Do you know how long until the ride.?


It depends on how fast the line moves. But I’m going to guess anywhere from 15-45 minutes.


----------



## JWelch62

BRDisney said:


> I just enter and am waiting in the line just before entering the building. Do you know how long until the ride.?


How much longer before it starts? I couldn't say, but in the past 90 minutes down time is not unusual. It has been as long as 2 hours though. It could be any time now. Or it could be another 30  minutes or so.


----------



## BRDisney

I just past all the intros and the ride broke again


----------



## ironband74

SOCALMouseMommy said:


> So there’s only what, 30 groups left? Wonder what happens when they call them all?


The world may never know...

But seriously, when it happens, it'll be so close to the scheduled end that they'll just shut it down early.


----------



## socaldisneylover

Has there been a day yet with fewer than 2 breakdowns?  I'm guessing not.  I'm also guessing that they have not been able to go more than 8 hours without a breakdown.  I really would like to be a glass half full kind of guy in terms of my opinion of this ride, but so far it has given me zero reason to think that's ever going to be the case.


----------



## socaldisneylover

If you're looking to get on ROTR, and don't mind spending the whole day with off and on showers, Sunday is the day to go.  Between the rain and Academy Awards later in the afternoon, it is going to be a whole lot easier to get into a boarding group, and ultimately on the ride.  Dependent of course upon how reliable the ride operation is, I don't know if the weather will play a role in how often it breaks down, not to mention that Sundays have thus far been a bit of a disaster day in terms of the ride having lots of issues.

It doesn't look like the storm is going to be a major one, but it does appear that there will be showers, sometimes heavy, from 6 AM to 6 PM, which pretty much means any attractions that get shut when it rains (aka RSR), will be down the entire day.  As an AP, I admit, I'm spoiled, in unless I have no choice, I have no interest in dealing with the rain and limitations it will bring.  Knowing my body, I'd wake up Monday morning with a cold, and I'd rather play hooky from work, and spend the day at Disneyland as opposed to in bed.


----------



## BRDisney

Im in the line again. The ride is back on. Let’s see if I can make it


----------



## imjen

Our BG 24 started boarding at 9:09am. We had 2 hours to board. We got in line about 20 min later. Line went smoothly. Took about 20 min in line to get to the attraction. It was incredible! Really amazing. 

I was with my sister @sarajoy, our sister and mom. My Samsung Galaxy J7 Crown Tracfone scored the BG in front of Plaza Inn. Many people in the crowd went past us when the rope dropped at 7:50am but we decided to stay put where our signal was good and focus on the BG. It was cool yet nerve wracking to see many other groups around us focused on their phones, prepping to get a BG. I closed all apps on my phone. Opened DL app about 7:55 am. My sister counted down the last 20 seconds for us and I clicked Find Out More about 1 second before. Gray button so clicked My Status. Got Red Join Boarding Group button from there. What an emotional adrenaline rush!


----------



## Aurora0427

You guys have to stop commenting that all seems to be going well. Every time someone says that, the ride goes down at least twice.  ( I kid, but seriously. ) 

We all know it’s only a matter of time. I wonder how Sunday will go since the engineer B squad seems to be working every Sunday.


----------



## BRDisney

Just rode it! Amazing!


----------



## Aurora0427

imjen said:


> Our BG 24 started boarding at 9:09am. We had 2 hours to board. We got in line about 20 min later. Line went smoothly. Took about 20 min in line to get to the attraction. It was incredible! Really amazing.
> 
> I was with my sister @sarajoy, our sister and mom. My Samsung Galaxy J7 Crown Tracfone scored the BG in front of Plaza Inn. Many people in the crowd went past us when the rope dropped at 7:50am but we decided to stay put where our signal was good and focus on the BG. It was cool yet nerve wracking to see many other groups around us focused on their phones, prepping to get a BG. I closed all apps on my phone. Opened DL app about 7:55 am. My sister counted down the last 20 seconds for us and I clicked Find Out More about 1 second before. Gray button so clicked My Status. Got Red Join Boarding Group button from there. What an emotional adrenaline rush!



I got our BG in front of plaza inn as well! So glad you got to ride!


----------



## nutshell

How many groups did they get through today?


----------



## ironband74

socaldisneylover said:


> Has there been a day yet with fewer than 2 breakdowns?  I'm guessing not.  I'm also guessing that they have not been able to go more than 8 hours without a breakdown.  I really would like to be a glass half full kind of guy in terms of my opinion of this ride, but so far it has given me zero reason to think that's ever going to be the case.


January 27 had only one breakdown of about 40 minutes duration.
On January 28th, it started the day horribly, but operated non stop from just after noon until the attraction shut down at 9 (they stopped calling just after 8).

These are, of course, outliers, and not statistically relevant, though they do prove that the attraction is capable of such things.

I also think that 3 weeks or even 3 months of operational statistics are not enough data to establish a predictive model extending years into the future. When we have 6 months of data, we might be able to draw some conclusions. WDI has more data than we do because they have data from the CM preview as well as dry runs done prior to that. They are also able to classify the failures, which we are unable to do. Something tells me that they are meeting regularly to discuss the data trends and hopefully also comparing notes with the other coast.


----------



## ironband74

nutshell said:


> How many groups did they get through today?


They started with 11 and ended at 130, so 120 groups.  102 of those were called by just after 5pm, when the attraction went down for 3 hours.


----------



## ironband74

We were on track to have an amazing day before the extended breakdown at 5pm.

Even so, we finished above average. Solid ops through about the first 4 hours, then some scattered short breakdowns before things got serious. We got done with the regular groups before 3pm, which is a first. 

I'm very curious to see if the Sunday curse can be broken.


----------



## unveilmyeyes

WGood luck to everyone going today! Called audible at last minute to switch from DCA (nervous RSR and Incredicoaster) might be closed most of the day so switching to DL and will give ROR a try.


----------



## msteddom

The rain seems to be holding off for a few hours, so I’m going to try my luck this morning.


----------



## unveilmyeyes

msteddom said:


> The rain seems to be holding off for a few hours, so I’m going to try my luck this morning.



Just walked to car from DL hotel, it’s started to sprinkle but the forecast did push it back some.


----------



## Aurora0427

Let us know if the rain helps with the lines to enter DL. Usually it really thins out the crowds. Interested to see if it holds true even with ROTR.


----------



## disneyholic family

maybe i'll play at home today - does the BG line open today at 8 AM?
it'll be right during dinner with the grandkids....
perhaps i'll show them how it's done...
what are the odds they'll still be doing this nonsense 17 months from now when the entire clan heads to WDW for our 3 week extravaganza? 
The oldest is 5. If he practices between now and then, i'm betting on BG 1.....LOL..

which reminds me....someone on here got a great BG yesterday by their 10 year old on an old phone....makes sense....all that time wasted playing on the phone has to be good for something!!

.


----------



## Katiebird

We just parked at toy story, it’s raining but pretty light. The bus was walk on, they’re not running security at the parking lot. Already realizing I wore the wrong shoes for rain


----------



## cuteinnocent

Yesterday by Dumbo with 6 phones got BG 14. Yay! Galaxy 7 phone on T-mobile got it.


----------



## coasternut22

Gates open at 7:10


----------



## Katiebird

coasternut22 said:


> Gates open at 7:10



Really? That’s way early but awesome. I wasn’t excited to stand in the esplanade in the rain.


----------



## disneyholic family

Katiebird said:


> Really? That’s way early but awesome. I wasn’t excited to stand in the esplanade in the rain.


maybe that's why they're opening early


----------



## dina444444

disneyholic family said:


> maybe that's why they're opening early


They have to block the that center area where all the tile is when it rains so makes sense.


----------



## Katiebird

From entering toy story parking to entering the park took around 30 minutes. 

Security on Harbor is 5-10 minutes, lots of lines open far left that people don’t realize (and then other people shove through to get there...), lines to enter park is around the monorail but is moving quickly. 

It’s stopped raining, hopefully it holds up for a little bit.


----------



## jackbo487

Interesting that the ride broke down yesterday around 5 PM. We (BG 99) rode around 4:30 and noticed one of the animatronics seemed broken - to avoid spoilers by naming it, it just sat there not moving when it was clearly supposed to be doing something.

wonder if that directly led to the down time or if there was another issue too...


----------



## dina444444

jackbo487 said:


> Interesting that the ride broke down yesterday around 5 PM. We (BG 99) rode around 4:30 and noticed one of the animatronics seemed broken - to avoid spoilers by naming it, it just sat there not moving when it was clearly supposed to be doing something.
> 
> wonder if that directly led to the down time or if there was another issue too...


another issue. They won’t take the ride down in the middle of the day due to the animatronics.


----------



## Mark_E

Wow, the regular groups were gone in 40 seconds today


----------



## Katiebird

BG 17!! By the flag pole

The silence and no one moving, and then cheering was kind of awesome.


----------



## Laur0406

Has anyone had luck getting a boarding pass outside the park? When we go, my husband will be scanning in to the park with us but then leaving immediately to return our rental car (no after hours drop off), but likely won't make it back into the park for 8,


----------



## dina444444

Laur0406 said:


> Has anyone had luck getting a boarding pass outside the park? When we go, my husband will be scanning in to the park with us but then leaving immediately to return our rental car (no after hours drop off), but likely won't make it back into the park for 8,


Yes. I helped a friend get one a few weeks ago while standing in the middle of Epcot.


----------



## jackbo487

dina444444 said:


> another issue. They won’t take the ride down in the middle of the day due to the animatronics.


Yeah. Figured that wasn’t enough!


----------



## disneyholic family

there are still back up groups available at 10 minutes


----------



## ironband74

disneyholic family said:


> there are still back up groups available at 10 minutes


And at 15...


----------



## SteveWeber

Got BG 35 at kiosk by Innoventions. Out of 5 trying, first one to get BG had app open already, hit Find Out More at 8:00, Join BG button not red yet, clicked My Status and then  got in.


----------



## Peachy0118

ironband74 said:


> And at 15...


 And 20...


----------



## disneyholic family

seems to be they're all gone now - at 22 minutes


----------



## ironband74

I see 15, I got 20 got 20 got 20 got 20 canna get a 25 5 5 looking for 25

(Sorry, I was volunteering at an auction last night)


----------



## disneyholic family

ironband74 said:


> I see 15, I got 20 got 20 got 20 got 20 canna get a 25 5 5 looking for 25
> 
> (Sorry, I was volunteering at an auction last night)



mine went gray at 22

.


----------



## ironband74

disneyholic family said:


> seems to be they're all gone now - at 22 minutes


Sold for 22!

First backup is 81 today.  Starting at 10?


----------



## cm123

I actually got 25 this morning


----------



## SOCALMouseMommy

Laur0406 said:


> Has anyone had luck getting a boarding pass outside the park? When we go, my husband will be scanning in to the park with us but then leaving immediately to return our rental car (no after hours drop off), but likely won't make it back into the park for 8,


Left DL and got a boarding group in the esplanade one time. On Friday I helped my friend get a boarding group from home (they were in the park).


----------



## msteddom

28 for me.  This is my lowest one on three tries at DL, 6 tries on both  coasts.


----------



## socaldisneylover

9 AM and ol’ reliable is still closed.


----------



## ironband74

socaldisneylover said:


> 9 AM and ol’ reliable is still closed.


Group 10 just called!  I knew it!


----------



## socaldisneylover

I hope they get through a ton of groups today, those braving the weather conditions this afternoon deserve it if they stick around.

Heaviest rain is supposed to hit between 1:00 & 5:00.  Pretty much will be dry rest of day though.


----------



## bfost87

socaldisneylover said:


> I hope they get through a ton of groups today, those braving the weather conditions this afternoon deserve it if they stick around.
> 
> Heaviest rain is supposed to hit between 1:00 & 5:00.  Pretty much will be dry rest of day though.



I agree - we flew in from Vancouver for one day to try to get on; BG 91. App crashes and I had to quit and reload.


----------



## Katiebird

socaldisneylover said:


> I hope they get through a ton of groups today, those braving the weather conditions this afternoon deserve it if they stick around.
> 
> Heaviest rain is supposed to hit between 1:00 & 5:00.  Pretty much will be dry rest of day though.



We’ve had heavy sprinkles all morning, so dry must be relative lol


----------



## SOCALMouseMommy

socaldisneylover said:


> Heaviest rain is supposed to hit between 1:00 & 5:00.  Pretty much will be dry rest of day though.


I’m here now and it’s raining. Very wet.


----------



## Satye1

So our family of 4 will be at Disneyland spring break April 7 & 8.  We bought 2 day (Not hoppers).  We plan to spend 1 day in each park.  Parks are expected to open at 7am.  What time is suggested that we get in line to get into parks so that we get to ride and have BG? Also which day Tues/Wed should we do Disneyland vs. DCA?


----------



## cm123

The rain picked up a little but it's not raining very hard.


----------



## dina444444

Satye1 said:


> So our family of 4 will be at Disneyland spring break April 7 & 8.  We bought 2 day (Not hoppers).  We plan to spend 1 day in each park.  Parks are expected to open at 7am.  What time is suggested that we get in line to get into parks so that we get to ride and have BG? Also which day Tues/Wed should we do Disneyland vs. DCA?


I would do dca on Tuesday and Disneyland on Wednesday so you aren’t in the park on the day of emh/mm unless you are staying on site.


----------



## ironband74

And...It's definitely Sunday...


----------



## cm123

Yeah been at 22 for a while now I'm assuming it broke down


----------



## HydroGuy

Satye1 said:


> So our family of 4 will be at Disneyland spring break April 7 & 8.  We bought 2 day (Not hoppers).  We plan to spend 1 day in each park.  Parks are expected to open at 7am.  What time is suggested that we get in line to get into parks so that we get to ride and have BG? Also which day Tues/Wed should we do Disneyland vs. DCA?


DL and DCA would only open at 7AM for a very special situation. Maybe you should double check opening times? The MM/EMH is at 7AM frequently. Is that what you mean?


----------



## HydroGuy

SOCALMouseMommy said:


> I’m here now and it’s raining. Very wet.


Jawas don't like rain, do they? This could be good for avoiding their afternoon raid taking ROTR down?


----------



## Katiebird

Ride is down


----------



## ComeToSocialize

Have BG 19 today, looks like it broke down just before we tried to get on (I guess that’s lucky). We were told to wait until we see them boarding group 23 to know we can come back.

It’s raining pretty hard here. Lots of ponchos.


----------



## Satye1

[/QUOTE]


HydroGuy said:


> DL and DCA would only open at 7AM for a very special situation. Maybe you should double check opening times? The MM/EMH is at 7AM frequently. Is that what you mean?


I just figured DL would be opening earlier since spring break, but maybe wrong.  Thinking going to DCA tues & DL wed to avoid MM/EMH, good suggestion.  Just not sure how early is necessary to get inline before parks open to get BG


----------



## SOCALMouseMommy

HydroGuy said:


> Jawas don't like rain, do they? This could be good for avoiding their afternoon raid taking ROTR down?


Coming down. harder now!


----------



## cm123

BTMRR just went down too.


----------



## dina444444

SOCALMouseMommy said:


> Coming down. harder now!


And it’s bright and sunny out just 30 miles northwest of Disneyland where I am.


----------



## Katiebird

Winnie the Pooh is down too. 

The gremlins must’ve gotten wet.


----------



## dina444444

Katiebird said:


> Winnie the Pooh is down too.
> 
> The gremlins must’ve gotten wet.


Racers and incredicoaster and likely to end up going down as well.


----------



## midnight star

dina444444 said:


> And it’s bright and sunny out just 30 miles northwest of Disneyland where I am.


Same! Sunny and Windy where I live in LA.


----------



## DLgal

Laur0406 said:


> Has anyone had luck getting a boarding pass outside the park? When we go, my husband will be scanning in to the park with us but then leaving immediately to return our rental car (no after hours drop off), but likely won't make it back into the park for 8,



Yes, I scored BG 1 at the Starbucks in Downtown Disney.


----------



## HydroGuy

Satye1 said:


> I just figured DL would be opening earlier since spring break, but maybe wrong.  Thinking going to DCA tues & DL wed to avoid MM/EMH, good suggestion.  Just not sure how early is necessary to get inline before parks open to get BG


One hour before official opening is a good rule for now.

See "Historical DLR Park Hours, Entertainment and Refurbs" www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2291124


----------



## Katiebird

dina444444 said:


> Racers and incredicoaster and likely to end up going down as well.



Looks like racers, Luigi and maters jamboree are already down actually.


----------



## SOCALMouseMommy

dina444444 said:


> And it’s bright and sunny out just 30 miles northwest of Disneyland where I am.



Crazy CA weather!


----------



## DLgal

SOCALMouseMommy said:


> Crazy CA weather!



The sun just peeked out 12 miles south of DL too. Briefly. It never stopped sprinkling though. Been a steady mist all morning.


----------



## cm123

It's back up


----------



## montreid

Just open the gates early like WDW.   People will spend money on main Street at least a Little bit to offset the cost of staffing.

As one mentioned the rain and standing water I. The esplanade center potentially creates an injury risk so makes sense to open early to keep away from the center.....maybe.


----------



## SOCALMouseMommy

Omg it is pouring. I am actually surprised how many people are here. But then again I’m here so ...


----------



## midnight star

SOCALMouseMommy said:


> Omg it is pouring. I am actually surprised how many people are here. But then again I’m here so ...


I went yesterday for a few hours to pick up the AP bucket and do some shopping. It was pretty crowded. More crowded than last Saturday. I think it was due to today's rain and people wanting to avoid it lol


----------



## msteddom

I’m BG 28, and I’m in line now.


----------



## dina444444

midnight star said:


> I went yesterday for a few hours to pick up the AP bucket and do some shopping. It was pretty crowded. More crowded than last Saturday. I think it was due to today's rain and people wanting to avoid it lol


It was definitely crowded yesterday, probably a mix of lunar new year stuff and today’s rain.


----------



## Katiebird

That was such an experience. Wow. We’re sopping wet but I’m so glad we came today.


----------



## socaldisneylover

Main part of storm should be passing through over next 5-6 hours.

I'm about 25 miles south, and it's not supposed to hit here for another 2 hours, so it's not really a fast moving system.


----------



## bfost87

Up to group 58 at 1:50pm. Feeling hopeful for BG 91


----------



## Katiebird

socaldisneylover said:


> Main part of storm should be passing through over next 5-6 hours.
> 
> I'm about 25 miles south, and it's not supposed to hit here for another 2 hours, so it's not really a fast moving system.



The main part of the storm is currently soaked into my shoes and sock. (Which is my own fault, I own water proof shoes but totally spaced on it).

We’re heading out too, it’s too wet and we’re cold. So glad we went though.


----------



## SOCALMouseMommy

Katiebird said:


> The main part of the storm is currently soaked into my shoes and sock. (Which is my own fault, I own water proof shoes but totally spaced on it).
> 
> We’re heading out too, it’s too wet and we’re cold. So glad we went though.


Lolol my feet were completely soaked! I was not anticipating that much rain ha ha


----------



## ironband74

Just got back from brunch to see that we're stuck at 58.  So who let the ewoks play with the ion cannon this time?


----------



## midnight star

ironband74 said:


> Just got back from brunch to see that we're stuck at 58.  So who let the ewoks play with the ion cannon this time?


Maintenance guy is probably still at Sunday bruch lol


----------



## coasternut22

Scanned in boarding group 54 at 1:10pm. Ride broke down at 1:30pm. Have been in line for an hour and a half total. Just sitting here. Dry and warm though.


----------



## Satye1

DLgal said:


> Yes, I scored BG 1 at the Starbucks in Downtown Disney.


What time was that?


----------



## montreid

Satye1 said:


> What time was that?


8:00:01 is my guess


----------



## montreid

midnight star said:


> Maintenance guy is probably still at Sunday bruch lol


He took early lunch since overtime yesterday.  Or maybe he took off early to the Oscars?


----------



## DLgal

montreid said:


> 8:00:01 is my guess



Yeah, basically. LOL. Except it was 9:00:01 on that day.


----------



## DLgal

Satye1 said:


> What time was that?



Literally right at 9:00, park opening time. I hit Find Out More one second after my phone clock flipped from 8:59 to 9:00.


----------



## bfost87

coasternut22 said:


> Scanned in boarding group 54 at 1:10pm. Ride broke down at 1:30pm. Have been in line for an hour and a half total. Just sitting here. Dry and warm though.



Moving yet?


----------



## coasternut22

Officially 2 hours down and 2hrs 20min in line. I walked to through the line to the merge point with FastPass. Asked the cast member there to go to the bathroom. She was polite and said I should go to Hungry Bear as it’s faster. I exited through a side door, talked to the cast member who was at the front of the attraction so he’d remember me when I came back. Did my business. Cast member let me right back in. I walked to the same side door and met up with my party back in line. Still waiting.

The people waiting are on somewhat good spirits. Most sitting in the ground killing time. Lots of long faces I’ve seen about 20 people leave without coming back.


----------



## coasternut22

Literally just got an announcement that they highly encourage us to reverse our direction and exit where we came in. They said it will be an extended downtime.


----------



## coasternut22

They said they are giving everyone in line a FastPass good till 8:30.


----------



## montreid

coasternut22 said:


> Literally just got an announcement that they highly encourage us to reverse our direction and exit where we came in. They said it will be an extended downtime.


Request a FP .  Politely insist on it.  Take a pic of your BG too in case


----------



## midnight star

Ok seriously what is with this ride on Sundays??


----------



## Pickles2000

Thank you to all the reporters and analysts in this thread. All the practice and research paid off. I was worried as I didn’t get to the line until 7:18am, and I knew the last couple Sunday’s were crazy. But the rain seemed to scare some off so the line was not that bad at all and I was in the park by 7:36.

Stood by Plaza Inn. On Verizon, iPhone 8. Wife on Wi-Fi, iPhone 11. In practice at home I knew my phone never refreshes at opening and going back and in doesn’t work either. So I always have to go to My Status and join from there. That’s what worked today.

BG 38.  Called at 11:47. Amazing ride. Well worth waking up so early and being in the rain.


----------



## unveilmyeyes

coasternut22 said:


> Literally just got an announcement that they highly encourage us to reverse our direction and exit where we came in. They said it will be an extended downtime.



I’ve heard that before (opening day at Disney world) and waited for a bit but eventually decided to enjoy rest of park. Thankfully they got it going eventually and we just rode it then! The day is going still!


----------



## midnight star

montreid said:


> Request a FP .  Politely insist on it.  Take a pic of your BG too in case


Also write down the name of the CM who gives you the fastpass as well. Save in your phone. At the time of when you got it


----------



## coasternut22

Is this a first that they’ve cleared the entire line?


----------



## coasternut22

When we scanned our passes for the FastPass, the CM said we won’t see it in Maxpass until they upload them in their system.

Edit: we got em


----------



## bfost87

No longer feeling optimistic for BG 91


----------



## Going2DisneyAZ

midnight star said:


> Ok seriously what is with this ride on Sundays??


 My guess is on Sundays the lead team technicians/imagineers take the day off leaving a less skilled/knowledgeable team in place to keep the thing running.  Imagine the starship enterprise without scotty for a day.


----------



## ironband74

midnight star said:


> Maintenance guy is probably still at Sunday bruch lol


I figured if I didn't watch it would come back up, but dang...going on 3 hours now.  I don't think we've seen a downtime like this since Jan 26. 

There must be something to this "Sunday Curse."



montreid said:


> 8:00:01 is my guess


Actually, so far all days when BG1 is offered are 9AM opens, so I would guess 9:00:01

Edit:  I see that this was already clarified


----------



## ironband74

Going2DisneyAZ said:


> My guess is on Sundays the lead team technicians/imagineers take the day off leaving a less skilled/knowledgeable team in place to keep the thing running.  Imagine the starship enterprise without scotty for a day.


It's gotta be something like that.  If it were random, the odds of the 3 worst operational days since opening occurring strictly on Sundays are 3720:1 (OK, not really...but I don't feel like calculating it right now.)

Perhaps I can apply to be an understudy.


----------



## StarGirl11

I know we got the Sunday curse going but I wonder if the weather is playing any factor into days down time. Especially since they actually decided to clear the line. Something they’ve avoided like the plague up until now.

Regardless they need to start training the less experienced team during the week or do something to rectify this. It’s kind of ridiculous how bad this ride gets one out of seven days


----------



## JWelch62

ironband74 said:


> I figured if I didn't watch it would come back up, but dang...going on 3 hours now.  I don't think we've seen a downtime like this since Jan 26.
> 
> There must be something to this "Sunday Curse."
> 
> Actually, so far all days when BG1 is offered are 9AM opens, so I would guess 9:00:01
> 
> Edit:  I see that this was already clarified





ironband74 said:


> It's gotta be something like that.  If it were random, the odds of the 3 worst operational days since opening occurring strictly on Sundays are 3720:1 (OK, not really...but I don't feel like calculating it right now.)
> 
> Perhaps I can apply to be an understudy.



Even with a nearly 3 hour downtime it's still above the Sunday average. Which is insane.


----------



## e_yerger

I _know_ this question has been asked thousands of times already, but how far in advance do you think we should plan to get to the gates? We are staying at the Best Western right across the Harbor Blvd entrance. Do you think getting over to security at 7am for an 8am opening is enough time?


----------



## midnight star

e_yerger said:


> I _know_ this question has been asked thousands of times already, but how far in advance do you think we should plan to get to the gates? We are staying at the Best Western right across the Harbor Blvd entrance. Do you think getting over to security at 7am for an 8am opening is enough time?


An hour before park opening. They are opening the gates a little earlier than normal right now since the esplanade is super packed


----------



## e_yerger

midnight star said:


> An hour before park opening. They are opening the gates a little earlier than normal right now since the esplanade is super packed


So plan to be at Harbor Blvd security at 6:45?


----------



## ironband74

e_yerger said:


> I _know_ this question has been asked thousands of times already, but how far in advance do you think we should plan to get to the gates? We are staying at the Best Western right across the Harbor Blvd entrance. Do you think getting over to security at 7am for an 8am opening is enough time?


Which day of the week?  If it is a Magic Morning day, you might want to give yourself a little more time due to the MM/EMH crowds.


----------



## e_yerger

ironband74 said:


> Which day of the week?  If it is a Magic Morning day, you might want to give yourself a little more time due to the MM/EMH crowds.


It would be this friday, Feb 14th, so no MM/EMH that day. But we're preparing for busy crowds.


----------



## ComeToSocialize

Been following this thread for a month before our trip so wanted to share my experience to help the community. I’d been very stressed about getting a boarding group (like many of you) and just want to say if you know what you’re doing and plan ahead, you will almost surely be totally fine! All my stress was very much unneeded, so while we of course got very lucky to get BG17 and BG19, try not to worry too much as you have all the info you need right here!

First time we tried was yesterday (Saturday). We were staying at GCH and left our room just a few minutes before 7am. Security to enter DTD was very easy, which was one of my big fears, and we were at gates by 710. They had 2 bag check lines going which helped immensely.

At the entry gates we first got in a huge line left of the gates thinking that was for EMH/MM but after a minute realized we were in the non-moving regular entry line, so scooted to the middle gates for the EMH/MM line. They really should have greeters or better signage. The EMH/MM line was halfway to DCA but moved quickly. We were inside by 725. We went and rode Mr Toad and Dumbo (no lines) and then at 750 posted up right next to the storybook canal boats and waited for 8am. 

The night before I’d had my parents and sister download the app, login to my account, and showed them which buttons to press, so all in we had 5 phones going for 5 people (all iPhones, AT&T). Ended up being unnecessary as I “won” the race. I closed all apps, opened Disneyland app at 758, stayed on home screen of app until 8:00:00, hit find out more, saw the join boarding group button was gray (despite all the times I’d practiced at home it being red) so I hit my status, it refreshed for 2 seconds or so, then I hit join boarding group and confirm. Got in as BG17. 

Ride opened around 830, we were called at 845 while we were eating breakfast, we got into queue around 930, 20 minute queue or so and were done by 10:05. Absolutely amazing.

Next day (Sunday) we tried again, leaving GCH around 715. They were already letting people into Main Street when we got to the gates so the lines in the middle of the gates were pretty short. We were in park by 725 again - it was actually much easier on non EMH day to get in despite us staying at GCH. This would of course be different if Disney hadn’t opened the gates well before 730 (my guess is gates were open around 710 if not earlier).

We walked around the hub trying to find good cell service but couldn’t, so decided to just head back to the GCH. My mom was nervous we needed to be in the park but I assured her it didn’t matter.  Found a good spot in DTD (outside Catal) with great cell service so waited there for 8am next to another couple. This time my fiancée won the race, getting BG19. She apparently got the red join boarding group button while I again got a gray button and had to hit my status, which took a few seconds to refresh, so dear fiancee beat me. The other couple nearby for BG33 so force was with that spot outside Catal in DTD.

My dad was first to announce “I got it” but actually had not hit confirm (he was on the “select members of your party” screen) so even if someone in your group claims they have it, don’t stop until you see the message that you’ve already joined a BG. And make sure you keep clicking until you seen the confirmation and droid!

Ride opened a little later on Sunday, closer to 9. BG19 got called around 920, but by the time we got there the ride was down (around 10am). We went and rode Winnie the Pooh, then Pirates, when we saw it was back up around 10:45. We went back to ride, and the line was a bit longer than the prior day, presumably due to the backlog from the downtime, but it still took no more than 30 minutes to get through the queue and to the preshow.

The ride is absolutely fantastic, a true experience. My fiancée and parents who had no idea what to expect couldn’t believe it. I’d heard some high level details but still was amazed.

Key notes:
- GCH security line was fine at 7am. Seems like they added staff vs some earlier reports. 
- head toward the middle of the entry gates, less crowded than the edges. Especially true on EMH/MM days. 
- be ready to hit my status button if Join Boarding Group isn’t red. 
- make sure your tickets are all linked properly (try booking a maxpass). If you do that and have decent cell service you should be totally fine
- It’s worth it to keep avoiding spoilers if you haven’t ridden yet!
- try not to stress! If you know what you’re doing, you’ll be fine.


----------



## bfost87

ComeToSocialize said:


> Been following this thread for a month before our trip so wanted to share my experience to help the community. I’d been very stressed about getting a boarding group (like many of you) and just want to say if you know what you’re doing and plan ahead, you will almost surely be totally fine! All my stress was very much unneeded, so while we of course got very lucky to get BG17 and BG19, try not to worry too much as you have all the info you need right here!
> 
> First time we tried was yesterday (Saturday). We were staying at GCH and left our room just a few minutes before 7am. Security to enter DTD was very easy, which was one of my big fears, and we were at gates by 710. They had 2 bag check lines going which helped immensely.
> 
> At the entry gates we first got in a huge line left of the gates thinking that was for EMH/MM but after a minute realized we were in the non-moving regular entry line, so scooted to the middle gates for the EMH/MM line. They really should have greeters or better signage. The EMH/MM line was halfway to DCA but moved quickly. We were inside by 725. We went and rode Mr Toad and Dumbo (no lines) and then at 750 posted up right next to the storybook canal boats and waited for 8am.
> 
> The night before I’d had my parents and sister download the app, login to my account, and showed them which buttons to press, so all in we had 5 phones going for 5 people (all iPhones, AT&T). Ended up being unnecessary as I “won” the race. I closed all apps, opened Disneyland app at 758, stayed on home screen of app until 8:00:00, hit find out more, saw the join boarding group button was gray (despite all the times I’d practiced at home it being red) so I hit my status, it refreshed for 2 seconds or so, then I hit join boarding group and confirm. Got in as BG17.
> 
> Ride opened around 830, we were called at 845 while we were eating breakfast, we got into queue around 930, 20 minute queue or so and were done by 10:05. Absolutely amazing.
> 
> Next day (Sunday) we tried again, leaving GCH around 715. They were already letting people into Main Street when we got to the gates so the lines in the middle of the gates were pretty short. We were in park by 725 again - it was actually much easier on non EMH day to get in despite us staying at GCH. This would of course be different if Disney hadn’t opened the gates well before 730 (my guess is gates were open around 710 if not earlier).
> 
> We walked around the hub trying to find good cell service but couldn’t, so decided to just head back to the GCH. My mom was nervous we needed to be in the park but I assured her it didn’t matter.  Found a good spot in DTD (outside Catal) with great cell service so waited there for 8am next to another couple. This time my fiancée won the race, getting BG19. She apparently got the red join boarding group button while I again got a gray button and had to hit my status, which took a few seconds to refresh, so dear fiancee beat me. The other couple nearby for BG33 so force was with that spot outside Catal in DTD.
> 
> My dad was first to announce “I got it” but actually had not hit confirm (he was on the “select members of your party” screen) so even if someone in your group claims they have it, don’t stop until you see the message that you’ve already joined a BG. And make sure you keep clicking until you seen the confirmation and droid!
> 
> Ride opened a little later on Sunday, closer to 9. BG19 got called around 920, but by the time we got there the ride was down (around 10am). We went and rode Winnie the Pooh, then Pirates, when we saw it was back up around 10:45. We went back to ride, and the line was a bit longer than the prior day, presumably due to the backlog from the downtime, but it still took no more than 30 minutes to get through the queue and to the preshow.
> 
> The ride is absolutely fantastic, a true experience. My fiancée and parents who had no idea what to expect couldn’t believe it. I’d heard some high level details but still was amazed.
> 
> Key notes:
> - GCH security line was fine at 7am. Seems like they added staff vs some earlier reports.
> - head toward the middle of the entry gates, less crowded than the edges. Especially true on EMH/MM days.
> - be ready to hit my status button if Join Boarding Group isn’t red.
> - make sure your tickets are all linked properly (try booking a maxpass). If you do that and have decent cell service you should be totally fine
> - It’s worth it to keep avoiding spoilers if you haven’t ridden yet!
> - try not to stress! If you know what you’re doing, you’ll be fine.


I knew what I was doing; I wasn’t fine.


----------



## midnight star

e_yerger said:


> It would be this friday, Feb 14th, so no MM/EMH that day. But we're preparing for busy crowds.


6:45 should be good. No later than 7.


----------



## ShoeCello

Looks like we're moving again - ride started ~5:20 PM, so about 3.5 hours down. The Sunday and 2:30 PM curses continue...


----------



## midnight star

ShoeCello said:


> Looks like we're moving again - ride started ~5:20 PM, so about 3.5 hours down. The Sunday and 2:30 PM curses continue...


I think today it was 1:30 curse lol


----------



## Skyegirl1999

ComeToSocialize said:


> just want to say if you know what you’re doing and plan ahead, you will almost surely be totally fine!
> - try not to stress! If you know what you’re doing, you’ll be fine.


Well... yes and no.  It’s great that it worked for you, but that’s not how it goes for everyone who “knows what they’re doing.”

I think that the *majority* of people who are prepared/have researched do get decent BGs; however, we’ve seen plenty of people post here that in spite of doing everything “right,” they have not gotten a guaranteed BG.  And I know people IRL who have also missed out due to app crashes and things of that nature - not due to any lack of preparation or knowledge. 

I think this is worth pointing out because
A) People need to be realistic to avoid disappointment if they do miss a BG in spite of preparing well.
B) There’s sort of an implication that people who don’t get BGs did something “wrong” or “didn’t know what they were doing,” and that’s not really fair to them. 

I get the good intentions of wanting to de-stress people!  And I’d generally say that informed people, in groups with multiple phones, do have very high odds of getting an early group... but there are some caveats.


----------



## ironband74

ShoeCello said:


> Looks like we're moving again - ride started ~5:20 PM, so about 3.5 hours down. The Sunday and 2:30 PM curses continue...


Closer to 4 hours down, but hopefully they can finish strong.


----------



## montreid

They have to work through a bunch of FP too given out for the extended shutdown.  I'm hoping they will punch through to the low hundred but will see how this next hour progresses.

Agree that even the well knowledged still remain beholden to the Gremlins in the mde app.   If one has several phones and iPads or whatever screens for backup, this is the time to employ them in case of no boarding option or a fatal crash error


----------



## JWelch62

ironband74 said:


> Closer to 4 hours down, but hopefully they can finish strong.


I'm thinking that the strong finish after long delays is due in no small part to people leaving.


----------



## Skyegirl1999

JWelch62 said:


> I'm thinking that the strong finish after long delays is due in no small part to people leaving.


Especially when it’s wet and cold.

And tonight there’s the Oscars and last week there was the Superbowl...


----------



## Katiebird

In summary, today:

4:30 get up
5:10 leave house
6:50 arrive toy story, minimal line of cars, 4-5 rows of lot filled, no wait for buses
7:10 arrive Harbor security, mass of people but relatively short and quick lines. 
7:25? In the park, turnstile lines to monorail but moved quickly 

Got a fastpass to make sure we were all properly scanned in, wandered around Main Street looking decent speeds. Ended up at flag pole, group 17.

9:15 group called while in line for Casey Jr, then went to Space to use fastpass before heading to ROTR. 

9:40ish Once we got there, the ride was down, so we headed to Pooh. By then it was raining pretty good and we ended up huddled under an overhang by pooh corner waiting for it to come back up. 

10:30ish headed back to ROTR, very wet but the line was mostly a walk through. 

11:20 off ride, headed to Indy then over to DCA for Lunar New Year and then eventually home. We were back home before 5, which is definitely a new record. Super happy but super wet lol.


----------



## montreid

reached guaranteed and still 2+ hours to go.  100 within sight.


----------



## unveilmyeyes

Skyegirl1999 said:


> Well... yes and no.  It’s great that it worked for you, but that’s not how it goes for everyone who “knows what they’re doing.”
> 
> I think that the *majority* of people who are prepared/have researched do get decent BGs; however, we’ve seen plenty of people post here that in spite of doing everything “right,” they have not gotten a guaranteed BG.  And I know people IRL who have also missed out due to app crashes and things of that nature - not due to any lack of preparation or knowledge.
> 
> I think this is worth pointing out because
> A) People need to be realistic to avoid disappointment if they do miss a BG in spite of preparing well.
> B) There’s sort of an implication that people who don’t get BGs did something “wrong” or “didn’t know what they were doing,” and that’s not really fair to them.
> 
> I get the good intentions of wanting to de-stress people!  And I’d generally say that informed people, in groups with multiple phones, do have very high odds of getting an early group... but there are some caveats.



Gotta agree with 1999 - we were prepared too and have ridden this a lot in WDW too (thankfully not as time sensitive) and had both myself and wife on our own phones doing all the tips etc and even in different places and still got a backup group.


----------



## ironband74

JWelch62 said:


> I'm thinking that the strong finish after long delays is due in no small part to people leaving.


I agree - last Sunday we definitely saw the rate increase to almost 20bg/h from 7 to 8.  That suggests that only half the people in those BGs stuck around.  I expect we'll see similar numbers tonight.


----------



## Boku41

Our experience was that we were able to get BG29 on Saturday. Loved the ride! Went back on Saturday and went through gates to Disneyland. Decided we would try from California Adventure so we started to get scanned in over there also. A worker at the gates then told us we wouldn't be able to get BG's from over there since it would log us out from Disneyland. We decided not to risk it so we rushed back in the Disneyland lines again with a few minutes to spare. We were lucky to get BG39. Actually loved the ride more the second time than the first time. Hopefully the lines will die down before we are able to go again in May or June.


----------



## Boku41

Had my fitbit on. My heart rate went from 70's and spiked at 144 even though I was trying to tell myself it wouldn't be a big deal if we didn't get a BG.


----------



## SOCALMouseMommy

Boku41 said:


> Our experience was that we were able to get BG29 on Saturday. Loved the ride! Went back on Saturday and went through gates to Disneyland. Decided we would try from California Adventure so we started to get scanned in over there also. A worker at the gates then told us we wouldn't be able to get BG's from over there since it would log us out from Disneyland. We decided not to risk it so we rushed back in the Disneyland lines again with a few minutes to spare. We were lucky to get BG39


That is really odd. I don’t know why a CM would say that. Several people here have reported getting a BG from inside DCA after scanning into DL first.


----------



## montreid

Bg96.   Moving nicely since reboot. Jawas watching  Oscars


----------



## bfost87

BG91, just got off. Sent wife on next as we’re doing a rider swap. Looks like they’re at 101 now. Promising that they’ll get through a lot of groups.


----------



## nutshell

bfost87 said:


> I knew what I was doing; I wasn’t fine.


Why wasn’t it fine? Looks like you got to ride today.


----------



## bfost87

nutshell said:


> Why wasn’t it fine? Looks like you got to ride today.



Well, I mean wasn’t fine that it wasn’t a guaranteed or non backup. I had a backup, and it all worked out in the end which I’m thankful for. Didn’t look like it was gonna happen during that long long breakdown though.


----------



## MonocularVision

SOCALMouseMommy said:


> That is really odd. I don’t know why a CM would say that. Several people here have reported getting a BG from inside DCA after scanning into DL first.



I often feel like folks here know more than the average CM about these things.

But to reiterate: there is no danger in checking into CA. Over at WDW, people have done the same and tapped into other parks and still get a BG (*after* checking into the needed park DLR or DHS)


----------



## nutshell

bfost87 said:


> Well, I mean wasn’t fine that it wasn’t a guaranteed or non backup. I had a backup, and it all worked out in the end which I’m thankful for. Didn’t look like it was gonna happen during that long long breakdown though.


Got it! Glad you were able to ride.


----------



## dina444444

Anybody catch what the last group today was?


----------



## ShoeCello

dina444444 said:


> Anybody catch what the last group today was?



111 was the last BG called.


----------



## dina444444

ShoeCello said:


> 111 was the last BG called.


Thanks


----------



## ComeToSocialize

bfost87 said:


> Well, I mean wasn’t fine that it wasn’t a guaranteed or non backup. I had a backup, and it all worked out in the end which I’m thankful for. Didn’t look like it was gonna happen during that long long breakdown though.



Hey sorry, I didn’t mean to accuse you of doing something “wrong” although I admit my post read that way. My reaction was simply that I had been very stressed about this weekend (largely due to the stories I’d read on this board) and now, having been through it twice, I personally would never have concern about getting a BG again if I took the same steps I did in my post. 

No doubt there are people who are less lucky, but I genuinely think those are a minority of experiences and it’s not worth losing sleep over (like I did Friday night). If you’ve had a bad experience, that sucks and I’m sorry, and you’ll obviously disagree. But I really just want to reassure the average lurker that the conventional wisdom on this thread worked for our group twice and for the ~ 6 other groups we talked to this weekend, so there’s no need to worry that you’re going to “mess something up”

Perhaps a better way to put it is: if you read this thread and know what you’re doing, then you have put yourself in the best possible position. There is no point in worrying as if you follow the conventional wisdom on this thread, you’re likely to get a boarding group, and if something goes wrong such that you don’t, it was out of your control anyways.

Anyways I’m glad you got to ride. If you post your experience (where you were, what happened with the app, what type of phone) it’d be helpful for the collective community to narrow down what the best strategy is.

I’ll also add that my whole experience is using iPhone and 5G. WiFi definitely seems riskier, and I know some people unfortunately have to use WiFi. I have no comment on Android, but we had zero “app crashes” across 5 iPhones and 2 days so I wonder if that is more common on Android. And obviously having multiple people/phones helps reduce the damage if one phone does crash, which I of course acknowledge is not an option for everyone.


----------



## ironband74

ComeToSocialize said:


> I’ll also add that my whole experience is using iPhone and 5G. WiFi definitely seems riskier, and I know some people unfortunately have to use WiFi. I have no comment on Android, but we had zero “app crashes” across 5 iPhones and 2 days so I wonder if that is more common on Android. And obviously having multiple people/phones helps reduce the damage if one phone does crash, which I of course acknowledge is not an option for everyone.



I do think that there is a little more "weirdness" with the Android side of things, if only because there are a lot more hardware options that can influence things. This morning while playing along, one of my phones decided not to display any active "Join Boarding Group" buttons while the other did. 

I think that part of the key is having as many devices as can be reasonably managed, and to work through the less than ideal scenarios such as "What will I do if my buttons don't go active within 5 seconds or so of going back and forth?" Having a contingency plan can help keep you from panicking. Having a second, third, fourth phone in the group is helpful.

It's also helpful to find a zen attitude of whatever happens, happens. If you are there for multiple days, chances are that even with a backup group every day you will get on at least once. 75% of the time they get to BG 100 or higher. I know this is easier said than done, as I'm a guy who used to lose sleep agonizing over my fastpass strategy and touring plan because I'm the guy who plans and the whole family counts on me. But in time I learned to trust my instincts and all the knowledge I've gained. This is much the same.

You can do everything right and still have things not work out. It sucks but it's the reality of the present situation. I believe this, too, shall pass. I kind of want to get down there and do this at least once, though. I'm now lobbying the family to maybe go the week after Easter, if I can swing it.  We'll see how things go.


----------



## Courtney Disney 2019

Hi Everyone,

We will be staying at the Disneyland Hotel in March and will hopefully be taking full advantage of the extra magic mornings.  How do the crowds for ROTR effect getting into Disneyland early for magic mornings?  From what I’ve seen on YouTube it looks as though the lines are a lot of the times all the way to DCA.  Are there separate lines to enter the park for extra magic mornings apart from the standard rope drop lines?
Thanks


----------



## Mathmagicland

MonocularVision said:


> I often feel like folks here know more than the average CM about these things.
> 
> But to reiterate: there is no danger in checking into CA. Over at WDW, people have done the same and tapped into other parks and still get a BG (*after* checking into the needed park DLR or DHS)


Agree - I’m one who got a BG while in DCA after scanning in to DL first, then headed to DCA - was standing in front of Trolley Treats af fhe time.  Someone else reported getting a BG over by Soaring as well.


----------



## Mathmagicland

Courtney Disney 2019 said:


> Hi Everyone,
> 
> We will be staying at the Disneyland Hotel in March and will hopefully be taking full advantage of the extra magic mornings.  How do the crowds for ROTR effect getting into Disneyland early for magic mornings?  From what I’ve seen on YouTube it looks as though the lines are a lot of the times all the way to DCA.  Are there separate lines to enter the park for extra magic mornings apart from the standard rope drop lines?
> Thanks


Yes, there are separate lines for MM.  Look for signage above the entrance gates for which ones are MM vs which say Entrance for non- MM guests.  When I was there a couple of weeks ago MM gates were on the left of center closest to downtown Disney and regular gates were right of center but things can change as that is opposite of how it’s been in the past.


----------



## woody74

What time do they start scanning people in at the DTD Monorail entrance?  If your ticket is scanned there, does that count you as "in the park"?  Could one conceivably do this in time to get a BG at park open?


----------



## imjen

This is the list I made from all the helpful tips on here where people have gotten Guaranteed BGs in or near Fantasyland  since that's where we wanted to start our day. We decided to wait by Plaza Inn last Saturday since it was 10 min until opening when they dropped the rope and our signals were good on our phones. We got BG 24.  Good luck to those in the parks today!

Red Rose Tavern (across from Casey Jr. Train in FL)
Near Pixie Hollow
Near Refreshment Corner (left side main street, last shop)
In front of Plaza Inn (right side just before Tomorrowland)
Near Mr. Toad
By Tea Cups


----------



## DLgal

Boku41 said:


> Our experience was that we were able to get BG29 on Saturday. Loved the ride! Went back on Saturday and went through gates to Disneyland. Decided we would try from California Adventure so we started to get scanned in over there also. A worker at the gates then told us we wouldn't be able to get BG's from over there since it would log us out from Disneyland. We decided not to risk it so we rushed back in the Disneyland lines again with a few minutes to spare. We were lucky to get BG39. Actually loved the ride more the second time than the first time. Hopefully the lines will die down before we are able to go again in May or June.



You knew this was not true. Next time, correct the CM. Sometimes they really don't know! I had to visit first aid after we got out BG because my son cut his finger and it was bleeding. I was chatting with the ladies in there and they had NO idea you could leave the park after scanning in to get a BG. They were like "that's really smart to get away from the crowds, I'll have to try that next time." 

I find that lots of cast members don't know EVERYTHING about the parks and the ins and outs and little tricks we all know from being crazy obsessed fans, LOL. 

They are usually happy to be corrected or told something they don't know, as long as you do it in a friendly way.

Hopping doesn't "log you out" of the previous park. That's not how the system works. Otherwise, Maxpass wouldn't let you get fastpasses in either park the way it does.


----------



## Boku41

There were 7 of us and I wasn't about to risk being the bad guy if we didn't get BG's. She wasn't just the regular ticket scanner, either. She was one of the CM's that wander about the ticket scanners helping them with questions that come up.


----------



## DLgal

woody74 said:


> What time do they start scanning people in at the DTD Monorail entrance?  If your ticket is scanned there, does that count you as "in the park"?  Could one conceivably do this in time to get a BG at park open?



Yes, it is an official Disneyland entrance gate, but they do NOT open the gate before park opening most days. Usually they wait until official park opening. Even if you were the first in line, it may not be fast enough.


----------



## HydroGuy

woody74 said:


> What time do they start scanning people in at the DTD Monorail entrance?  If your ticket is scanned there, does that count you as "in the park"?  Could one conceivably do this in time to get a BG at park open?


The thread title encourages everyone to look at posts #1-3. See below.



dina444444 said:


> *FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS*
> 
> How do I join a boarding group?
> 
> You must enter Disneyland Park to join a boarding group, you do not have to stay inside Disneyland once you are scanned in. You can hop over to DCA or head into Downtown Disney. *Please note that the Monorail entrance is not advisable for use as it typically does not open until the park officially opens.*


----------



## ImDMous

We were there Saturday, got in line at 6:30.  Then 2 of our party of 4 headed to Starbuck's to get our mobile order while the other 2 waited.  We got back in about 20 minutes (Starbucks was pretty slammed and running a bit behind).  The lines were getting pretty long but we were inside the Monorail track so I didn't see how bad it got behind us.  They started scanning people in around 7:25 or so I think, it was a bit hard to tell as the front was pretty packed so we didn't start moving right away.  We got scanned in about 7:30 and headed to Great Moments with Mr Lincoln but it wasn't open yet.  We just hung out outside and they opened about 7:50 so we went inside were it was warm and sat on a bench and waited.  We got MP for Space for 8:10 to make sure we were all logged into the park correctly.  Right at 8, we hit the link and got BG 11.  We then went to Space and rode (standby was already 60 min), were checking out Star Trader and our BG got called.  There was no wait, we walked all the way through the queue and got right in.  I think we were done with the ride about 9:30.  It was amazing!  We're going back on the 29th with my mom so hope we'll have the same good luck then.


----------



## JWelch62

Mathmagicland said:


> Yes, there are separate lines for MM.  Look for signage above the entrance gates for which ones are MM vs which say Entrance for non- MM guests.  When I was there a couple of weeks ago MM gates were on the left of center closest to downtown Disney and regular gates were right of center but things can change as that is opposite of how it’s been in the past.


I was going to post that my recent experience was MM on the right, so definitely make sure to read the signs above the entrance gates.


----------



## lindyv321

Playing from work and 22 minutes after park opening I’m still getting the join boarding group option!


----------



## jlmarr

bfost87 said:


> Sent wife on next as we’re doing a rider swap.


 Please explain rider swap on RotR.  My nephew would like to do the ride but he always brings his Sweet Pea with him.  We were talking about bringing grandma to babysit, but maybe there's a more efficient way.


----------



## dina444444

What time did guaranteed groups go at this morning?


----------



## dina444444

The Chart:


----------



## Disn3yVision

Pressed find out more at 8am and 1 second. Got grey box for 20 seconds (kept trying) then Couldn’t connect to red box for 60 seconds. Kept trying. Got boarding group 86 at 8:01 and 5 seconds. Standing by plaza in, iPhone X, AT&T. Hoping the ride stays up today!


----------



## montreid

Out  ~8:01:10 ;   standby still going at 8:35


----------



## SOCALMouseMommy

What is up with the park hours? I expected a 9am open today. And I just checked 2/19 (Wednesday) because I was supposed to go with a friend to try for the ride and it’s also an 8am open?


----------



## Mark_E

SOCALMouseMommy said:


> What is up with the park hours? I expected a 9am open today. And I just checked 2/19 (Wednesday) because I was supposed to go with a friend to try for the ride and it’s also an 8am open?



I’m there next week too and from reading things, it’s “Ski Week” in a few places with schools out for the week.


----------



## dina444444

SOCALMouseMommy said:


> What is up with the park hours? I expected a 9am open today. And I just checked 2/19 (Wednesday) because I was supposed to go with a friend to try for the ride and it’s also an 8am open?


Some schools are off today. For Wednesday and Thursday this week the 8am openings are cause the park is closing at 8pm for the hard ticket sweethearts night (9pm-1am). Next week they are on full schedule since a number of schools are off the whole week.


----------



## ironband74

SOCALMouseMommy said:


> What is up with the park hours? I expected a 9am open today. And I just checked 2/19 (Wednesday) because I was supposed to go with a friend to try for the ride and it’s also an 8am open?



Same!  I didn't realize it was an 8AM open today.  Must be because next weekend is a long weekend?  So I missed my practice time and watching all the fun unfold...

Edit:  Forgot about the Sweetheart events this week...

But, in other news, they still have backups available at 8:47


----------



## ironband74

Now boarding group 11.


----------



## dina444444

Anyone catch what time backups ran out at?


----------



## mel2014

SOCALMouseMommy said:


> What is up with the park hours? I expected a 9am open today. And I just checked 2/19 (Wednesday) because I was supposed to go with a friend to try for the ride and it’s also an 8am open?



It's a holiday for some people -- Lincoln's Birthday -- so I'm guessing that's why. Our kids have the day off school, so that's why we picked this weekend to come.

Clearly a lot of people just assumed a 9:00 open based on how long the backup groups lasted.

As a new data point, we had boarding group 11 today and headed over shortly after our group was called. At 9:02 when we scanned in, there were still backups available. Out of curiosity I decided to see if it would let me get another boarding group.  I tried to join and it didn't give me the usual "You're already in a boarding group" screen. It let me select my tickets and click the "Join Boarding Button". Only then did a popup appear that said something like "Unfortunately due to demand we are unable to accommodate individuals already in boarding group." After I backed out, at that point the backups were finally gone.


----------



## ironband74

dina444444 said:


> Anyone catch what time backups ran out at?


I didn't, but Thrill-Data shows them gone at 8:56.


----------



## ironband74

It is interesting to note that, with regard to up-time percentage, The three worst days on record occur on Sundays.

The three best days on record occur on Mondays. We've only had three Mondays (today is the fourth).

It is hard to see this as a random thing, though it might me.  If the pattern holds for a few more weeks, though, I'm really going to be scratching my head.


----------



## LisaDKG

I am a Canadian about to buy a US SIM card for use during my trip to the parks starting on Wednesday.  I can buy one that uses AT&T or TMobile and I remember PPs mentioning which carrier they had success with but don't know if there was a consensus?  I think I read that AT&T is the official carrier of Disney?  Does that make a difference in speed/accessibility.  I was at the parks in October and had a horrible time trying to use the park wifi on my Canadian carrier (near impossible for some reason) so I'm hoping to avoid it and just rely on some good American data...


----------



## vickiea

LisaDKG said:


> I am a Canadian about to buy a US SIM card for use during my trip to the parks starting on Wednesday.  I can buy one that uses AT&T or TMobile and I remember PPs mentioning which carrier they had success with but don't know if there was a consensus?  I think I read that AT&T is the official carrier of Disney?  Does that make a difference in speed/accessibility.  I was at the parks in October and had a horrible time trying to use the park wifi on my Canadian carrier (near impossible for some reason) so I'm hoping to avoid it and just rely on some good American data...


Canadian here that just returned. We were on AT&T and had no issues getting a BG each of the 3 days that we tried.

Good luck.


----------



## LisaDKG

vickiea said:


> Canadian here that just returned. We were on AT&T and had no issues getting a BG each of the 3 days that we tried.
> 
> Good luck.



Thank you - just bought AT&T!


----------



## Katiebird

I just want to say thank you to everyone for keeping this thread spoiler free. With one or two exceptions, it really has been, and it was delightful to be able to ride with very very little idea of what the ride was like (all I knew was from seeing print ads and a couple of vague comments). It’s rare to be able to experience a ride “blind” like that, and I appreciate that this thread has been able to exist and give such incredible information but without spoilers.


----------



## JWelch62

LisaDKG said:


> Thank you - just bought AT&T!


Does your plan not offer text and data in the US? I know that Verizon and AT&T both offer "free" text and data in Canada in Mexico with your plan. I would have thought there would be reciprocal agreements with Canadian carriers.


----------



## HydroGuy

ironband74 said:


> It is interesting to note that, with regard to up-time percentage, The three worst days on record occur on Sundays.
> 
> The three best days on record occur on Mondays. We've only had three Mondays (today is the fourth).
> 
> It is hard to see this as a random thing, though it might me.  If the pattern holds for a few more weeks, though, I'm really going to be scratching my head.


Duh. Sundays are the last day of the week for Jawas and they have a quota to meet. They use ROTR to help meet the quota. So Sundays are bad for guests. Mondays are the Jawas' rest day.


----------



## Fuzeon

If we have EMH Thursday, which starts at 0700, what time do suggest arriving at DTD security and/or the turnstiles?

Thank you!


----------



## montreid

Crushing it right now -- spread of 26 groups.    Nice.


----------



## disneyholic family

vickiea said:


> Canadian here that just returned. We were on AT&T and had no issues getting a BG each of the 3 days that we tried.
> 
> Good luck.




where do you buy the sim card?

.


----------



## crystal1313

Is the consensus opinion that trying to get a BG on a non MM/EMH day is better?  We are going in June (I Know, really far away at this point!) From Sun-Wed staying the DLH.  Only doing two days in the parks.  Initially thought of going Sunday and Monday, but no EMH on those days for DL.  I know we just need to be scanned into DL before opening, but wondering if a lack of MM/EMH helps in terms of less people scanned in.  Or does it even matter?  Thanks!


----------



## JWelch62

crystal1313 said:


> Is the consensus opinion that trying to get a BG on a non MM/EMH day is better?  We are going in June (I Know, really far away at this point!) From Sun-Wed staying the DLH.  Only doing two days in the parks.  Initially thought of going Sunday and Monday, but no EMH on those days for DL.  I know we just need to be scanned into DL before opening, but wondering if a lack of MM/EMH helps in terms of less people scanned in.  Or does it even matter?  Thanks!


I don't think I've seen any posts suggesting EMH/MM is any better or worse in terms of getting a BG. The main benefit of EMH/MM IMHO is that you have less stress getting scanned into DL.


----------



## mel2014

crystal1313 said:


> Is the consensus opinion that trying to get a BG on a non MM/EMH day is better?  We are going in June (I Know, really far away at this point!) From Sun-Wed staying the DLH.  Only doing two days in the parks.  Initially thought of going Sunday and Monday, but no EMH on those days for DL.  I know we just need to be scanned into DL before opening, but wondering if a lack of MM/EMH helps in terms of less people scanned in.  Or does it even matter?  Thanks!



In our experience this weekend, it was awful trying to get in Saturday when we didn't have MM/EMH. There were only a few non-MM lines and they didn't start letting non-MM people in until around 7:35 and the lines moved super-slowly. By contrast this morning they started letting people in at 7:20 and had all the gates open. We arrived at basically the same time both days. On Saturday we got into the park at 7:54. Today we were in at 7:31. Of course today a lot of people seemed to think it would be a 9:00 opening, so there might be more crowds on a "regular" day


----------



## LisaDKG

JWelch62 said:


> Does your plan not offer text and data in the US? I know that Verizon and AT&T both offer "free" text and data in Canada in Mexico with your plan. I would have thought there would be reciprocal agreements with Canadian carriers.



No, that's the problem I have (or, uh, one of them!).  My current plan is through my husband's company and while his phone has a Roam Like Home feature (what many companies offer here in Canada where you pay a small fee per day that you access US data) my line does not and can not be enabled.  I would have to change my phone plan entirely which means a jump of $20 per month that just wouldn't be worth it for this one trip.


----------



## LisaDKG

disneyholic family said:


> where do you buy the sim card?
> 
> .


 
I bought mine this morning on Amazon.ca and with Prime it will arrive today!  I have no idea if this was a good way to go or not but I'll find out soon!  I saw that it can also be ordered through Bestbuy.ca. The SIM card company is called Most Sim and it is AT&T authorized (TMobile too actually).   Originally I was just going to make a stop at a convenience store on the way from LAX to Anaheim.  My only issue is that you need to set up activation online once you receive the card and I'm not sure what the turn around time is between activation and functionality.  I need it for sure for this Thursday's MM and I'm not sure if that is too soon.


----------



## disneyholic family

LisaDKG said:


> I bought mine this morning on Amazon.ca and with Prime it will arrive today!  I have no idea if this was a good way to go or not but I'll find out soon!  I saw that it can also be ordered through Bestbuy.ca. The SIM card company is called Most Sim and it is AT&T authorized (TMobile too actually).   Originally I was just going to make a stop at a convenience store on the way from LAX to Anaheim.  My only issue is that you need to set up activation online once you receive the card and I'm not sure what the turn around time is between activation and functionality.  I need it for sure for this Thursday's MM and I'm not sure if that is too soon.



thanks!  i'll check it out.
I'm not sure what we'll do this time.
For the past few years, i've had a roaming package with my regular carrier that worked well, but my trips in august and september turned into nightmares as my data was completely cut off (by AT&T - the roaming partner).
so i have to find an alternative, especially since i'll need waze for the driving portion of the trip.

.


----------



## ComeToSocialize

mel2014 said:


> In our experience this weekend, it was awful trying to get in Saturday when we didn't have MM/EMH. There were only a few non-MM lines and they didn't start letting non-MM people in until around 7:35 and the lines moved super-slowly. By contrast this morning they started letting people in at 7:20 and had all the gates open. We arrived at basically the same time both days. On Saturday we got into the park at 7:54. Today we were in at 7:31. Of course today a lot of people seemed to think it would be a 9:00 opening, so there might be more crowds on a "regular" day



Echoing this. Based on this most recent weekend, if you don't have EMH/HH, it was much easier to get in the park on Sunday when there was no EMH/HH than on Saturday. 

We had MM/EMH on Saturday, and arrived at esplanade around 7:10 - didn't get into the park until 7:25. Had we not had EMH, I would've been concerned as the non-EMH line was quite long and chaotic. 

On Sunday, we arrived at esplanade around 7:20, and were in the park again by about 7:25. With no EMH/MM, all lines were open to all guests and moving quickly. So despite having EMH/MM, we actually got in the park easier on Sunday than Saturday. And that gap would've been far wider if we not had EMH on Saturday. 

Experience may vary though as we have have gotten lucky that they opened the gates on Sunday well before 7:30am, possibly because it was raining.


----------



## montreid

So going up this weekend for a conference on-site.  It runs 8A-12noon so going to go grab a BG in the AM then back to conference in GCH -   the trick is to get BG that's 40-82!   Anyone with suggestions?  Hit at 5 Mississippi or not?


----------



## Aurora0427

Mark_E said:


> I’m there next week too and from reading things, it’s “Ski Week” in a few places with schools out for the week.



Yes, we are in San Diego and my friends who live in Rancho Santa Fe and their kids go to public school are out this week. I’m not sure which district they’re in. Our ski break is next week.


----------



## PHXscuba

So I am going to make a hypothesis I'm hoping the group can crowdsource-confirm:

*If going on a NON MM/EMH day (M-W-F-Sun) and inside the park at opening, a prepared visitor could get a guaranteed boarding group OR a backup boarding group under BG 100. *

Based on the spreadsheet being built over the past 4 weeks, and boarding groups on non-MM/EMH days lasting 20-30 minutes, if you're in the park and pushing all the right the buttons at opening, I believe you could be "pretty sure" of riding that day.

I know nothing is certain, YMMV, and holidays would throw that assumption out the window, but would that hypothesis generally prove true? 

PHXscuba


----------



## vickiea

disneyholic family said:


> where do you buy the sim card?
> 
> .


We bought from Amazon a card from Gig Sky. This allows you to use it in multiple places around the world, and then activate a plan when you need it. This is data only, no voice - but who actually 'calls' on their phone anymore? We use iphones that are older, but apparently it is even easier on the newer ones with Gig Sky.


----------



## crystal1313

ComeToSocialize said:


> Echoing this. Based on this most recent weekend, if you don't have EMH/HH, it was much easier to get in the park on Sunday when there was no EMH/HH than on Saturday.
> 
> We had MM/EMH on Saturday, and arrived at esplanade around 7:10 - didn't get into the park until 7:25. Had we not had EMH, I would've been concerned as the non-EMH line was quite long and chaotic.
> 
> On Sunday, we arrived at esplanade around 7:20, and were in the park again by about 7:25. With no EMH/MM, all lines were open to all guests and moving quickly. So despite having EMH/MM, we actually got in the park easier on Sunday than Saturday. And that gap would've been far wider if we not had EMH on Saturday.
> 
> Experience may vary though as we have have gotten lucky that they opened the gates on Sunday well before 7:30am, possibly because it was raining.


Thank you!  This was exactly what I was looking for.  Less chaos on a non MM/EMH day.  =)


----------



## disneyholic family

vickiea said:


> We bought from Amazon a card from Gig Sky. This allows you to use it in multiple places around the world, and then activate a plan when you need it. This is data only, no voice - but who actually 'calls' on their phone anymore? We use iphones that are older, but apparently it is even easier on the newer ones with Gig Sky.



i don't know why i didn't think of this before - i could get a SIM for my old simless iphone 6.  Then i could get a voice package with my 'real' phone with my 'real' carrier and use the old iphone for data.  

.


----------



## Skyegirl1999

PHXscuba said:


> So I am going to make a hypothesis I'm hoping the group can crowdsource-confirm:
> 
> *If going on a NON MM/EMH day (M-W-F-Sun) and inside the park at opening, a prepared visitor could get a guaranteed boarding group OR a backup boarding group under BG 100. *
> 
> Based on the spreadsheet being built over the past 4 weeks, and boarding groups on non-MM/EMH days lasting 20-30 minutes, if you're in the park and pushing all the right the buttons at opening, I believe you could be "pretty sure" of riding that day.
> 
> I know nothing is certain, YMMV, and holidays would throw that assumption out the window, but would that hypothesis generally prove true?
> 
> PHXscuba


Eh, I wouldn’t necessarily say that’s true for all non-MM days, particularly Sundays...

I think a bigger predictor of success at this point is the number of phones in your group.  If someone tells me they’ve got a group of six people who all know what they’re doing trying at rope drop?  I’d absolutely take the bet that they’re getting a guaranteed BG on any day, MM or not.  But a single person?  Or just two, maybe?  That starts to get more dicey for sure, and the lack of competition on MM days becomes more favorable. 

There have definitely been a few days where it’s pretty certain that everyone in the park when it opened got to ride if they waited long enough.  The first time that happened was a Wednesday, and I’d say it’s more likely to be the case on a non-MM. 

You also have to factor in the difficulty of getting into the park on time and all of that...


----------



## socaldisneylover

Don't look now......but.......

Chance to get through all the 81 "guaranteed" groups by 3:00 PM?


----------



## gerilyne

socaldisneylover said:


> Don't look now......but.......
> 
> Chance to get through all the 81 "guaranteed" groups by 3:00 PM?


Don't tell the Jawas....


----------



## Going2DisneyAZ

socaldisneylover said:


> Don't look now......but.......
> 
> Chance to get through all the 81 "guaranteed" groups by 3:00 PM?


Lets hope didn't just jinx it.


----------



## socaldisneylover

Going2DisneyAZ said:


> Lets hope didn't just jinx it.


Yeah, at this point I know the ride has a mind of it's own.  I'm not that superstitious.  I tend more towards conspiracies.  Like Disney is watching us get optimistic in our posts, so they decide to shut the ride down, to teach us all a lesson.

But seriously....I think the ride has a basic difficulty in operating for more than few hours without a breakdown, and I don't think there has been one yet today.  Meaning with every passing minute, the chance of it going down increases exponentially.  But for now, it's on a roll.

That's one of the metrics I'm most curious about.  The highest # of continuous hours it has operated at any time, prior to breaking down.  If they hope to have any chance of significantly exceeding the roughly 120-130 max groups called to date, the offline time really has to get to 1-2 hours a day at most.  That means 1 breakdown max per day, since each one of those can be 90 minutes to even 4 hours, as happened yesterday.


----------



## ironband74

socaldisneylover said:


> Yeah, at this point I know the ride has a mind of it's own.  I'm not that superstitious.  I tend more towards conspiracies.  Like Disney is watching us get optimistic in our posts, so they decide to shut the ride down, to teach us all a lesson.
> 
> But seriously....I think the ride has a basic difficulty in operating for more than few hours without a breakdown, and I don't think there has been one yet today.  Meaning with every passing minute, the chance of it going down increases exponentially.  But for now, it's on a roll.
> 
> That's one of the metrics I'm most curious about.  The highest # of continuous hours it has operated at any time, prior to breaking down.  If they hope to have any chance of significantly exceeding the roughly 120-130 max groups called to date, the offline time really has to get to 1-2 hours a day at most.  That means 1 breakdown max per day, since each one of those can be 90 minutes to even 4 hours, as happened yesterday.


I seem to remember seeing over 8 hours of contiguous operation on one day when the thing was a mess in the morning, but came up around noon and went straight on till they stopped calling at 8:30.

At 74 at 1:55.  Only 7 more until the backups.  Here's hoping that the Monday Magic continues.


----------



## Disn3yVision

2pm and boarding group 74.


----------



## montreid

Aurora0427 said:


> Yes, we are in San Diego and my friends who live in Rancho Santa Fe and their kids go to public school are out this week. I’m not sure which district they’re in. Our ski break is next week.


Not San Dieguito SD as we're in session.   Unless my kid's out there doing who knows what this week!


----------



## montreid

It is Jawa time --- looking strong 20 group spread and at 79


----------



## JWelch62

montreid said:


> Not San Dieguito SD as we're in session.   Unless my kid's out there doing who knows what this week!


Same here. (We're at SDA). But, RSF school district (k-8) is off this week.


----------



## ironband74

montreid said:


> It is Jawa time --- looking strong 20 group spread and at 79


Darn Jawas!  Maybe we can hire a Mandalorian to keep them away...


----------



## ironband74

So we got a good 5.5 hours before the first appreciable downtime.  Very typical...same time the last two Mondays...


----------



## HydroGuy

ironband74 said:


> Darn Jawas!  Maybe we can hire a Mandalorian to keep them away...


----------



## ironband74

HydroGuy said:


> View attachment 472681


Later that same day:


----------



## Susie63

disneyholic family said:


> i don't know why i didn't think of this before - i could get a SIM for my old simless iphone 6.  Then i could get a voice package with my 'real' phone with my 'real' carrier and use the old iphone for data.
> 
> .London drugs has them. Roam mobility


----------



## Congo Queen

I passed all the tips from this thread onto my DD (22) who is at Dland today with her boyfriend.  They arrived on MS at 7:45am. At 8am they hit the Join Boarding Group button and got BG 45.  They rode ROTR around noon today. A soon as they got off the ride, she texted me the following - "That was the most mind blowing, incredible ride I have ever been on, period." Thanks to all for sharing your best practices for BG success.  I can't wait to go myself this summer.


----------



## ironband74

Going on 2 hours down...I guess someone needed to go to Tosche station to pick up some power converters...


----------



## Aurora0427

montreid said:


> Not San Dieguito SD as we're in session.   Unless my kid's out there doing who knows what this week!


----------



## AndyMcDandy

Hi everyone! New to this forum - AP holder since September, first time in my life (haha, 35 years old). 

My wife and 4 year old are headed to DL on Wednesday. I’ve seen a few posts about “rider switch” or “child swap” on ROTR. can anyone who has done this at Disneyland confirm that it is being allowed? And elaborate on how it’s done? Official website does not list it as a rider switch ride and most posts on the web refer to WDW. If this info is elsewhere then I apologize and please point me in the right direction. 

Thank you all!


----------



## e_yerger

AndyMcDandy said:


> Hi everyone! New to this forum - AP holder since September, first time in my life (haha, 35 years old).
> 
> My wife and 4 year old are headed to DL on Wednesday. I’ve seen a few posts about “rider switch” or “child swap” on ROTR. can anyone who has done this at Disneyland confirm that it is being allowed? And elaborate on how it’s done? Official website does not list it as a rider switch ride and most posts on the web refer to WDW. If this info is elsewhere then I apologize and please point me in the right direction.
> 
> Thank you all!


I believe both you and your wife will need to be apart of the BG in order to use rider swp


----------



## socaldisneylover

This ride is pathetic.  Can't even go half the day without breaking down.  Over 2 hours awol at this point.

Almost 4 weeks in operation, and ZERO improvement.  Can't even release more than 81 guaranteed groups.


----------



## ironband74

socaldisneylover said:


> This ride is pathetic.  Can't even go half the day without breaking down.  Over 2 hours awol at this point.
> 
> Almost 4 weeks in operation, and ZERO improvement.  Can't even do more than 81 guaranteed groups.


I would disagree with zero improvement.  If you compare the first 10 days with the last 10 days, The best days are better, the worst days are better, and the averages are better.  Is it still unreliable as heck?  Yes.  But to say there has been zero improvement just doesn't match the data.


----------



## socaldisneylover

ironband74 said:


> I would disagree with zero improvement.  If you compare the first 10 days with the last 10 days, The best days are better, the worst days are better, and the averages are better.  Is it still unreliable as heck?  Yes.  But to say there has been zero improvement just doesn't match the data.


I'm basing my assessment on the fact the guaranteed # of groups has not changed at all since the roughly 80 groups that were in place on Day 1 last month.  The fact they're not willing to up that, indicates they have no confidence that the ride will safely achieve anything much higher, otherwise the # would be increasing.  Every day, they're still in a very definite range of from 90 to 130 groups.  That latter # is not increasing either, and that's because even on a good day, they expect the ride to be down for hours at a time.  The shutdowns also seem to be getting longer in some cases, there have been a couple of 4 hour breakdowns in the last few days, and today we're approaching a 3 hour shutdown, stuck at group 79.

I truly wanted to believe the stuff I've heard on other sites was over reaction, but clearly they were right.  Disney has no idea if/when this ride will become more reliable.  And we're not even in the busy season.  Just wait until summer, when the park will be packed.


----------



## StarGirl11

Or ya know maybe they don't want to start having to issue comps like DHS does if your guaranteed doesn't get called. Just a thought. Especially since they've shown adversion several times now to comping even a recovery FP for a three hour downtime. 

Look most rides are going to have an issue and I'm with @ironband74 here it is improving overall. Like it or not an increase in the trend is an improvement. Eventually they'll start calling more BGs they're just playing it cautious at the moment. 

Though honestly, I wonder if the BGs will survive summer. Not because it's not the best method but if the guaranteed are gone in a minute during the 'slow time'.


----------



## jacandjan

It seems to me that socaldisneylover just likes to stir the pot.  Most on this thread are glass half full types and looking for helpful info not a dooms day attitude.


----------



## Skyegirl1999

I would love to see the ride become more reliable than it is.  Obviously.  Everyone would love to see that... Disney probably most of all.

But I don’t find it “pathetic” currently.  And if I’m being honest, I don’t know that I expect it to improve that much, at least not anytime soon.  I don’t really share @ironband74 ’s optimism; I think we might be looking at the norm for the foreseeable future.  And I still don’t think that makes it a failure.

If the ride had way lower capacity than it does, it could run “reliably” and still accommodate less people than it currently does.  And I mean, I was stuck in a 2-hour line last weekend after it started up 2.5 after park open, totally throwing off our day - so I’ve felt the pain of its unreliability firsthand.  But it is what it is.  And thousands of people are enjoying it in spite of the issues.


----------



## ironband74

Well, we're back up.  Let's see if it holds.


----------



## mmkaiser

g_i_titus said:


> I’ve been reading through this thread and can’t find an answer to our situation. My brother and I are going on a siblings only birthday trip Feb 8-10. We have a 7:30 reservation on Saturday Feb 8 for Minnie’s breakfast. Where will we go to ensure we are at our reservation on time? Do they have a breakfast entrance line? Thank you!


We are doing this exact same thing this Saturday.  How did it all work out?  Were the crowds crazy and were you able to get to your breakfast reservation by 7:30?  Hoping to get our ROTR BG from breakfast at the Plaza Inn with our iPhones/Verizon.  Were you successful?  Appreciate any tips!  Thanks.


----------



## Going2DisneyAZ

socaldisneylover said:


> This ride is pathetic.  Can't even go half the day without breaking down.  Over 2 hours awol at this point.
> 
> Almost 4 weeks in operation, and ZERO improvement.  Can't even release more than 81 guaranteed groups.



I have been thinking on this issue for a few days now. I honestly believe that the internet has caused the issues of downtime to be blown out of proportion. 

In 1995 I was an annual pass holder and witnessed the launch of Indy.  Arguably ROTR is the biggest technological leap for an attraction since Indy. 

I recall vividly the number of breakdowns that attraction suffered in its first months if not years of operation.   

The difference is the speed at which information and analysis by fans is calculated and spread.

If these boards existed in 1995 my God we would have had Indy shut down and buried by now.

Lastly as one that spent several visits waiting HOURS in lines that stretched out of adventureland and down mainstreet to ride Indy I for one love the VC . Is it perfect?  Probably not. Is it better than back in the day? Hell ya.


----------



## SOCALMouseMommy

AndyMcDandy said:


> Hi everyone! New to this forum - AP holder since September, first time in my life (haha, 35 years old).
> 
> My wife and 4 year old are headed to DL on Wednesday. I’ve seen a few posts about “rider switch” or “child swap” on ROTR. can anyone who has done this at Disneyland confirm that it is being allowed? And elaborate on how it’s done? Official website does not list it as a rider switch ride and most posts on the web refer to WDW. If this info is elsewhere then I apologize and please point me in the right direction.
> 
> Thank you all!


You can use rider switch on this ride. Both you and your wife need to have a boarding group. If you get one, when they call your number, approach the line with all three and let them know you need a rider switch. The waiting parent will get something loaded on to their ticket with a return time (I imagine roughly 45 minutes after the first rider enters). I suggest you screen shot it in case it goes poof.

But are you sure your 4-year-old can’t ride? Height minimum is only 40 inches. My son hit 40 inches a month shy of his third birthday.


----------



## ironband74

jacandjan said:


> It seems to me that socaldisneylover just likes to stir the pot.  Most on this thread are glass half full types and looking for helpful info not a dooms day attitude.


I don't get that feeling at all.  I just think that people's background figures into their outlook.  I've done a lot of engineering projects, and have recently been learning a lot about risk management and economics.  I assume that folks involved in this project from Disney's perspective have similar backgrounds, and so I try to imagine how this colors things.  

I, for one, appreciate the counterpoint, since the filter through which we view these things puts us at risk for confirmation bias when we look at the data. I have to ask myself "Do I see positive trends because I want to?" 

One way to test one's filter on the data is to make predictions and see how the filter predicts.

@socaldisneylover 's filter says that this will be how it is for a long long time.

My filter says that it will improve steadily and then dramatically.

We'll see which filter more accurately predicts the future state.


----------



## jacandjan

I can appreciate your point of view and I like you see things improving little by little. I don't mean to be down on socaldisneylover I just choose to see the bright side. I come here for info both  good and bad  but not doom and gloom with a side of it will never be any good.


----------



## jacandjan

Sorry, things have drifted of topic...…..enough said


----------



## ironband74

Sad times...we're down again.



StarGirl11 said:


> Though honestly, I wonder if the BGs will survive summer. Not because it's not the best method but if the guaranteed are gone in a minute during the 'slow time'.



Personally, I think that the timing of the opening of the attraction here is specifically designed to ensure that BGs are not in use when the Summertime comes.

Yeah, yeah, I know the company line.

But I think they carefully timed this to miss the busy holiday season, open in January with the BG system, with an eye on having about 5 months of operation to get reliability to a reasonable enough level to do away with it and move to either pure standby or standby + fastpass or pure fastpass. They've got enough "busy times" in there with holiday weekends and Spring Breaks to stress test things, but they aren't quite so busy as Summer and Christmas, so not totally insane. 

So I guess I'll predict that by early June we'll see Boarding Groups fall by the wayside. In a worst case scenario, BGs could persist into the summer, but I don't see that being plan "A."


----------



## Etonduf

Skyegirl1999 said:


> Eh, I wouldn’t necessarily say that’s true for all non-MM days, particularly Sundays...
> 
> *I think a bigger predictor of success at this point is the number of phones in your group*.  If someone tells me they’ve got a group of six people who all know what they’re doing trying at rope drop?  I’d absolutely take the bet that they’re getting a guaranteed BG on any day, MM or not.  But a single person?  Or just two, maybe?  That starts to get more dicey for sure, and the lack of competition on MM days becomes more favorable.



I agree with this. Prior to my visit I theorized that having someone helping from home was a sure bet for a low BG based on our practice before the trip. But the process is just...glitchy and fluky. In our case, two phones helping from home got beat by a crappy iPhone 6S operated by a 10-year-old child on a slash-rate data carrier in a crowded area of the park. On both days we tried. I got the red button once but got the "something went wrong" error.

So yeah, leverage as many phones as possible. Have everyone practice from home a time or two, or at least watch videos of the process.


----------



## ironband74

socaldisneylover said:


> I truly wanted to believe the stuff I've heard on other sites was over reaction, but clearly they were right.  Disney has no idea if/when this ride will become more reliable.  And we're not even in the busy season.  Just wait until summer, when the park will be packed.


I think Disney knows that it will take about five months to make the ride more reliable.


----------



## Etonduf

socaldisneylover said:


> This ride is pathetic.  Can't even go half the day without breaking down.  Over 2 hours awol at this point.
> 
> Almost 4 weeks in operation, and ZERO improvement.  Can't even release more than 81 guaranteed groups.



I can't really imagine what Disney would gain by increasing the number of regular BGs, so I don't see that as a meaningful metric at all. Even if they're pushing through 200 groups per day, why not just give out 120 backups?


----------



## socaldisneylover

I realize that my criticisms tend to be all doom and gloom, and honestly wish I didn't feel that way.  Believe me, like others who are analyzing trends, I would love nothing more than to start seeing days where the ride does not break down for hours at a time.  A day where they get through the guaranteed groups by 1:00, and through 160 groups by park close.

I'm just fearful that what we are seeing now will become the norm for this ride.  That they will reach a point where they conclude that this boarding group process is the only way to operate the attraction over the long term.

I also get annoyed that there is absolutely nothing in the advertisements of this ride to indicate these restrictions.  I have no doubt that some are seeing the commercials of how fantastic this ride is, yet have no idea that there are multiple hoops to jump through, and really no guarantees that by paying your $100+ to visit DL, you will actually get on it.  Surely there are people willing to wait multiple hours in a standby line, or are even expecting to have to deal with that, only to discover that scenario doesn't exist.  You might get to park at 7:00 AM, yet 12 hours later, get a notification that you aren't getting on that day.  It is very deceptive....and INTENTIONAL on Disney's part, I believe, to fail to mention this at all in their advertising.  Heck, during the reservation period of Galaxy's Edge, it was a big bold statement on every ad, that you needed one in order to enter the new land.

In any case, I do hope things improve.  I just fear that Disney is merely kicking the can down the road.  Not necessarily because they want to, but because this extraordinary new ride is so advanced that when it breaks, and it does often, it more or less falls apart, resulting in 2, 3 or 4 hour downtimes.


----------



## ten6mom

I am super anxious for my son and his best friend who are going this weekend... I originally thought they'd have two full park days (saturday and sunday) but when I spoke to the friend's parents, their only "rope drop" day will be Sunday... so it's not looking fantastic for them.  But it seems like the friends (whose idea this was) is philosophical about not getting on... which is good.

I'm personally going on my ladies' trip at the end of February and plan to try all four mornings.

Then we are taking a family trip near the end of June, so it'll be interesting to see if the BGs are still a thing by then!


----------



## ironband74

And we're back up.



Etonduf said:


> I can't really imagine what Disney would gain by increasing the number of regular BGs, so I don't see that as a meaningful metric at all. Even if they're pushing through 200 groups per day, why not just give out 120 backups?


I agree.  This is classic risk management.  No upside to increasing.  Looking at WDW who started with regular groups in the hundreds and has now had to ratchet that down into the sixties to temper expectations, keeping our BGs in the 70s provides a comfortable target that we have been able to meet 100% of the time so far, while leaving room for improvement.  It is far easier to increase BGs than to reduce them, as DHS has had to.  

On another topic (sort of), when we look at the DHS data, we do see worsening performance over the last few weeks. I know that a lot of folks will look at this and have a tendency to say "See! The attraction is degrading and there is no improvement!" But I look at that and say to myself "They are trying some creative solutions that are not working, but from which they are learning something." The "right" time to do this is during the slower winter season (I understand that seasons work differently in WDW, but winter is still the 'low' season, no?) When you can better get away with it.

I believe that with two months of operation in Florida and 3 weeks here (plus CM previews), they have likely identified many of the weak points.  It is now a matter of solving those.  Some solutions have to be implemented in order to fully evaluate.  Some will make things worse and have to be backed out, but I expect that when they find one that makes things better, we'll notice.


----------



## montreid

Most Disney folk tend to be optimistic. 

I haven't seen specific advertisements for ROTR specifically.   If so, I would expect some type of disclaimer for that ride somewhere.  

As for the BGs.....remember WDW launched during the holidays.   We got up at 430AM for it on during the busiest weekend Dec 28.  in the rain!  

We simply just don't know where this goes.   Even with higher demands in the summer, if the breakdowns last an hour still and multiple times a day, I would expect they maintain BGs to manage this.  If it becomes 'reliable' as say Indy; perhaps they will move to a standby/FP system; where all the FP still will go in :01 if not faster.   Personally, when we went to AK and saw FOP standy at 5 hours, spilling out of Pandora into the main hub....that was insane and a huge disruption to crowd control and flow throughout the Pandora land.


----------



## ironband74

socaldisneylover said:


> I also get annoyed that there is absolutely nothing in the advertisements of this ride to indicate these restrictions.  I have no doubt that some are seeing the commercials of how fantastic this ride is, yet have no idea that there are multiple hoops to jump through, and really no guarantees that by paying your $100+ to visit DL, you will actually get on it.  Surely there are people willing to wait multiple hours in a standby line, or are even expecting to have to deal with that, only to discover that scenario doesn't exist.  You might get to park at 7:00 AM, yet 12 hours later, get a notification that you aren't getting on that day.  It is very deceptive....and INTENTIONAL on Disney's part, I believe, to fail to mention this at all in their advertising.  Heck, during the reservation period of Galaxy's Edge, it was a big bold statement on every ad, that you needed one in order to enter the new land.



Being in NorCal, I'm not seeing any advertisements for this thing yet.  But then again, I don't watch a lot of network TV these days.  I would agree that they should disclaimer the heck out of any ads they have for this attraction until they are able to move away from BGs.


----------



## Blue32

If I’m honest, I hope they continue with the boarding groups for a while. I can’t imagine what the standby waits are going to look like for this once they change over. How about the crowds in the esplanade in the morning? I think they might get worse. At least you know right away in the morning if you have a chance to ride...hopefully not a _terrible wait._


----------



## Aurora0427

Blue32 said:


> If I’m honest, I hope they continue with the boarding groups for a while. I can’t imagine what the standby waits are going to look like for this once they change over. How about the crowds in the esplanade in the morning? I think they might get worse. At least you know right away in the morning if you have a chance to ride...hopefully not a _terrible wait._



Can you imagine the run to Galaxy’s Edge? Omg. Pure chaos.


----------



## midnight star

Aurora0427 said:


> Can you imagine the run to Galaxy’s Edge? Omg. Pure chaos.


That would be a stampede lol


----------



## ironband74

Hmmm...




Can't decide if it is broken down again...or if 110 is just the last BG of the day:


----------



## ironband74

Aurora0427 said:


> Can you imagine the run to Galaxy’s Edge? Omg. Pure chaos.


That's a good argument for keeping BGs around.  And why I think if they have reliability they will move to FP only.  Just like BGs, but you know approximately when you'll ride.


----------



## brightlined

I'm hoping that the advertising was just the lead-up to the ride opening. Advertising it now feels like a terrible idea.

The thing with getting rid of BGs - it's not only about improving efficiency during the day; they also need to lessen the amount of nightly maintenance it needs. If they switch to any kind of standby, it'd be pretty much required for the ride to still be open an hour after close. (Six Flags parks have often done "close early" with their rides, but I can't imagine that DL would want to do that with this. You'd see a super-long line 1 minute before whatever time that was, and pissed-off people if they chose a time at random.) The BGs let them close whenever they're done for the day - that's a huge advantage.

And going full FP doesn't really feel like much of a change. They'd still be gone in the morning. (And then what happens if it goes down for three hours?)

I'm still in the thinking that BGs will become the new normal, and people will get used to it. Once you don't have to be there at 8:01 or 9:01 to get one (maybe you can still get one at 10am or 11am), people will relax about it. (If I'm wrong, I still wouldn't expect BGs to go away until after the busy summer season is over.)


----------



## durantigger

I have been reading this thread compulsively for weeks in the lead up to my trip next week!! I'm excited and stressed!!!

Anyway, just chiming in on the ads. I live in the Bay Area, and listen to the radio all day every day at work. They are advertising ROTR a lot, and NO mention of boarding groups. None. I think that's really crappy and misleading for the non-psychoticly obsessive visitor.


----------



## ironband74

Looks like 110 is it for tonight.  Gonna get into maintenance mode early it looks like and get ready for tomorrow's 9AM normalcy.  They'll have 2 early but short days for the sweetheart nights, and then the long weekend to contend with.  



durantigger said:


> I have been reading this thread compulsively for weeks in the lead up to my trip next week!! I'm excited and stressed!!!
> 
> Anyway, just chiming in on the ads. I live in the Bay Area, and listen to the radio all day every day at work. They are advertising ROTR a lot, and NO mention of boarding groups. None. I think that's really crappy and misleading for the non-psychoticly obsessive visitor.


I'm in the Bay Area as well.  What stations are you hearing the ads on?  I might listen just to hear them and send feedback to Disney about the lack of "fine print"


----------



## montreid

ironband74 said:


> Looks like 110 is it for tonight.  Gonna get into maintenance mode early it looks like and get ready for tomorrow's 9AM normalcy.  They'll have 2 early but short days for the sweetheart nights, and then the long weekend to contend with.
> 
> 
> I'm in the Bay Area as well.  What stations are you hearing the ads on?  I might listen just to hear them and send feedback to Disney about the lack of "fine print"


Yeah, no disclaimers with a specific ride mention --- no bueno disney.  No bueno.


----------



## Aurora0427

ironband74 said:


> That's a good argument for keeping BGs around.  And why I think if they have reliability they will move to FP only.  Just like BGs, but you know approximately when you'll ride.



I know this would never happen, but I kind of wish GE had its own entrance separate from the Disneyland main entrance, so all of the people wanting to run each other over in the morning at rope drop to ride SR and eventually ROTR could go to their own chaotic place to wait and enter the park.


----------



## socaldisneylover

They have been showing a TV ad here in So Cal since it opened last month.  I saw it again last night during the Academy Awards.  No surprise there, since Disney owns ABC.  But I made it a point to replay the commercial to make sure they didn't have some small print, and there was none.  Not that 2 seconds of tiny print would necessarily suffice, but it would at least show they are at least attempting to let people know that there is a process.

And it is really simple.  I thought of what it could say over the course of about 1 minute.  Simply this:

Boarding Groups Required To Ride Attraction.  Number Of Groups Is Limited And Will Be Assigned To Guests At Park Opening On First Come, First Served Basis.

If people wanted to learn more, they are then free to do research ahead of their visit.  But Disney wants to limit bad PR about how the whole process works.  They also don't want to dissuade people from coming, by worrying them that they might not actually get on the ride.  And make no mistake, there are some who are paying 120 bucks primarily to go on this 1 ride.  And hyping it through tv ads merely fuels the interest, which is why they should state the caveat.  It is highly deceiving the way it is now.

Beyond that, the ride is having serious issues daily.  They delayed the opening by several months, and there's really no telling whether there has been any significant improvement over that period.  If this is somewhat common with complex rides, and Indy & RSR both experienced major downtimes on a daily basis when they opened, then that reassures that Disney has a chance to get it fixed.  My concern continues to be that they have this highly complex and complicated ride system, and have more or less hit the wall in terms of it's ongoing reliability.  One thing is certain, no part of the process will change 1 bit until they either can get the attraction to start occasionally getting full days where it does not break down.  And/or they can get the downtimes to a more acceptable 30-60 minutes, rather than up to 3 or 4 hours.  With a single 4 hour breakdown, they have lost 33% of a 12 hour park day.  If that seems acceptable over the long term, then I don't know what else to say.


----------



## durantigger

ironband74 said:


> I'm in the Bay Area as well.  What stations are you hearing the ads on?  I might listen just to hear them and send feedback to Disney about the lack of "fine print"



 BayFM and Mix106 frequently, and both are also currently giving away park tickets.


----------



## Skyegirl1999

My favorite are all the Facebook ads that are like, “The Resistance Needs Your Help!” with pictures of the ride. 

And then the comments are full of people posting pictures of the “boarding groups are full for today” signs and saying, “no, they don’t need my help; they won’t LET me help!”


----------



## StarGirl11

I kind of wonder if they possibly recorded the ads prior to even deciding to do the boarding groups.

Realistically it's going to take a while to sort out all the kinks. Hate to bring the 'other park' into this discussion. But I rode Hagrids in December, six months after its opening. And the ride was barely open for half of the operating day (5-6 hours out of 11) and you _could tell_ it was time for its daily maintenance by my last ride. At 2:00 in the afternoon.

But that being said the trend does show improvement. But big leaps and bounds with the ride is going to take a while. The thing is massive. Its got as much lines of code as the _*freaking Curiousity Rover. *_Bugs that they are finding now will take time to fix. And that's not accounting for a possible whackamole affect from bugs they find.


----------



## ironband74

brightlined said:


> And going full FP doesn't really feel like much of a change. They'd still be gone in the morning. (And then what happens if it goes down for three hours?)



It wouldn't be, but if you have 90-95% up time, then they give you more value because you know when you're going to ride.  And if it does go down...it's a multi-experience FP just like when any other FP attraction goes down.

But there would be some logistical considerations, such as when the FPs become available. I imagine they would continue to limit to park open. 

But it is probably too soon to think about details on that.  First thing is first, reliability has to improve drastically.


----------



## AndyMcDandy

e_yerger said:


> I believe both you and your wife will need to be apart of the BG in order to use rider swp


Thank you for the response! Yes 4 y.o. Is tall enough but I think it might be a little much for him. We barely got him on on Smuggler’s Run and he’s still sort of afraid of Radiator springs lol. The resistance will need to wait for him to confront the Dark Side on his own terms... =)


----------



## ZCarroll

I see a few times mentioned on the first page for when the turnstiles opened... is the information for the other days available somewhere?  Is there any consistency for when that happens now?


----------



## theluckyrabbit

ironband74 said:


> ... I kind of want to get down there and do this at least once, though. I'm now lobbying the family to maybe go the week after Easter, if I can swing it.  We'll see how things go.


If your trip plans fall into place, you have to let us know! The Jedi Master may pay us a visit!



lindyv321 said:


> Playing from work and 22 minutes after park opening I’m still getting the join boarding group option!


That happened to me, too -- it was weird!



Katiebird said:


> I just want to say thank you to everyone for keeping this thread spoiler free. With one or two exceptions, it really has been, and it was delightful to be able to ride with very very little idea of what the ride was like (all I knew was from seeing print ads and a couple of vague comments). It’s rare to be able to experience a ride “blind” like that, and I appreciate that this thread has been able to exist and give such incredible information but without spoilers.


Agree! Thank you to everyone here for being so good about avoiding ride spoilers! Keep up the good work!


----------



## theluckyrabbit

jlmarr said:


> Please explain rider swap on RotR.  My nephew would like to do the ride but he always brings his Sweet Pea with him.  We were talking about bringing grandma to babysit, but maybe there's a more efficient way.


See answer below and also post 2 (FAQs) on the first page.



SOCALMouseMommy said:


> You can use rider switch on this ride. Both you and your wife need to have a boarding group. If you get one, when they call your number, approach the line with all three and let them know you need a rider switch. The waiting parent will get something loaded on to their ticket with a return time (I imagine roughly 45 minutes after the first rider enters). I suggest you screen shot it in case it goes poof.
> 
> But are you sure your 4-year-old can’t ride? Height minimum is only 40 inches. My son hit 40 inches a month shy of his third birthday.


----------



## Going2DisneyAZ

ironband74 said:


> I'm in the Bay Area as well.  What stations are you hearing the ads on?  I might listen just to hear them and send feedback to Disney about the lack of "fine print"



Ironband. Just watch a handful of videos about Disneyland on YouTube.  That will start popping up every other ad.


----------



## thedarksyde

In regards to downtime, Look at Indy NOW.  It is down ALL THE TIME.  

I leave for LA tonight!!!! Disneyland tomorrow!


----------



## dina444444

The chart:


----------



## Peachy0118

thedarksyde said:


> In regards to downtime, Look at Indy NOW.  It is down ALL THE TIME.
> 
> I leave for LA tonight!!!! Disneyland tomorrow!



This is always what I think of too.


----------



## dina444444

2/23 will be the last day for the chart from me, if someone else wants to take over at that point please send me a PM. Also, I will not be posting an update between 2/15-17 that update will come on 2/18.


----------



## Peachy0118

dina444444 said:


> The chart:
> 
> View attachment 472795
> View attachment 472796



Just wanted to say how awesome it is that you've been doing this chart. I know you just posted that you're going to be done soon, but I wanted to say thank you. So appreciated!


----------



## HydroGuy

ZCarroll said:


> I see a few times mentioned on the first page for when the turnstiles opened... is the information for the other days available somewhere?  Is there any consistency for when that happens now?


Not not really. It seems mostly DLR wants to keep the queues at the turnstiles from getting out of control. That happens when the DL turnstile lines reach back to DCA. There is nowhere else to put people. As a result, DL usually opens its gates 30-60 minutes before official park opening.



ETA - note that before ROTR, DL often did this anyways. It depended to some degree how early the park opened and whether there was MM/EMH at DL. Now they are opening the turnstiles early every day.


----------



## ironband74

So, the price increase has me mildly chapped.  I had previously had the philosophy that prices hadn't gone up, so I didn't feel like I needed more value, so I would be fine going and not riding because same Disneyland at the same price is no change.

The price increase is very moderate. But still it rubs me the wrong way. Almost to the point that I might not lobby to go Easter Week, especially since if I opted for single park tickets I'm in Tier 4 at least.

And, I realize now that there is a serious flaw in my suggestion that they might go to fastpass only in lieu of boarding passes, and that is that only people with maxpass would be able to get one. And with MP now at $20 a day...that's a rough sell. I really hope that is not the play by Disney because that would essentially lock folks who can't afford Maxpass on top of the ticket increase out of riding at all.

So I recant my prediction that summer will see the end of boarding groups.  I still predict that there will be better reliability and throughput, though.


----------



## thedarksyde

dina444444 said:


> 2/23 will be the last day for the chart from me, if someone else wants to take over at that point please send me a PM. Also, I will not be posting an update between 2/15-17 that update will come on 2/18.


Thank you for the chart, it is very clear, and helps a lot.


----------



## jacandjan

ironband74 said:


> And, I realize now that there is a serious flaw in my suggestion that they might go to fastpass only in lieu of boarding passes, and that is that only people with maxpass would be able to get one. And with MP now at $20 a day...that's a rough sell. I really hope that is not the play by Disney because that would essentially lock folks who can't afford Maxpass on top of the ticket increase out of riding at all.


Wouldn't there still be traditional Fastpass machines not just Maxpass ?


----------



## cruisehopeful

I couldn't bring myself to read the over 200 replies to search for an answer to this:
I'll be onsite with early entry. Does early entry get a stab at the boarding groups or are boarding groups not available until it opens to the public?


----------



## gerilyne

cruisehopeful said:


> I couldn't bring myself to read the over 200 replies to search for an answer to this:
> I'll be onsite with early entry. Does early entry get a stab at the boarding groups or are boarding groups not available until it opens to the public?


Boarding groups become available when the park opens to everyone; they are not available during the EMH/MM


----------



## ironband74

jacandjan said:


> Wouldn't there still be traditional Fastpass machines not just Maxpass ?


Yeah, but the reality would be that fastpasses would be gone for the day in minutes, most of them taken by MP users.  Right now there are paper BG machines, and unless you are first in line you aren't getting much.  There might be a slight difference due to the cost of MP, though.  I think I need more coffee to think it through properly.


----------



## cruisehopeful

gerilyne said:


> Boarding groups become available when the park opens to everyone; they are not available during the EMH/MM


Thanks for the quick answer!


----------



## jacandjan

ironband74 said:


> Yeah, but the reality would be that fastpasses would be gone for the day in minutes, most of them taken by MP users. Right now there are paper BG machines, and unless you are first in line you aren't getting much. There might be a slight difference due to the cost of MP, though.


I think that if they retain the current Fastpass rules they could last for a bit. Right now BG's don't count toward your Fastpass  so you are not locked out from getting another Fastpass for a period of time.


----------



## AndyMcDandy

I tried the BG process at home just to get a feel for how it works and found that the red “Join Boarding Group” button didn’t light up until roughly 9:00:30 (by Iphone/Apple Watch time, anyway), but it seems like you can also join a boarding group in the “my status” area as well? Is that true, or am I misunderstanding how the app works?

Also, backup groups definitely in play by 9:01:00 from what I can tell.


----------



## BigOHawk

AndyMcDandy said:


> I tried the BG process at home just to get a feel for how it works and found that the red “Join Boarding Group” button didn’t light up until roughly 9:00:30 (by Iphone/Apple Watch time, anyway), but it seems like you can also join a boarding group in the “my status” area as well? Is that true, or am I misunderstanding how the app works?
> 
> Also, backup groups definitely in play by 9:01:00 from what I can tell.


Yep, this is true, it seems to depend on timing, your phone/operating system/carrier and people hitting the app at that same time, among many factors.
My research and this thread says Iphone users tend to use "My Status >> Join Boarding Group" vs. Android users hitting "Find out More" on main screen then Join Group.


----------



## ironband74

I was late to the party today due to a personal call, but looked like backup groups lasted until at least 9:10, which is wild for a magic morning, with boarding starting as well by that time at group 1.  72 and up are backups today.  Here's hoping for a good day of ops!


----------



## DLgal

So, on the subject of advertisements and disclaimers, I did notice last weekend that at the TURNSTILES, with the maps, is a leaflet outlining the BG process. Those are new. 

However, that is a case of way too little, too late. 

The ads continue to run (primarily on ABC and Disney affiliates TV channels) frequently with no addition of disclaimers, either verbal or written. I brought that criticism up awhile ago and people on these boards kind of jumped down my throat about it. I'm glad to see that I'm no longer alone in thinking this is crappy of Disney to do.

I have a friend in LA. Not a Disney person, just a regular guy. Saw my facebook post about RotR when we rode and started commenting that he was going to come soon to ride it, since he likes Star Wars. I had to explain the BG situation to him and his response was "a lottery system for a ride? Who has ever heard of such a thing?"


----------



## Gaugersaurus

DLgal said:


> So, on the subject of advertisements and disclaimers, I did notice last weekend that at the TURNSTILES, with the maps, is a leaflet outlining the BG process. Those are new.



They had the leaflets since opening (unless they ran out), they were passing them out to people in line opening day.


----------



## DLgal

Gaugersaurus said:


> They had the leaflets since opening (unless they ran out), they were passing them out to people in line opening day.



Huh. We were there that day and 2 days later and never saw them.


----------



## njchris

Woohoo got boarding group 1 today. .  There was almost nobody on the line walked right up.


----------



## ironband74

So, curious to know how the morning played out, Are the crowds thinning a little?  We've seen two consecutive magic mornings where backups lasted for 10 minutes or more.  I know that's not a long time, but considering that the first three weeks backups were snapped up in 2 minutes this seems significant.


----------



## montreid

Nearing two hours operation -- spread of 28 groups.  That's a new record


----------



## ironband74

montreid said:


> Nearing two hours operation -- spread of 28 groups.  That's a new record


Yeah, but they always ramp up quickly to start at the beginning of a day or after a breakdown to front load the queue.  They've called 12 in the last hour, going at a good rate to be sure, but they called 11 groups in the first 15 minutes of operation, so that skews the numbers right after start or right after a breakdown.


----------



## ironband74

montreid said:


> Nearing two hours operation -- spread of 28 groups.  That's a new record


Also...

Shhhhhhhhh...they are right on pace with last Tuesday, and we all know how that wound up...


----------



## Skyegirl1999

DLgal said:


> Huh. We were there that day and 2 days later and never saw them.


We got one on opening day... I can tell because there's a picture of it on my Instagram.


----------



## Mainyo

So here's my experience...

We went to the parks this past weekend with the goal of scoring a BG on Saturday. 

My SO isn't really a big Star Wars fan and wasn't really a fan of waking up super early, but she was doing this because I've been talking about this since the ride opened. Plus we have a 3 year old that we'd have to wake up early too. So even though I've been well prepped by everyone on this board (thank you!) and from watching videos on YouTube, I was still stressed out because my biggest concern was getting to the park in time.

We stayed about an 8-10 min walk from the DTD entrance and my goal was to be at security by 7a.

We left the hotel a few mins later than I had hoped, but we made up for it by putting a little pep in our step. But as we were walking, my SO mentioned that there wasn't a lot of other people walking with us and that I was probably being overdramatic about how early we had to get there blah, blah, blah. I just kind of bit my tongue and I said I hoped she was right, but I knew the truth. 

We turn the corner and see that the security line was backed up onto the grass area, which I expected because it was also EMH / MM.

Luckily we got through the line by about 715a then we hustled to the esplanade and got in line around 723a, which was back to DCA.

Apparently some lines opened up to our right and a mob of people rushed over, but instead of following the pack, we just stayed in our line because we figured it would get shorter from others leaving, which it did. However, staying in this line was a mistake, as it had to have been run by a new CM or something because that's the only reason I could imagine why our line was barely moving.

We were watching people on the left and right of us moving down their lines at a fast rate while ours stood still.

It was now almost 743a and we were barely halfway to the turnstile and it became clear that we might not make it. I then decided to jump in the line to the left, which was all the way back to DCA, because I knew it was the only chance to get in before 8a.

My SO stayed in our original line with our son and I slowly started making my way towards them. I eventually caught up to them around 752a, but we were still quite a ways away. That's when I looked at her and told her, "We're not going to make it," which was a super bummer for me because of how much I was looking forward to this, and then I knew my SO wasn't going to be happy because we got up early for nothing.

But then a miracle occurred at 755a. A couple lines opened up and we were able to scurry into the park at 757a!

We quickly got our apps ready and made our way to the train station, because I've read a lot of people had a lot of success there. We counted down the seconds, then at 8a I hit "Find Out More" to see the "Join Boarding Group" button was red, and after a few stressful seconds of button pushing, we got BG25!

I couldn't believe we actually did it after just a few mins prior I didn't even think we'd be in the park in time. I was so relieved and happy.

We were in the FP line for RSR when we got a text at 913a letting us know that our BG was ready.

It was an amazing ride and I have absolutely no regrets of putting us though all that stress! 

I hope everyone gets a chance to ride and has an experience that's a little less stressful than ours!!!


----------



## DLRExpert

Mainyo said:


> So here's my experience...
> 
> We went to the parks this past weekend with the goal of scoring a BG on Saturday.
> 
> My SO isn't really a big Star Wars fan and wasn't really a fan of waking up super early, but she was doing this because I've been talking about this since the ride opened. Plus we have a 3 year old that we'd have to wake up early too. So even though I've been well prepped by everyone on this board (thank you!) and from watching videos on YouTube, I was still stressed out because my biggest concern was getting to the park in time.
> 
> We stayed about an 8-10 min walk from the DTD entrance and my goal was to be at security by 7a.
> 
> We left the hotel a few mins later than I had hoped, but we made up for it by putting a little pep in our step. But as we were walking, my SO mentioned that there wasn't a lot of other people walking with us and that I was probably being overdramatic about how early we had to get there blah, blah, blah. I just kind of bit my tongue and I said I hoped she was right, but I knew the truth.
> 
> We turn the corner and see that the security line was backed up onto the grass area, which I expected because it was also EMH / MM.
> 
> Luckily we got through the line by about 715a then we hustled to the esplanade and got in line around 723a, which was back to DCA.
> 
> Apparently some lines opened up to our right and a mob of people rushed over, but instead of following the pack, we just stayed in our line because we figured it would get shorter from others leaving, which it did. However, staying in this line was a mistake, as it had to have been run by a new CM or something because that's the only reason I could imagine why our line was barely moving.
> 
> We were watching people on the left and right of us moving down their lines at a fast rate while ours stood still.
> 
> It was now almost 743a and we were barely halfway to the turnstile and it became clear that we might not make it. I then decided to jump in the line to the left, which was all the way back to DCA, because I knew it was the only chance to get in before 8a.
> 
> My SO stayed in our original line with our son and I slowly started making my way towards them. I eventually caught up to them around 752a, but we were still quite a ways away. That's when I looked at her and told her, "We're not going to make it," which was a super bummer for me because of how much I was looking forward to this, and then I knew my SO wasn't going to be happy because we got up early for nothing.
> 
> But then a miracle occurred at 755a. A couple lines opened up and we were able to scurry into the park at 757a!
> 
> We quickly got our apps ready and made our way to the train station, because I've read a lot of people had a lot of success there. We counted down the seconds, then at 8a I hit "Find Out More" to see the "Join Boarding Group" button was red, and after a few stressful seconds of button pushing, we got BG25!
> 
> I couldn't believe we actually did it after just a few mins prior I didn't even think we'd be in the park in time. I was so relieved and happy.
> 
> We were in the FP line for RSR when we got a text at 913a letting us know that our BG was ready.
> 
> It was an amazing ride and I have absolutely no regrets of putting us though all that stress!
> 
> I hope everyone gets a chance to ride and has an experience that's a little less stressful than ours!!!



Yeah the way they handled the Magic Morning vs Day Guests at the entrance on Saturday was horrible. Almost every main turnstile entrance was set to a Magic Morning Entrance which caused a huge line to form around the perimeter for the few Day Guests entrances that were labeled.

Fortunately, I knew how the Magic Morning turnstiles will eventually switch over and just waited in the middle of the esplanade until it happened. Other guests waiting in the longer line were upset and just felt people were cutting.

ME


----------



## Aurora0427

DLgal said:


> So, on the subject of advertisements and disclaimers, I did notice last weekend that at the TURNSTILES, with the maps, is a leaflet outlining the BG process. Those are new.
> 
> However, that is a case of way too little, too late.
> 
> The ads continue to run (primarily on ABC and Disney affiliates TV channels) frequently with no addition of disclaimers, either verbal or written. I brought that criticism up awhile ago and people on these boards kind of jumped down my throat about it. I'm glad to see that I'm no longer alone in thinking this is crappy of Disney to do.
> 
> I have a friend in LA. Not a Disney person, just a regular guy. Saw my facebook post about RotR when we rode and started commenting that he was going to come soon to ride it, since he likes Star Wars. I had to explain the BG situation to him and his response was "a lottery system for a ride? Who has ever heard of such a thing?"



Yes, people who aren’t Disney people think it’s ridiculous. My dad is one of those people. He couldn’t believe how prepared I was and what we went through to get a BG. He said “I mean, at the end of the day it’s still just an amusement park!” He shook his head A LOT that morning.


----------



## Skyegirl1999

DLRExpert said:


> Yeah the way they handled the Magic Morning vs Day Guests at the entrance on Saturday was horrible. Almost every main turnstile entrance was set to a Magic Morning Entrance which caused a huge line to form around the perimeter for the few Day Guests entrances that were labeled.
> 
> Fortunately, I knew how the Magic Morning turnstiles will eventually switch over and just waited in the middle of the esplanade until it happened. Other guests waiting in the longer line were upset and just felt people were cutting.
> 
> ME


It seems like this is probably why backup BGs lasted as long as they did on Saturday?  I knew a few people there who commented on the crazy line backup at entry.  I think they just weren't processing people in quickly enough to fill them?


----------



## ironband74

Skyegirl1999 said:


> It seems like this is probably why backup BGs lasted as long as they did on Saturday?  I knew a few people there who commented on the crazy line backup at entry.  I think they just weren't processing people in quickly enough to fill them?


Anyone know if the situation was similar today?  I was shocked to see backups still available at 10 after.


----------



## ironband74

They just accelerated hard, calling like 7 BGs in the last 15 minutes.  Must be the lunch lull.


----------



## Skyegirl1999

ironband74 said:


> Anyone know if the situation was similar today?  I was shocked to see backups still available at 10 after.


It’s possible, but it’s also looking reaaaaal empty at the parks on the app.  So it could be that.


----------



## ahhhcrap

Today, I went through security on the Harbor Blvd side and was through very quickly.  Got lucky and saw a short line closest to the magic morning turnstiles and entered the park by 8:40.  Exited right away and headed to Starbucks in Downtown Disney.  Got my coffee and sat down til boarding groups were available and received BG20.


----------



## ironband74

Oh, snap, they are accelerating super hard!  12 BGs in the last half hour, a 24 group spread mid day and not post breakdown... @montreid are you seeing this?


----------



## brightlined

ironband74 said:


> Oh, snap, they are accelerating super hard!  12 BGs in the last half hour, a 24 group spread mid day and not post breakdown... @montreid are you seeing this?


They're actually ahead of last Tuesday in groups called - 51 was called at 12:45pm then, ~12:25pm today. (Hopefully not a bad sign for this afternoon.)


----------



## ironband74

I think they are stress testing some additional capacity.  They've called 20 groups in the last hour.  a 26 group spread, mid day, no post breakdown.


----------



## ironband74

Trying not to get my hopes up here, but clearly they feel good about the performance today.  Living dangerously and comparing with all Tuesdays:


We shall watch today's progression with great interest...


----------



## Skyegirl1999

I just got an email advertising ROTR and the SoCal ticket offer.  There's no mention of the BG system in the email itself, but there is a "Find Out More" button, so I clicked that and there's STILL no explanation of it.  It's got a video ad, the height requirement, a link for buying tickets, a ride description...

At the very bottom of that page, it does say this: "There may be times when Guests may be required to join a virtual queue to experience the new _Star Wars_: Rise of the Resistance attraction."

This does seem problematic to me.  I do think people need to educate themselves (in particular, I think people going for the opening of a new ride need to do some research in advance, so people showing up on January 17 totally clueless is mostly on them, IMO), *but* if you're clicking the "Find Out More" part of the ad and you're STILL not really getting any information on boarding groups... that's not really fair on Disney's part.


----------



## ironband74

OK, we're back at our regularly scheduled rate of 6 bgs in the last half hour.  If they can hold this, we'll be through regular groups by a little after 2pm, but it will probably slow as all those groups who got called finish lunch and get over to the attraction.


----------



## gerilyne

Skyegirl1999 said:


> It’s possible, but it’s also looking reaaaaal empty at the parks on the app.  So it could be that.


I was noticing that.  There are even fastpass return times that aren't too late into the evening yet.  Even RSR is still available.


----------



## naoboo

I got off the ride recently and was surprised at how quickly we got through it. Between waiting in line and the actual ride it took maybe half an hour?

Anyway, I got to do it twice today thanks to rider swap! So in case anyone else is wondering about how rider swap works with BGs, here’s some bullet points (sorry if it’s been gone over before, I’m way behind on this thread).

A cast member will check your pass and send you on in
Another cast member directs people with BGs to left, and people who need to get or are redeeming a rider swap to the right
To get a rider swap, the CM will scan the ticket of those staying behind, plus any who will ride with them
If three people are staying behind, only those three will be let on with a rider swap pass. If one person is left behind, two people who already rode it can go with them
To redeem a rider swap pass, the group will go back to the right and the passes will be scanned off your phone app like a fast pass
The group will be sent through a shorter line and go straight to the first room where you first make contact with some resistance members


----------



## ironband74

Skyegirl1999 said:


> I just got an email advertising ROTR and the SoCal ticket offer.  There's no mention of the BG system in the email itself, but there is a "Find Out More" button, so I clicked that and there's STILL no explanation of it.  It's got a video ad, the height requirement, a link for buying tickets, a ride description...
> 
> At the very bottom of that page, it does say this: "There may be times when Guests may be required to join a virtual queue to experience the new _Star Wars_: Rise of the Resistance attraction."
> 
> This does seem problematic to me.  I do think people need to educate themselves (in particular, I think people going for the opening of a new ride need to do some research in advance, so people showing up on January 17 totally clueless is mostly on them, IMO), *but* if you're clicking the "Find Out More" part of the ad and you're STILL not really getting any information on boarding groups... that's not really fair on Disney's part.


It seems disingenuous to me.  Seems like a statement of "Due to high demand, boarding groups distribution may conclude shortly after park open.  Plan accordingly" would be in order.  They make it sound like you can waltz in and grab a BG mid day.


----------



## Going2DisneyAZ

ironband74 said:


> It seems disingenuous to me.  Seems like a statement of "Due to high demand, boarding groups distribution may conclude shortly after park open.  Plan accordingly" would be in order.  They make it sound like you can waltz in and grab a BG mid day.


Not saying it is the right thing to do but clearly Disney is afraid of low attendance due to being forthright.

Remember last summer? They were very forthright and nobody came for fear of not being able to see SWGE. I think they are using ROTR as a way of making up for the poor attendance for launch of SWGE last year.


----------



## greeneyedchick

socaldisneylover said:


> I realize that my criticisms tend to be all doom and gloom, and honestly wish I didn't feel that way.  Believe me, like others who are analyzing trends, I would love nothing more than to start seeing days where the ride does not break down for hours at a time.  A day where they get through the guaranteed groups by 1:00, and through 160 groups by park close.
> 
> I'm just fearful that what we are seeing now will become the norm for this ride.  That they will reach a point where they conclude that this boarding group process is the only way to operate the attraction over the long term.
> 
> I also get annoyed that there is absolutely nothing in the advertisements of this ride to indicate these restrictions.  I have no doubt that some are seeing the commercials of how fantastic this ride is, yet have no idea that there are multiple hoops to jump through, and really no guarantees that by paying your $100+ to visit DL, you will actually get on it.  Surely there are people willing to wait multiple hours in a standby line, or are even expecting to have to deal with that, only to discover that scenario doesn't exist.  You might get to park at 7:00 AM, yet 12 hours later, get a notification that you aren't getting on that day.  It is very deceptive....and INTENTIONAL on Disney's part, I believe, to fail to mention this at all in their advertising.  Heck, during the reservation period of Galaxy's Edge, it was a big bold statement on every ad, that you needed one in order to enter the new land.
> 
> In any case, I do hope things improve.  I just fear that Disney is merely kicking the can down the road.  Not necessarily because they want to, but because this extraordinary new ride is so advanced that when it breaks, and it does often, it more or less falls apart, resulting in 2, 3 or 4 hour downtimes.


I live near Orlando. They are advertising this ride on the billboards and radio. There is no mention of boarding groups or that you have to be in the park by opening to ride this ride. All they are saying is "Now open"


----------



## ironband74

Going2DisneyAZ said:


> Not saying it is the right thing to do but clearly Disney is afraid of low attendance due to being forthright.
> 
> Remember last summer? They were very forthright and nobody came for fear of not being able to see SWGE. I think they are using ROTR as a way of making up for the poor attendance for launch of SWGE last year.


True...it will be interesting to see how the summer develops.


----------



## disneyholic family

dina444444 said:


> The chart:
> 
> View attachment 472795
> View attachment 472796



Dina, thanks for all your time and effort doing the chart!!!!  
I find it so very interesting and makes it easy to follow what's been happening!!!!



Mainyo said:


> So here's my experience...
> 
> We went to the parks this past weekend with the goal of scoring a BG on Saturday.
> 
> My SO isn't really a big Star Wars fan and wasn't really a fan of waking up super early, but she was doing this because I've been talking about this since the ride opened. Plus we have a 3 year old that we'd have to wake up early too. So even though I've been well prepped by everyone on this board (thank you!) and from watching videos on YouTube, I was still stressed out because my biggest concern was getting to the park in time.
> 
> We stayed about an 8-10 min walk from the DTD entrance and my goal was to be at security by 7a.
> 
> We left the hotel a few mins later than I had hoped, but we made up for it by putting a little pep in our step. But as we were walking, my SO mentioned that there wasn't a lot of other people walking with us and that I was probably being overdramatic about how early we had to get there blah, blah, blah. I just kind of bit my tongue and I said I hoped she was right, but I knew the truth.
> 
> We turn the corner and see that the security line was backed up onto the grass area, which I expected because it was also EMH / MM.
> 
> Luckily we got through the line by about 715a then we hustled to the esplanade and got in line around 723a, which was back to DCA.
> 
> Apparently some lines opened up to our right and a mob of people rushed over, but instead of following the pack, we just stayed in our line because we figured it would get shorter from others leaving, which it did. However, staying in this line was a mistake, as it had to have been run by a new CM or something because that's the only reason I could imagine why our line was barely moving.
> 
> We were watching people on the left and right of us moving down their lines at a fast rate while ours stood still.
> 
> It was now almost 743a and we were barely halfway to the turnstile and it became clear that we might not make it. I then decided to jump in the line to the left, which was all the way back to DCA, because I knew it was the only chance to get in before 8a.
> 
> My SO stayed in our original line with our son and I slowly started making my way towards them. I eventually caught up to them around 752a, but we were still quite a ways away. That's when I looked at her and told her, "We're not going to make it," which was a super bummer for me because of how much I was looking forward to this, and then I knew my SO wasn't going to be happy because we got up early for nothing.
> 
> But then a miracle occurred at 755a. A couple lines opened up and we were able to scurry into the park at 757a!
> 
> We quickly got our apps ready and made our way to the train station, because I've read a lot of people had a lot of success there. We counted down the seconds, then at 8a I hit "Find Out More" to see the "Join Boarding Group" button was red, and after a few stressful seconds of button pushing, we got BG25!
> 
> I couldn't believe we actually did it after just a few mins prior I didn't even think we'd be in the park in time. I was so relieved and happy.
> 
> We were in the FP line for RSR when we got a text at 913a letting us know that our BG was ready.
> 
> It was an amazing ride and I have absolutely no regrets of putting us though all that stress!
> 
> I hope everyone gets a chance to ride and has an experience that's a little less stressful than ours!!!


oh my god - i got so stressed just reading that as you were caught in the line with the clock counting down!
thanks for sharing your experience and thank god it had a happy ending!!!!!!!

.


.


----------



## SOCALMouseMommy

Skyegirl1999 said:


> I just got an email advertising ROTR and the SoCal ticket offer.  There's no mention of the BG system in the email itself, but there is a "Find Out More" button, so I clicked that and there's STILL no explanation of it.  It's got a video ad, the height requirement, a link for buying tickets, a ride description...
> 
> At the very bottom of that page, it does say this: "There may be times when Guests may be required to join a virtual queue to experience the new _Star Wars_: Rise of the Resistance attraction."
> 
> This does seem problematic to me.  I do think people need to educate themselves (in particular, I think people going for the opening of a new ride need to do some research in advance, so people showing up on January 17 totally clueless is mostly on them, IMO), *but* if you're clicking the "Find Out More" part of the ad and you're STILL not really getting any information on boarding groups... that's not really fair on Disney's part.


I have also found the advertising to be very misleading. Not cool Disney! 

Every person I have spoken to regarding riding this ride is completely clueless about what it takes to actually ride it.


----------



## AndyMcDandy

naoboo said:


> I got off the ride recently and was surprised at how quickly we got through it. Between waiting in line and the actual ride it took maybe half an hour?
> 
> Anyway, I got to do it twice today thanks to rider swap! So in case anyone else is wondering about how rider swap works with BGs, here’s some bullet points (sorry if it’s been gone over before, I’m way behind on this thread).
> 
> A cast member will check your pass and send you on in
> Another cast member directs people with BGs to left, and people who need to get or are redeeming a rider swap to the right
> To get a rider swap, the CM will scan the ticket of those staying behind, plus any who will ride with them
> If three people are staying behind, only those three will be let on with a rider swap pass. If one person is left behind, two people who already rode it can go with them
> To redeem a rider swap pass, the group will go back to the right and the passes will be scanned off your phone app like a fast pass
> The group will be sent through a shorter line and go straight to the first room where you first make contact with some resistance members


Thank you for this! We are going soon and I’ve never done rider switch/child swap before so I am kind of nervous to do it on this ride! But we are really excited and super appreciate you guys giving us the run down.


----------



## kariyava

This article is warning people against having the entire group attempt to get a boarding group because it might cause glitches.  This seems to be against the other recommendations I have seen, at least for WDW.  Is this true?  Or a DL v WDW thing?  Or is the author possibly attributing glitches from other sources to a group attempt?  Something else?

https://www.sfgate.com/sf-culture/article/star-wars-ride-boarding-group-pass-wait-line-15044867.php


----------



## Skyegirl1999

kariyava said:


> This article is warning people against having the entire group attempt to get a boarding group because it might cause glitches.  This seems to be against the other recommendations I have seen, at least for WDW.  Is this true?  Or a DL v WDW thing?  Or is the author possibly attributing glitches from other sources to a group attempt?  Something else?
> 
> https://www.sfgate.com/sf-culture/article/star-wars-ride-boarding-group-pass-wait-line-15044867.php


They based that on this: “We saw tons of people around us receive error messages doing this and suspect the app gets confused when the same party attempts multiple simultaneous entries.”

I think they’re wrong.


----------



## jacandjan

Skyegirl1999 said:


> They based that on this: “We saw tons of people around us receive error messages doing this and suspect the app gets confused when the same party attempts multiple simultaneous entries.”
> 
> I think they’re wrong.


After reading this tread for weeks I to think this reporter is wrong. We have played along at home like many others and never have we got an error message. I guess we will find out next week !!!


----------



## StarlitNight05

SOCALMouseMommy said:


> I have also found the advertising to be very misleading. Not cool Disney!
> 
> Every person I have spoken to regarding riding this ride is completely clueless about what it takes to actually ride it.


Same! Last week I was talking to a co-worker who is going to DLR soon and she was completely unaware of the BG procedure for RotR. In fact, she looked at me quite skeptically when I explained it to her. I tried to reiterate that they need to get there much earlier than she planned, but it didn't seem to register with her


----------



## KPeterso

StarlitNight05 said:


> Same! Last week I was talking to a co-worker who is going to DLR soon and she was completely unaware of the BG procedure for RotR. In fact, she looked at me quite skeptically when I explained it to her. I tried to reiterate that they need to get there much earlier than she planned, but it didn't seem to register with her



 I have a co-worker like that too. She works remote so I chatted with her and told her to open the app and I would walk her through it. She kept saying, can't i just book it from the car when I am on my way there. The idea of having to be scanned into the park before opening to get a boarding group just puzzled her. And they have APs!


----------



## montreid

Don't think too slow today -  wait times look pretty normal.

In other news:   Gremlins reported early today:  stuck at 68 for a bit.


----------



## Skyegirl1999

montreid said:


> Don't think too slow today -  wait times look pretty normal.
> 
> In other news:   Gremlins reported early today:  stuck at 68 for a bit.


You must have some BLESSED days at the park if 10 minutes for Incredicoaster, 65 minutes for RSR, and 40 minutes for Indiana Jones look “pretty normal” for mid-afternoon!  

Wait times are way low. Like. Waaaaay low.

Also just saw a friend whose IG stories are panning around the “light crowds” and showing her daughter running around a largely deserted Adventureland.


----------



## JWelch62

Skyegirl1999 said:


> You must have some BLESSED days at the park if 10 minutes for Incredicoaster, 65 minutes for RSR, and 40 minutes for Indiana Jones look “pretty normal” for mid-afternoon!
> 
> Wait times are way low. Like. Waaaaay low.
> 
> Also just saw a friend whose IG stories are panning around the “light crowds” and showing her daughter running around a largely deserted Adventureland.


I think I've waited an hour in the FP line at RSR


----------



## e_yerger

I'm trying not to get too anxious about getting a BG - going to be in the parks Fri-Mon and I am WORRIED about crowds and BG numbers. I need to trust that you guys have taught me well!


----------



## ironband74

Skyegirl1999 said:


> They based that on this: “We saw tons of people around us receive error messages doing this and suspect the app gets confused when the same party attempts multiple simultaneous entries.”
> 
> I think they’re wrong.


I concur:





(That's not how the app works!)


----------



## montreid

Skyegirl1999 said:


> You must have some BLESSED days at the park if 10 minutes for Incredicoaster, 65 minutes for RSR, and 40 minutes for Indiana Jones look “pretty normal” for mid-afternoon!
> 
> Wait times are way low. Like. Waaaaay low.
> 
> Also just saw a friend whose IG stories are panning around the “light crowds” and showing her daughter running around a largely deserted Adventureland.


This isn't August Saturday either though.  So these numbers mid-week during school look quite normal for what I'm used to seeing on the App at least.
Matterhorn 45;  Space 60-90; Thunder Mt  45; Indy 55; SR 45  -- that's all middling.

For DCA:  (more locals park forever)
Incredicoaster at 10 is often until busier months/days cause of it's high capacity runs
I use Mater currently 20min as my litmus test as that tends to climb from 10-15 (ghost town) to 20-30 (average) to 40+ (yep; it's packed)


----------



## ironband74

So, solid performance for about 5 hours before the Jawas took it down.  Let's see if they are in for another extended downtime or if they learned something useful yesterday...


----------



## SOCALMouseMommy

ironband74 said:


> So, solid performance for about 5 hours before the Jawas took it down.  Let's see if they are in for another extended downtime or if they learned something useful yesterday...


Anyone think they take it down on purpose? It's always the same time of day (roughly).


----------



## socaldisneylover

SOCALMouseMommy said:


> Anyone think they take it down on purpose? It's always the same time of day (roughly).


I doubt it.  I just think the ride is not capable of running properly for more than a certain # of hours before the system "crashes."  I'm not sure, but I don't think they have been able to get more than around 6 hours consecutive up time since it opened last month.


----------



## MonocularVision

kariyava said:


> This article is warning people against having the entire group attempt to get a boarding group because it might cause glitches.  This seems to be against the other recommendations I have seen, at least for WDW.  Is this true?  Or a DL v WDW thing?  Or is the author possibly attributing glitches from other sources to a group attempt?  Something else?
> 
> https://www.sfgate.com/sf-culture/article/star-wars-ride-boarding-group-pass-wait-line-15044867.php



Love it when this sort of misinformation spreads so my chances get increased.


----------



## HydroGuy

ironband74 said:


> So, solid performance for about 5 hours before the Jawas took it down.  Let's see if they are in for another extended downtime or if they learned something useful yesterday...


Hey, didn't someone pay a Mando to handle this?


----------



## ironband74

HydroGuy said:


> Hey, didn't someone pay a Mando to handle this?


At least it looks like he chased them off earlier this time.

On track for best Tuesday on Record. Let's see if he can hold them at bay.


----------



## DLgal

ironband74 said:


> It seems disingenuous to me.  Seems like a statement of "Due to high demand, boarding groups distribution may conclude shortly after park open.  Plan accordingly" would be in order.  They make it sound like you can waltz in and grab a BG mid day.



The worst part is that they say you MAY need to join a virtual queue at times, as though it's not in use right now. They KNOW it's in use daily. 

Change the language:

"Guests are required to join a virtual queue, on a first come, first served basis. Virtual queue subject to daily capacity limits."


----------



## JWelch62

ironband74 said:


> At least it looks like he chased them off earlier this time.
> 
> On track for best Tuesday on Record. Let's see if he can hold them at bay.
> 
> View attachment 472989


Seems to me that Jan 28th is the existence proof that the ride actually can stay up for 8 consecutive hours...


----------



## Going2DisneyAZ

DLgal said:


> Change the language:
> 
> "Guests are required to join a virtual queue, on a first come, first served basis. Virtual queue subject to daily capacity limits."



ADD.....subject to our virtual queue application actually working as designed on your phone platform.


----------



## HydroGuy

DLgal said:


> The worst part is that they say you MAY need to join a virtual queue at times, as though it's not in use right now. They KNOW it's in use daily.
> 
> Change the language:
> 
> "Guests are required to join a virtual queue, on a first come, first served basis. Virtual queue subject to daily capacity limits."


I have not seen the ads, but would point out that your message applies to how things work today. Disney is not necessarily advertising just for today. They are also advertising for the future. A future where BGs may not even exist.

If Disney knew for certain that BGs, and only BGs, would go on indefinitely, then I agree with your message, or at least the spirit of your message. But they may be considering an alternate partial BG and partial standby approach at some point in the near future. Or good old FP/MP. Then your message would no longer be accurate. People do not necessarily see an ad then jump on a plane (or their car if locals) to DLR the next day. Most would be more likely to see an ad, decide they want to visit, then plan a time in the coming months or year. By that time the BG process may very well change.

I would therefore adjust your message as follows:

"Guests _may be_ required to join a virtual queue, on a first come, first served basis. Virtual queue subject to daily capacity limits."

I don't know how else for Disney to say it. It tells people about BGs. But it does not say that is the only process for a long, indefinite future.


----------



## montreid

Nice continued spread of 25 groups.  solid-   grp 109


----------



## DLgal

HydroGuy said:


> This may be correct. Or it may be more related to guest misbehavior. At least some of the down times have been because someone dropped their phone on
> 
> I have not seen the ads, but would point out that your message applies to how things work today. Disney is not necessarily advertising just for today. They are also advertising for the future. A future where BGs may not even exist.
> 
> If Disney knew for certain that BGs, and only BGs, would go on indefinitely, then I agree with your message, or at least the spirit of your message. But they may be considering an alternate partial BG and partial standby approach at some point in the near future. Or good old FP/MP. Then your message would no longer be accurate. People do not necessarily see an ad then jump on a plane (or their car if locals) to DLR the next day. Most would be more likely to see an ad, decide they want to visit, then plan a time in the coming months or year. By that time the BG process may very well change.
> 
> I would therefore adjust your message as follows:
> 
> "Guests _may be_ required to join a virtual queue, on a first come, first served basis. Virtual queue subject to daily capacity limits."
> 
> I don't know how else for Disney to say it. It tells people about BGs. But it does not say that is the only process for a long, indefinite future.



They can very easily alter the language in ads as things change. It's done all the time.


----------



## ironband74

I prefer 

"Guests may be required to join a virtual queue beginning at park open. If the virtual queue is utilized, your position in the virtual queue will be determined by your ability to research the process, operate technology, the prevailing wind, and a little bit of dumb luck."

Or, for better entertainment value

"Guests may be required to join a virtual queue beginning at park open. Your position in the virtual queue will be determined by your sad devotion to that ancient religion and having clairvoyance enough to locate stolen data tapes. Your ability to destroy planets will not be taken into consideration. Be careful not to choke on your aspirations."

Or,

"Guests may be required to join a virtual queue by engaging in technological combat with other guests."


----------



## hiroMYhero

Recapping my brother’s experience this morning:

-They were staying at DLH so entered for EMH.
- Before 9, they went to the Train Station where about a hundred others were gathered. 
- I, in San Diego, also prepped for ‘assisting’ them.
- Brother using iPhone 8, Verizon, data not WiFi, got through first and secured BG 87!
- I never got the red Join Boarding Group until after he had booked. ATT 5G iPhone 8 which worked well at WDW the day after Christmas for BG 35. Kinda dejecting not to be able to get through.

Anyway, assured him without RotR downtime he was looking at 4pm-ish. His BG was called at 5:07 after the hour-long downtime. They were amazed at the RotR experience!


----------



## Going2DisneyAZ

DLgal said:


> They can very easily alter the language in ads as things change. It's done all the time.


It sure is. Simple text overlays and or voice overlays would cost near 0 to produce. 

I also feel Disney knows this not going to suddenly fix itself to the point we wake up one day and bam, no need for vc.

Also I urge you to watch the ad. Imo they are certainly produced to hype the short term get in your car and check this out now crowd. Again, imo.


----------



## unveilmyeyes

e_yerger said:


> I'm trying not to get too anxious about getting a BG - going to be in the parks Fri-Mon and I am WORRIED about crowds and BG numbers. I need to trust that you guys have taught me well!



You’ll ride at least twice, probably more depending on how much rest you want


----------



## DLgal

Going2DisneyAZ said:


> It sure is. Simple text overlays and or voice overlays would cost near 0 to produce.
> 
> I also feel Disney knows this not going to suddenly fix itself to the point we wake up one day and bam, no need for vc.
> 
> Also I urge you to watch the ad. Imo they are certainly produced to hype the short term get in your car and check this out now crowd. Again, imo.



They know what they are doing. It's just shady. If they put disclaimers in the ad, it would scare people away from coming. They know this. This is why they are absent from the ads.


----------



## Going2DisneyAZ

DLgal said:


> They know what they are doing. It's just shady. If they put disclaimers in the ad, it would scare people away from coming. They know this. This is why they are absent from the ads.


Exactly


----------



## JWelch62

I won't steal @ironband74 's thunder, but we are at or above the all time high for this time of day. Small hiccup in the middle (~1 hr downtime) has been followed by steady performance. So, where will the shut it down?


----------



## HydroGuy

DLgal said:


> They can very easily alter the language in ads as things change. It's done all the time.


They can. But Disney ads are not just for today. I am not saying that Disney is not being shady. But I don't think advertising a potentially short term process is workable. I mean, they don't advertise that rides will be down. "Come visit Disneyland, except for Haunted Mansion". That is a relatively short term thing.


----------



## montreid

127 groups -- not bad -- assuming they are done for the night.  12.7 average-  tops!


----------



## EmJ

montreid said:


> 127 groups -- not bad -- assuming they are done for the night.  12.7 average-  tops!


They tied the all time high today


----------



## Going2DisneyAZ

HydroGuy said:


> They can. But Disney ads are not just for today. I am not saying that Disney is not being shady. But I don't think advertising a potentially short term process is workable. I mean, they don't advertise that rides will be down. "Come visit Disneyland, except for Haunted Mansion". That is a relatively short term thing.


Um. They sure did a good job, thru ads and pr, putting the word out about how the opening of SWGE was being handled. So good it backfired. Seems to me they are overcompensating for that error in judgment now.


----------



## HydroGuy

Going2DisneyAZ said:


> Um. They sure did a good job, thru ads and pr, putting the word out about how the opening of SWGE was being handled. So good it backfired. Seems to me they are overcompensating for that error in judgment now.


Yes, but SWGE at DL had a definite time frame. And they were trying to incorporate past experiences as best as possible like CarsLand at DCA and Pandora at AK. 

This does not involve a whole new land and, to some degree, they are figuring things out as they go along with BGs. I suspect they do not yet know what they are going to do with BGs. And are trying to keep their options open.


----------



## ironband74

Best Tuesday on record.  Only 1.25 hours of down time.  Kissed the all time high. The slightly early stop makes me wonder if they only issued 127 BGs today.  Anyone hear from someone whose BG was not called?

Tomorrow and Thursday are 8AM opens due to sweetheart events.  It will be interesting to see how the attraction does on those short days.  Last time they had an evening event they went with 42 regular groups.  Curious to see if they do that again...But today was definitely a good day with only one breakdown.


----------



## kristensideaoffun

e_yerger said:


> I'm trying not to get too anxious about getting a BG - going to be in the parks Fri-Mon and I am WORRIED about crowds and BG numbers. I need to trust that you guys have taught me well!



We will be there Sat-Mon. I am pretty sure this will be my husband’s only opportunity to ride - he and our daughter are the big SW fans in our family. We
have APs but he ended up being recruited back onto a team last summer for a sport he had just retired from, two weeks after we purchased his AP.  It’s his only weekend off for a long time. I am really hoping all of my time on DIS reading this thread will pay off!! Good luck to you!


----------



## Mathmagicland

I guess I don’t get why the ads and wording are being debated here. It should not be our concern.   Let the ads say whatever they want....the advantage goes to those here on DIS and this thread who have taken the time to research and practice and share.  We’ve earned it!  Making it more “fair” to everyone who just walks up to the gate diminishes the DIS factor.


----------



## dina444444

The chart:


----------



## bunnyboo

Can someone link me to a post/thread or explain how to book a BG for multiple people? I understand that I need to be in the park and then try to get into a BG on the app at the park's opening time, but I'm not sure how to get both my friend and I into the same BG. We both have socal season passes and plan on going on a weekday so hopefully it won't be too crazy. I've never used Maxpass before so I'm not quite familiar with the app except for using it to check wait time. TY in advance for any help!


----------



## theluckyrabbit

cruisehopeful said:


> I couldn't bring myself to read the over 200 replies to search for an answer to this:
> I'll be onsite with early entry. Does early entry get a stab at the boarding groups or are boarding groups not available until it opens to the public?


No need to read through the entire thread for the answer -- you'll find the answer on the first page in the FAQs (post 2):

Boarding Groups are joined via the Disneyland App *at official park opening* or at a FP machine at Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters or Splash Mountain


----------



## krismom345

Hi all- Trying to link tickets for our travel group in the app and having a tough time. Silly question but do we have to scan into parks in order to link tickets? (I’m trying via annual pass ID number not bar code) 
Thanks for any help~


----------



## thewesterberg

bunnyboo said:


> Can someone link me to a post/thread or explain how to book a BG for multiple people? I understand that I need to be in the park and then try to get into a BG on the app at the park's opening time, but I'm not sure how to get both my friend and I into the same BG. We both have socal season passes and plan on going on a weekday so hopefully it won't be too crazy. I've never used Maxpass before so I'm not quite familiar with the app except for using it to check wait time. TY in advance for any help!



-Go in the app.
-Look at the bottom right hand corner and click on the 3 lines.
-Click on Tickets and Passes
-Click on Link Tickets & Passes
-Scan the bar code or manually enter the ID number of all the tickets you want to be linked (in your case yours and your friends)


----------



## theluckyrabbit

Gaugersaurus said:


> They had the leaflets since opening (unless they ran out), they were passing them out to people in line opening day.


We also got those at the parking structure two weeks ago.



Skyegirl1999 said:


> I just got an email advertising ROTR and the SoCal ticket offer.  There's no mention of the BG system in the email itself...


I got that email, too, and noticed that there's no mention of today's price increase. Obviously this email was drafted before the increase was announced, but I think that would also be helpful information for anyone who doesn't qualify for the promotion or would be bringing family/friends who don't qualify. More Disney fun and games...



Skyegirl1999 said:


> They based that on this: “We saw tons of people around us receive error messages doing this and suspect the app gets confused when the same party attempts multiple simultaneous entries.”
> 
> I think they’re wrong.


Agree. But I can guess what kind of people the reporter saw receiving the error messages. We've seen so many people in City Hall and Chamber of Commerce lately complaining and ranting about how their phones/apps messed up their BG chances. And when you listen to the stories? Most of the time (from what we've heard), the "errors" are user errors which could have been avoided easily with a little research. One group of young women was irate because they all logged in on their apps separately and didn't get a BG together! (Well, they didn't get a BG at all between the 3 of them because they wasted too much time trying to add their friends who weren't linked.) The CM was having quite a time trying to explain that they could link their tickets in one app and try from 3 phones logged into that one app. Did.not.compute. Sigh...



ironband74 said:


> I prefer
> 
> "Guests may be required to join a virtual queue beginning at park open. If the virtual queue is utilized, your position in the virtual queue will be determined by your ability to research the process, operate technology, the prevailing wind, and a little bit of dumb luck."
> 
> Or, for better entertainment value
> 
> "Guests may be required to join a virtual queue beginning at park open. Your position in the virtual queue will be determined by your sad devotion to that ancient religion and having clairvoyance enough to locate stolen data tapes. Your ability to destroy planets will not be taken into consideration. Be careful not to choke on your aspirations."
> 
> Or,
> 
> "Guests may be required to join a virtual queue by engaging in technological combat with other guests."


I vote for #3! Will lightsabers also be provided? I want to ward off other guests who might be slowing down my data speed.



bunnyboo said:


> Can someone link me to a post/thread or explain how to book a BG for multiple people? I understand that I need to be in the park and then try to get into a BG on the app at the park's opening time, but I'm not sure how to get both my friend and I into the same BG. We both have socal season passes and plan on going on a weekday so hopefully it won't be too crazy. I've never used Maxpass before so I'm not quite familiar with the app except for using it to check wait time. TY in advance for any help!


Try this:  Star Wars Rise of Resistance Disneyland Strategy Guide - Disney Tourist Blog    
Don't worry about MP because you won't need it to get a BG. The DLR app alone will be fine. If you want to purchase MP and use it for the day, read this thread and ask all your MP questions there: Maxpass/Fastpass Superthread: an overview and some strategy


----------



## Skyegirl1999

krismom345 said:


> Hi all- Trying to link tickets for our travel group in the app and having a tough time. Silly question but do we have to scan into parks in order to link tickets? (I’m trying via annual pass ID number not bar code)
> Thanks for any help~


As of maybe a year ago, I couldn’t get my daughter’s AP to link to my account with her ID; I had to scan the barcode.  Not sure why, but use a pic of the barcode if you can...


----------



## HydroGuy

dina444444 said:


> 2/23 will be the last day for the chart from me, if someone else wants to take over at that point please send me a PM. Also, I will not be posting an update between 2/15-17 that update will come on 2/18.


Sorry Dina! You can't do that! You are our only hope!


----------



## ironband74

HydroGuy said:


> Sorry Dina! You can't do that! You are our ony hope!


----------



## DLgal

Going2DisneyAZ said:


> Um. They sure did a good job, thru ads and pr, putting the word out about how the opening of SWGE was being handled. So good it backfired. Seems to me they are overcompensating for that error in judgment now.



There were literally signs on the STREETS around Disneyland announcing that. You know, those temporary signs put up when there is road work being done to alert drivers? Yeah, those signs. They said something like "Advance reservations required to visit Star Wars Galaxy's Edge."

They could at least put those back up...


----------



## ironband74

This can't be right...it's 8:03 and I'm still seeing regular boarding groups...


----------



## gerilyne

I am playing along at home today, and I am not getting the back up group message and it is 8:03am.  Anyone at the parks that can confirm this?


----------



## woody74

Same, so weird!


----------



## tsumgirl

This is my first time trying to play along from home, and there are still regular BG available at 8:07am!


----------



## ironband74

8:06...still on regular groups.  Did they not open the gates today or something?


----------



## Niebz

We’re in our hotel. Got boarding group 19 right at 8. It does look like there’s still boarding groups though.


----------



## Iron Dan

Back-ups started at 8:07


----------



## tsumgirl

8:08am and it switched to backup boarding groups


----------



## ironband74

I guess the price increase really did them in...On Backups now at 8:08


----------



## gerilyne

Well... I wonder if it is slower today, they didn't let in as many people early.....Mando somehow made the Jawas extend the regular boarding groups....


----------



## dina444444

I'm guessing that the hard ticket event tonight could be playing into lower daytime crowds.


----------



## TitusPullo

Will be interesting to see how many regular boarding groups were given with the 8pm close to non event guests.


----------



## Tennor

This is the first morning I've played along and home and I'm surprised that there are still BGs available, it seems. If you aren't in the park, can you tell at what point they switch to backup groups?


----------



## thedarksyde

I am in.  Boarding group 10.  Galaxy s10 at Rancho de zocalo.   Seems pretty empty.  They let us in starting at 7:23


----------



## StarGirl11

It’s a Wednesday so on one hand I’m not overly surprised the groups are still going. However the regular BGs lasting 7 minutes sets a new record by almost triple. I’m really curious where the threshold between regular and backup is now. Especially since on 80s night it was 41.


----------



## njchris

Lines were pretty short to get in at 7:30 today. I got boarding group 11. Assuming they will start at 10 today.


----------



## tsumgirl

I saw the popup that backup groups were done at 8:23am. I'm not sure if it was a delayed message or not, because my screen did a weird flicker.

ETA: Sorry I realized it was a delayed popup to say regular groups were done. I caught the wording incorrectly when it flickered and closed.


----------



## njchris

I still love hearing people cheer.  It makes me happy.  So much positive energy all around.


----------



## montreid

8:29- backups still available - makes sense with the extended regular groups to 8:08


----------



## tsumgirl

Tennor said:


> This is the first morning I've played along and home and I'm surprised that there are still BGs available, it seems. If you aren't in the park, can you tell at what point they switch to backup groups?


I was about to click Join Boarding Group again while I was playing along from home and the main page showing the Current Land Status etc. had the message change to say something like all the regular boarding groups had been distributed, and I would be placed in a backup group. It was in the paragraph text, so I could've easily missed it if it hadn't changed while I was looking at it.

ETA: I've now been getting a popup message 15 min later, as well.


----------



## StarGirl11

I just checked again backup and the notifications we’re still up.

I actually restarted the app at one point during the regular distribution since I couldn’t believe they were still available. Notification did pop up eventually though


----------



## Skyegirl1999

Wednesday mornings, everyone! 

But also, 8am opening, early close tonight for ticketed event, and it’s February 12...

A fun exercise in ROTR BG behavior (and Disney crowd patterns in general) will be to compare this week (traditionally one of the lowest of the year) to next week (usually a hot mess, but it seems like Disney has figured that out and is better-prepared?)

Side note: I’m planning to take my daughter over after school today to get the Creatures of Batuu guide; I hope it’s still there!


----------



## Sarahelizabeth

We are heading up tonight and going to try to ride tomorrow.  I have been reading this thread every day since it started so I feel I'm as prepared as I can be.  My husband and I will both try on our IPhones and I downloaded the app on my work IPhone for my 9 year old to try with.  Fingers crossed!!!!!!


----------



## ironband74

tsumgirl said:


> I was about to click Join Boarding Group again while I was playing along from home and the main page showing the Current Land Status etc. had the message change to say something like all the regular boarding groups had been distributed, and I would be placed in a backup group. It was in the paragraph text, so I could've easily missed it if it hadn't changed while I was looking at it.
> 
> ETA: I've now been getting a popup message 15 min later, as well.


Sometimes I get the pop up and sometimes I don't, but the front page (Find out more) message does change to say:

"Due to the attraction's incredible popularity, we are now distributing backup boarding groups that will only be called if all of the initial planned boarding groups have been called back and there is capacity for more riders this evening.


----------



## JWelch62

njchris said:


> I still love hearing people cheer.  It makes me happy.  So much positive energy all around.


I didn't think that would be a big deal, but it really is. Really quite impressive.


----------



## mum of two pirates

Niebz said:


> We’re in our hotel. Got boarding group 19 right at 8. It does look like there’s still boarding groups though.


How did you do that? I’m in the park and got 58


----------



## tsumgirl

ironband74 said:


> Sometimes I get the pop up and sometimes I don't, but the front page (Find out more) message does change to say:
> 
> "Due to the attraction's incredible popularity, we are now distributing backup boarding groups that will only be called if all of the initial planned boarding groups have been called back and there is capacity for more riders this evening.


I've been reading along since the first day, but it was interesting to finally play along. I can definitely see now how fascinating this whole process is, and why practicing is important. I don't travel until May, but I'm glad my first practice session was on the day regular BGs lasted so long. Otherwise, I would definitely be thinking it was user error if I didn't get the red button.


----------



## mum of two pirates

So my app didn’t even say they were available yet (the button wasn’t lit up) and people around me where shouting yes I got x boarding group ect and still nothing. I refreshed 3 times and finally got like 57? Don’t know why my button was so slow


----------



## Skyegirl1999

mum of two pirates said:


> So my app didn’t even say they were available yet (the button wasn’t lit up) and people around me where shouting yes I got x boarding group ect and still nothing. I refreshed 3 times and finally got like 57? Don’t know why my button was so slow


Did you click on “my status” and see if it let you join from there?  That’s how we got ours last week.


----------



## ironband74

mum of two pirates said:


> So my app didn’t even say they were available yet (the button wasn’t lit up) and people around me where shouting yes I got x boarding group ect and still nothing. I refreshed 3 times and finally got like 57? Don’t know why my button was so slow


Best practice seems to be to NOT go into the "Find out More" page until after the seconds tick down to park open.  It seems that many phones will cache the boarding group page and so you will not see the red/orange button until you restart the app.

If you do go into "Find out More" and see a grey button, best practice seems to be to hit "My Status" and see if the button to Join a Boarding Group is active there.  If it is, use it.  If it is not, back out and check the front page again and if not active, close out and restart.  Apple users seem to have a better chance at seeing a real refresh going back and forth between the Find Out more and My Status pages than Android users.

That said, 57 is not a bad group - they've always gotten up past that.


----------



## AndyMcDandy

Got BG 26! Here’s hoping they start loading soon. It’s already 8:50 and it doesn’t show that they’re loading anyone. Is that typical?


----------



## woody74

Backup groups are STILL available???? WTH???


----------



## gerilyne

woody74 said:


> Backup groups are STILL available???? WTH???


I'm telling you, Mando has taken charge


----------



## Niebz

mum of two pirates said:


> How did you do that? I’m in the park and got 58


We arrived at the park shortly after 7 and got in line. As soon as we were scanned in (about 7:30) we left and headed back to our hotel across the street. Hit find out more right at 8:00. We tested the ping of our hotel wifi and it was excellent so we thought that was the best place to be.


----------



## ironband74

AndyMcDandy said:


> Got BG 26! Here’s hoping they start loading soon. It’s already 8:50 and it doesn’t show that they’re loading anyone. Is that typical?


Yes, for an 8am open they often don't start loading until around 9ish.  If you don't see loading by 9:15...then you can be little nervous.  Fair to say that first group will be 11 today.


----------



## disneyholic family

i just tried at home right now and my app shows backups still available

when did the line open?  i just got home, so i haven't been following...
did it start at 8 or at 9?


----------



## DLgal

disneyholic family said:


> i just tried at home right now and my app shows backups still available



Me too. That's crazy!


----------



## disneyholic family

DLgal said:


> Me too. That's crazy!



i'm scrolling back in the thread to see when the line opened..
did it open at 8? so this is one hour and 20 minutes?????


----------



## DLgal

disneyholic family said:


> i'm scrolling back in the thread to see when the line opened..
> did it open at 8? so this is one hour and 19 minutes?????



Correct


----------



## disneyholic family

DLgal said:


> Correct


wow!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
that's insane!!!  is there no one in the park today?

.


----------



## dina444444

disneyholic family said:


> wow!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
> that's insane!!!  is there no one in the park today?
> 
> .


There’s a hard ticket event tonight. Usually when there are hard ticket events day time crowds tend to be lower.


----------



## Peachy0118

WHAT? An hour and 24 minutes open and STILL backup groups available? I am at work and just checked randomly. 
This is crazy. Crazy awesome!

Did anyone find out at what number the backup groups started?


----------



## Skyegirl1999

disneyholic family said:


> wow!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
> that's insane!!!  is there no one in the park today?
> 
> .


App wait times would suggest this is the case. 

I will repeat that it is a Wednesday morning, February 12, and the park opened early and closes early today. 

Looks like it’s going to be a very, very low attendance day, but that honestly isn’t surprising given the circumstances.


----------



## Skyegirl1999

Peachy0118 said:


> WHAT? An hour and 24 minutes open and STILL backup groups available? I am at work and just checked randomly.
> This is crazy. Crazy awesome!
> 
> Did anyone find out at what number the backup groups started?


They won’t put that number up until backups are gone.


----------



## disneyholic family

how long did the regular BGs last?  1 minute?  
i guess wednesday is the day to go to the park, hard ticket event or not...
what hard ticket event is it?


----------



## ironband74

disneyholic family said:


> how long did the regular BGs last?  1 minute?
> i guess wednesday is the day to go to the park, hard ticket event or not...
> what hard ticket event is it?


Regular BGs lasted like 7 minutes today.  It was unreal.

The hard ticket event is a sweetheart's night.


----------



## disneyholic family

ironband74 said:


> Regular BGs lasted like 7 minutes today.  It was unreal.
> 
> The hard ticket event is a sweetheart's night.



yes, i just scrolled back to when the line first opened and saw that it lasted 7 minutes..
how amazing!!!
well, i won't be visiting DL on a wednesday, so no hope of hitting such a great low crowd, but totally cool to see it happen!!!

just noticed you wrote what the event is....for valentines day.....

.


----------



## disneyholic family

i've never considered the possibility of going to the park on a hard ticket day, but it kinda makes sense that the park would be less crowded during the day..
i'll have to take that into my planning in the future..

.


----------



## socaldisneylover

I do not understand this ride at all.

1. The park is closing early today.
2. An Hour & Half After Opening, Backup Groups Still Available.
3. Ride Not Yet Open


----------



## thedarksyde

9:40 ride still is down.


----------



## disneyholic family

thedarksyde said:


> 9:40 ride still is down.



and yet they're still giving out back up BGs at one hour and 40 minutes......how strange

.


----------



## ironband74

Now boarding Group 10.


----------



## thedarksyde

Just got called for boarding group 10.


----------



## disneyholic family

and now at 1 hour and 43, i'm no longer getting a red button
and the message is they've reached capacity


----------



## ironband74

Backups are now gone.  81 and up are backups.


----------



## HydroGuy

socaldisneylover said:


> I do not understand this ride at all.
> 
> 1. The park is closing early today.
> 2. An Hour & Half After Opening, Backup Groups Still Available.
> 3. Ride Not Yet Open


Are you a secret Jawa???


----------



## disneyholic family

ironband74 said:


> Backups are now gone.  81 and up are backups.



i wonder how many they gave out

.


----------



## JWelch62

thedarksyde said:


> Just got called for boarding group 10.


I wonder if the delay in start is related to the how long it took to fill all the back-up BGs. Perhaps they waited until a certain number of back-ups were distributed?


----------



## lalasmama

SOCALMouseMommy said:


> Every person I have spoken to regarding riding this ride is completely clueless about what it takes to actually ride it.


This made me flash back to my Lyft driver on 1/28, who told me if I didn't make reservations 2 months before, then I "couldn't ride it, and people are waiting in line for 8 hours and not getting to ride it since they didn't make reservations." I just smiled and said, "Thanks for the tip," and obtained my boarding group without issue.

But you are correct--it seems like everyone/so many people have no idea how to get it, and don't do the research ahead of time to find out.


----------



## ironband74

JWelch62 said:


> I wonder if the delay in start is related to the how long it took to fill all the back-up BGs. Perhaps they waited until a certain number of back-ups were distributed?


Nah, they've opened before while still distributing backups.  My guess is that they updated something last night and were doing a morning shakedown.


----------



## JWelch62

ironband74 said:


> Nah, they've opened before while still distributing backups.  My guess is that they updated something last night and were doing a morning shakedown.


That's a much more likely explanation, but the rate for back-up distribution was sooo low today you have to wonder if that played into any opening time discussions, or if it allowed more time to test. So, indirect impact. 

In any case, we are right on the average Wednesday trend line at the moment. Not that that's a good thing, given past Wednesdays.


----------



## montreid

Surprised that they did 81 groups today.   Less regulars because of the hard ticket tonight


----------



## JWelch62

montreid said:


> Surprised that they did 81 groups today.   Less regulars because of the hard ticket tonight


Average for a Wednesday is 84 @ 6:00 PM. They should (emphasis on *should*) be able to get to 81 before shutting down the park for the sweetheart event.


----------



## ironband74

JWelch62 said:


> Average for a Wednesday is 84 @ 6:00 PM. They should (emphasis on *should*) be able to get to 81 before shutting down the park for the sweetheart event.


Keep in mind that the average data is based on starting at group 1 most Wendesdays.  So there is a greater cushion than it would initially appear since they started at 10 today.

Edit:  Consulting the chart I appear to be wrong.  1,8, and 11 have been called so far.  Still skews the average, but not as much.


----------



## JWelch62

ironband74 said:


> Keep in mind that the average data is based on starting at group 1 most Wendesdays.  So there is a greater cushion than it would initially appear since they started at 10 today.
> 
> Edit:  Consulting the chart I appear to be wrong.  1,8, and 11 have been called so far.  Still skews the average, but not as much.


Agreed, just looking at the BG number called, not the total BG called.


----------



## Niebz

Ride just went down. Hope we won’t be stuck for 3 hours. I have 4 littles who may not be as patient as I am willing to be.


----------



## tricia464

Niebz said:


> Ride just went down. Hope we won’t be stuck for 3 hours. I have 4 littles who may not be as patient as I am willing to be.



Any updates?  We are in group 39


----------



## ironband74

Niebz said:


> Ride just went down. Hope we won’t be stuck for 3 hours. I have 4 littles who may not be as patient as I am willing to be.


Are you in line?  Looks to still be down.


----------



## Niebz

Still down. They let us leave for a bathroom break at least. As long as you have someone in line you can do that. Hope it’s up soon!


----------



## tricia464

Niebz said:


> Still down. They let us leave for a bathroom break at least. As long as you have someone in line you can do that. Hope it’s up soon!



Looks like it’s back up?


----------



## Niebz

It’s up and it was amazing! We only waited about an hour when it broke down. So worth all the craziness! I still have goosebumps!


----------



## PHXscuba

I couldn't believe how long the groups (regular and backup) lasted this morning. I was "playing along from work" and had time to check between phone calls. At one point an hour after park open I corralled DH's phone (we work together), downloaded the Disneyland app, signed him into my account after several incorrect tries, showed him the screens for familiarity, and we were STILL looking at backup groups.

I know today was an outlier, but it makes me a little less stressed for our next-Friday visit.

PHXscuba


----------



## socaldisneylover

Looks like they got through all the guaranteed groups by 4:00.  I guess that means anyone who was able to get in through the app within about 7 minutes, got to ride today.  I think more than anything, that's a sign there were not as many people in the park today, trying for a boarding group, since they still kept to the 80 guaranteed group total they've more or less had since the ride opened.  If only there were more days like today, with no 3-4 hour downtimes, and fewer people trying, so the guaranteed groups don't fill up in 60-90 seconds.


----------



## PairOfDice

Our trip is coming up in less than two weeks. I thought I had the procedure down until I read this article.  I'll copy and paste the part I have a question about. 

*DO NOT HAVE EVERYONE IN YOUR PARTY TRY SIMULTANEOUSLY*
This is the most important tip we can pass along: Do *not* have everyone in your party smash the "Join Boarding Group" button at the same time. We saw tons of people around us receive error messages doing this and suspect the app gets confused when the same party attempts multiple simultaneous entries.
Instead, designate one person to do the quick tapping and one person to have the app open as a backup, just in case.

I'm surprised by the suggestion to have one person try. Should I assume they mean everyone is using the same sign in info on different phones. If I'm the only one in my group with a Disney account should the rest of my group sign into my account or should they create their own?


----------



## jacandjan

This came up yesterday and it was decided that they didn't know what they were talking about.


----------



## unveilmyeyes

And midway through my ride with a backup boarding group ... we’re down!


----------



## twodogs

PairOfDice said:


> Our trip is coming up in less than two weeks. I thought I had the procedure down until I read this article.  I'll copy and paste the part I have a question about.
> 
> *DO NOT HAVE EVERYONE IN YOUR PARTY TRY SIMULTANEOUSLY*
> This is the most important tip we can pass along: Do *not* have everyone in your party smash the "Join Boarding Group" button at the same time. We saw tons of people around us receive error messages doing this and suspect the app gets confused when the same party attempts multiple simultaneous entries.
> Instead, designate one person to do the quick tapping and one person to have the app open as a backup, just in case.
> 
> I'm surprised by the suggestion to have one person try. Should I assume they mean everyone is using the same sign in info on different phones. If I'm the only one in my group with a Disney account should the rest of my group sign into my account or should they create their own?


I can tell you our experience.  We were there opening weekend, trying on both Saturday and Sunday.  We had 6 phones (4 cell, 2 WiFi), all logged into my account.  All trying at the same time (though surely our tween and teen fingers were faster than Mom and Dad, ha ha).  No one got an error either day.  We got BG 14 and then 27 the next day.


----------



## Going2DisneyAZ

I wouldn't worry about that article.  The consensus here and elsewhere is the more trying the better.


----------



## twodogs

Going2DisneyAZ said:


> I wouldn't worry about that article.  The consensus here and elsewhere is the more trying the better.


Maybe they are trying to increase their chances at getting a good BG by discouraging others from multiple phones!!??


----------



## unveilmyeyes

unveilmyeyes said:


> And midway through my ride with a backup boarding group ... we’re down!



And back up! Approx 15-20 min downtime


----------



## unveilmyeyes

twodogs said:


> I can tell you our experience.  We were there opening weekend, trying on both Saturday and Sunday.  We had 6 phones (4 cell, 2 WiFi), all logged into my account.  All trying at the same time (though surely our tween and teen fingers were faster than Mom and Dad, ha ha).  No one got an error either day.  We got BG 14 and then 27 the next day.



I think article implied multiple accounts and not your single account example. There is a specific error message with multiple accounts that can occur.


----------



## unveilmyeyes

unveilmyeyes said:


> And back up! Approx 15-20 min downtime



And down again after about 7 minutes!


----------



## Laur0406

Going2DisneyAZ said:


> I wouldn't worry about that article.  The consensus here and elsewhere is the more trying the better.


Logged in to one account with all tickets linked or logged in to different accounts but all tickets linked? Just not sure if my husband and I should log in to our own Disney accounts or choose one to log in to.


----------



## Going2DisneyAZ

Laur0406 said:


> Logged in to one account with all tickets linked or logged in to different accounts but all tickets linked? Just not sure if my husband and I should log in to our own Disney accounts or choose one to log in to.


My understanding is the best practice is that you log into one account


----------



## twodogs

Laur0406 said:


> Logged in to one account with all tickets linked or logged in to different accounts but all tickets linked? Just not sure if my husband and I should log in to our own Disney accounts or choose one to log in to.


I would pick one account, make sure both tickets are in that account, and both sign into that one account to try for a BG.  Make sure that you pick the person’s account that has no other tickets linked to it, so that when you get to the screen to select who you want to join the BG, it will default to only the two of you since you will be the only tickets linked there.


----------



## PairOfDice

Thanks, everyone! I panicked a little when I read that article. Thanks for helping me figure this out.


----------



## EmJ

Another pretty solid day. They matched the all time high again. Hopefully tomorrow they can go for three in a row.


----------



## dina444444

The chart:


----------



## ironband74

Best Wednesday on record to follow the best Tuesday on record.  And both the best Wednesdays happened on shortened days...Also, the first time we've had six consecutive days calling 100 or more groups. 


It looks like we had an hour of downtime followed by an hour and a half of limping along in stop and go sort of situation before things finally took off and we saw a good 4.5 hours.  Then another half hour of downtime and a push to the finish.  So 1.5 hours of actual downtime, and maybe another half hour scattered in the stair steps.

They called longer than they did for the 80's night by about an hour, but they started calling almost an hour later as well. As @EmJ notes we kissed the all time high again.

Tomorrow with an early start followed by an early night will be an interesting study. Today's long distribution period may inspire people to go tomorrow, but it will be interesting to see how that is tempered by the Magic Morning Crowd. We haven't broken 100 groups on a Thursday since the first week of operation, so if we can kiss the all time high again it will tell us that some adjustments have been made and that they are at least partially effective.

It is important, though, not to read too much into a single day...but overall the trend continues to improve.  It will be interesting to see how we compare to DHS in a few more weeks time.


----------



## theluckyrabbit

PairOfDice said:


> Our trip is coming up in less than two weeks. I thought I had the procedure down until I read this article.  I'll copy and paste the part I have a question about.
> 
> *DO NOT HAVE EVERYONE IN YOUR PARTY TRY SIMULTANEOUSLY*
> This is the most important tip we can pass along: Do *not* have everyone in your party smash the "Join Boarding Group" button at the same time. We saw tons of people around us receive error messages doing this and suspect the app gets confused when the same party attempts multiple simultaneous entries.
> Instead, designate one person to do the quick tapping and one person to have the app open as a backup, just in case.
> 
> I'm surprised by the suggestion to have one person try. Should I assume they mean everyone is using the same sign in info on different phones. If I'm the only one in my group with a Disney account should the rest of my group sign into my account or should they create their own?


This was noted and discussed yesterday. General consensus here is that the author is misinformed/wrong, so don't panic. See the posts below.



Skyegirl1999 said:


> They based that on this: “We saw tons of people around us receive error messages doing this and suspect the app gets confused when the same party attempts multiple simultaneous entries.”
> I think they’re wrong.





jacandjan said:


> After reading this tread for weeks I to think this reporter is wrong. We have played along at home like many others and never have we got an error message. I guess we will find out next week !!!





MonocularVision said:


> Love it when this sort of misinformation spreads so my chances get increased.





jacandjan said:


> This came up yesterday and it was decided that they didn't know what they were talking about.


----------



## theluckyrabbit

unveilmyeyes said:


> I think article implied multiple accounts and not your single account example. There is a specific error message with multiple accounts that can occur.


Which is why we don't recommend that strategy here -- people here would actually agree with that author about that method not working. We recommend using a single account based on the high success rate reported by DISers. Clearly that author hasn't read this thread!


----------



## Skyegirl1999

theluckyrabbit said:


> Which is why we don't recommend that strategy here -- people here would actually agree with that author about that method not working. We recommend using a single account based on the high success rate reported by DISers. Clearly that author hasn't read this thread!


I am not sure about this.  Mostly people on this thread have said either way is fine.

Anecdotally, I know a number of groups where everyone’s been on their own account and they’ve gotten a BG just fine.  My husband and I were only two people, but we were each on our account and we were fine.

I don’t think it matters.


----------



## Susie63

The next 10 days will be interesting. The first real stretch of extended 15+ hour days.


----------



## ironband74

Skyegirl1999 said:


> I am not sure about this.  Mostly people on this thread have said either way is fine.
> 
> Anecdotally, I know a number of groups where everyone’s been on their own account and they’ve gotten a BG just fine.  My husband and I were only two people, but we were each on our account and we were fine.
> 
> I don’t think it matters.


I think it is fine.  You might get some oddities if you have different accounts and don't have all of the tickets scanned into some of them, or even the same accounts and you accidentally don't select the same party.

But I suspect that the message you are sending to the server doesn't even have account information, but just ticket information grouped by party. My guess is that when you click Join Boarding Group after verifying the party, the app sends a message to the server that has something like (ticket1,ticket2,ticket3,...)

Naturally, in the first few seconds, these messages stack up and are "spooled". Before they are processed the go through two "gates."

Gate 1 is "Are these people scanned into the park?" If one or more of the tickets in the message isn't scanned in, it kicks back the "Oops, is everybody in the park?" message and prompts you to deselect.

Gate 2 is "Do any of these tickets already have a boarding group assigned?" We know that if the group already has a BG, the user gets the "You are already in a BG" message. I'm not sure what happens when only some of the people have a BG already and others don't. This may be where the trouble is for some folks.

Once through the two gates, the requests go through the BG assignment process, where the ticket numbers are assigned to a group. Once a group has been assigned, the tickets are associated and the success message is sent back. 

What is likely, since the two gates are more dependent on other data and not at risk for collisions, is that those two gates are multi-threaded and have multiple processors doing the checks and kicking the errors out if needed.

Once through the gates, it probably single threads to avoid data collisions. It might also multi-thread the BG assignment since even if they go with 10 threads the likelihood of the same group being within 10 messages of each other is low. But considering the simplicity of the logic and the speed of the computers available, I would expect the assignment to be single or possibly dual threaded.

Not that any of this really matters, but knowing how the app probably does its dirty work might assuage some fears of using multiple devices to maximize your chances at a good BG.


----------



## ironband74

Susie63 said:


> The next 10 days will be interesting. The first real stretch of extended 15+ hour days.


It should be. At the same time, the attraction essentially operates on a 12-13 hour day regardless of park hours.  What will be interesting is if they start letting the attraction board later than they have been.


----------



## Daipew

I have been following since day 1 and I know this has been covered, but I didn't think it would apply to me, but things have changed.  How can I delete linked annual passes from the app?  For the life of me I can't figure it out.  Wife and kid are going to sleep in at the hotel and I am going solo.  They are ok not riding RoTR this trip.

Also, I know there was a post/article that had all the tips etc. in one place, anyone have the link to that?

Thank you in advance!


----------



## westcoastjules

Curious what happens to the people ON the ride when it breaks down?


----------



## jacandjan

What time did they open the gates for regular guests this morning ??


----------



## HydroGuy

Daipew said:


> I have been following since day 1 and I know this has been covered, but I didn't think it would apply to me, but things have changed.  How can I delete linked annual passes from the app?  For the life of me I can't figure it out.  Wife and kid are going to sleep in at the hotel and I am going solo.  They are ok not riding RoTR this trip.
> 
> Also, I know there was a post/article that had all the tips etc. in one place, anyone have the link to that?
> 
> Thank you in advance!


The single article I know of is this one:

https://www.disneytouristblog.com/star-wars-rise-resistance-disneyland-strategy-guide/
And it does not have all the tips. There is no single place I am aware of with all the tips. This thread does, I believe, scattered among almost 5,000 posts. I have bookmarked like 10-12 of the most valuable ones.


----------



## ZCarroll

jacandjan said:


> What time did they open the gates for regular guests this morning ??


A little before 725 by my clock


----------



## ZCarroll

Daipew said:


> I have been following since day 1 and I know this has been covered, but I didn't think it would apply to me, but things have changed.  How can I delete linked annual passes from the app?  For the life of me I can't figure it out.  Wife and kid are going to sleep in at the hotel and I am going solo.  They are ok not riding RoTR this


You might not be able to without calling in to guest services... that's the case for me


----------



## ImDMous

For reference, we had 4 people on their own separate DL accounts with all 4 passes linked to each of them.  We got BG 11 on Saturday morning, never saw any errors.  We made a MP for our party when we got in to make sure we were all scanned in correctly, each force stopped the app around 7:45, shut off wifi and bluetooth to avoid any background traffic interfering, opened the app back up around 7:55 and then hit "Find out more" right at 8.


----------



## Tennor

Going smoothly so far this morning. I'm betting it'll be 10 minutes or so again today before backup boarding group messages start showing up.


----------



## gerilyne

Playing from home it looks like regular boarding groups were gone by 8:01am.  I don't have an exact time though.


----------



## Sarahelizabeth

BG 21!!! Standing by storybook canal with 3 IPhones!! I got it first!


----------



## dina444444

Already at backups at 8:01


----------



## Sarahelizabeth

And we explained the process to a guy at 7:55 and he got in!


----------



## Daipew

ZCarroll said:


> You might not be able to without calling in to guest services... that's the case for me




Ok.  That is what I was starting to think.  Could I create a new app account with an unused Email and scan in just my pass?  Would that work ok?


----------



## matthewthompson87

Dropped by this morning to use the Magic Morning on my SoCal ticket before upgrading to a Flex Pass.. got in line for Space Mountain... and it broke down right before boarding... at 7:45am.

It came back up, and I boarded at 7:57am...

...and I got boarding group 12 for RotR while ON Space Mountain.


----------



## MonocularVision

matthewthompson87 said:


> ...and I got boarding group 12 for RotR while ON Space Mountain.



That should accomplishment should get you two rides on RotR or a Disney Play achievement.


----------



## matthewthompson87

MonocularVision said:


> That should accomplishment should get you two rides on RotR or a Disney Play achievement.



Seriously! Cmon DisneyPlay app!

“T-Mobile, Right After the lift hill countdown.”

My new wrist strap has already come in handy.


----------



## ironband74

MonocularVision said:


> That should accomplishment should get you two rides on RotR or a Disney Play achievement.


I think the bragging rights are quite sufficient!  

"The odds of shooting down two Tie Fighters at once are...greater than I thought!"


----------



## JWelch62

matthewthompson87 said:


> Seriously! Cmon DisneyPlay app!
> 
> “T-Mobile, Right After the lift hill countdown.”
> 
> My new wrist strap has already come in handy.


Achievement Unlocked!


----------



## lalasmama

Playing from hone this morning, I didn't get the back-up group message until 8:15am.


----------



## afan

matthewthompson87 said:


> Dropped by this morning to use the Magic Morning on my SoCal ticket before upgrading to a Flex Pass.. got in line for Space Mountain... and it broke down right before boarding... at 7:45am.
> 
> It came back up, and I boarded at 7:57am...
> 
> ...and I got boarding group 12 for RotR while ON Space Mountain.



Nice!  That's way more impressive that switching my slinky dog fp at the fp drop time between rounds of TSMM, which I also won.


----------



## njchris

I got Boarding Group 15 today.


----------



## ZCarroll

Daipew said:


> Ok.  That is what I was starting to think.  Could I create a new app account with an unused Email and scan in just my pass?  Would that work ok?



Oh..I don't know, I don't see why not though? That sounds like a brilliant idea!  I'm not sure it really takes that much longer just to hit deflect and then select one person... I had to deselect all and then try to find the correct ticket out of 3 with the same name for 2 people with five other people as well and then paused because I saw my husband already got in... but he didn't hit continue so with that delay I still got boarding group 47 this morning.


----------



## ironband74

8:30 and we still have backups available...


----------



## matthewthompson87

njchris said:


> I got Boarding Group 15 today.



Now let’s see when they start boarding. 8:37am now and not open yet. I enjoyed a Ronto Wrap while watching people get turned away from the RotR entrance.


----------



## Henryrhea

For clarification; I downloaded the Disneyland app, made an account for myself, and bought all my party’s tickets. I want to increase our chances of getting a boarding group

-can I have all my party members download the Disneyland app and log into my account at the same time? To secure a boarding pass

or

-do they have to download the Disneyland app, create their own account, and then link all the tickets to their account?


----------



## JWelch62

Henryrhea said:


> For clarification; I downloaded the Disneyland app, made an account for myself, and bought all my party’s tickets. I want to increase our chances of getting a boarding group
> 
> -can I have all my party members download the Disneyland app and log into my account at the same time? To secure a boarding pass
> 
> or
> 
> -do they have to download the Disneyland app, create their own account, and then link all the tickets to their account?


Both have worked. I used the second option and was successful


----------



## dina444444

Backups appear to be gone as of 8:43


----------



## gerilyne

dina444444 said:


> Backups appear to be gone as of 8:43


Yup, I just checked and they are gone.  Looks like 83 is the start of backup groups.


----------



## montreid

start group 3 today with 83 groups?   Nice to see backups lasting longer


----------



## EmJ

montreid said:


> start group 3 today with 83 groups?   Nice to see backups lasting longer


Are they really starting with group 3? If so, that would be significant as it would mean 80 primary groups today, rather than the 71-73
we’ve been seeing.


----------



## ZCarroll

Have they started boarding yet? My app isn't showing anything...?


----------



## ZCarroll

ZCarroll said:


> Have they started boarding yet? My app isn't showing anything...?


Wow I wonder what is going on...I don't think it's ever been this delayed has it?


----------



## matthewthompson87

ZCarroll said:


> Have they started boarding yet? My app isn't showing anything...?



Nope. Not boarding yet as of 9:34am


----------



## Skyegirl1999

ZCarroll said:


> Wow I wonder what is going on...I don't think it's ever been this delayed has it?


It sure has been this delayed!  Exhibit A: February 2nd... opened like 2.5 hours after the park opened?

It started about this late yesterday, didn’t it?


----------



## ironband74

Yesterday they didn't start boarding until 9:45.


----------



## njchris

ZCarroll said:


> Wow I wonder what is going on...I don't think it's ever been this delayed has it?


I’ve seen it start between 9:30-9:45 before.


----------



## ZCarroll

ironband74 said:


> Yesterday they didn't start boarding until 9:45.



Oh,  yesterday I wasn't checking... don't know how I missed February 2nd.... thought the latest start I saw was just a little after an hour after opening... thanks for the info


----------



## Skyegirl1999

ZCarroll said:


> Oh,  yesterday I wasn't checking... don't know how I missed February 2nd.... thought the latest start I saw was just a little after an hour after opening... thanks for the info


Haha, Feb. 2 was the day we were there for my husband’s birthday and ROTR was a hot mess that day, which is the only reason I remember.


----------



## ironband74

montreid said:


> start group 3 today with 83 groups?   Nice to see backups lasting longer


Doubtful.  Usually when the groups are in the 80s we see groups start in the teens.  I would expect to see us start at group 12 today.


----------



## BFresh

Good morning!

I lurked here for quite some time planning for our trip to Disneyland and wanted to thank you all for the valuable information on here!  I also wanted to give an update on our trip so far and hopefully contribute to the collective knowledge on here:

1)  We've spent 2 days in the park so far and got on ROTR both times without difficulty
2)  There are 5 of us - 2 on iphone Xs with data plans, 1 iphone 7 and 2 iphone 6s on Disney Wifi
3)  Secret parking tip - I phoned every hotel close to the entrance looking for public parking, if you're driving consider parking at the Grand Legacy hotel just across the street from Disneyland, we used it both days and it was awesome - $25 for all day parking - literally a 5 minute walk from the security gates
4)  We parked at 7am and were through security and lined up for entrance by 7:20am, line was just past the monorail both days.  We lined up in the middle like suggested on here and sure enough both times the lines split when the gates opened around 7:30am and we zoomed through by about 7:40am.  I noticed the lines splitting between gates 7 and 16 for reference points.
5)  We set up at the Coke refreshment corner, nice place to sit and the connection seemed good both days (though to be honest we didn't really worry too much about speed tests and all that).  We also didn't worry about re-booting our phones, closing apps, etc.  We just had the Atomic Clock app ticking seconds and then at 8am we all madly clicked! 
6)  After my two days (small data set to be sure), I'm convinced the ability to secure a boarding pass is mostly determined by how fast your fingers move.  Both days we secured early boarding passes - 11 and 19 - from a teenager on a literally broken, beat up iphone 7 on Disney Wifi.  But he's a teenager who SnapChats and plays Fortnite and all that stuff and his fingers and hand eye coordination are just way better than the rest of our party!
7)  Line up was short once our BG was called and the ride was awesome both times, so great!! 

EDIT:  All 5 phones had different DL accounts.

PS - we're Canadians and used the Canadian resident discount deal, you only need to bring your passports on the first day to confirm citizenship
PPS - on the iphone Xs and newer models they have dual sim cards so all I did was download the Gigsky app recommended to me and it's been working great down here in the US

Any questions please ask, it was a wonderful two days in the parks for us and thank you to all your help on here!


----------



## matthewthompson87

I have a hunch it’s not going to start boarding until at least 11:30am.

(also... the only other time I’ve been here was here was Feb 2... when it was also nearly noon when it started boarding.


----------



## ironband74

matthewthompson87 said:


> I have a hunch it’s not going to start boarding until at least 11:30am.
> 
> (also... the only other time I’ve been here was here was Feb 2... when it was also nearly noon when it started boarding.


So...you're saying that you break the ride?


----------



## Laur0406

Sarahelizabeth said:


> BG 21!!! Standing by storybook canal with 3 IPhones!! I got it first!


logged in to the same account on each phone or each logged in to a different account?


----------



## montreid

Resistence recruits on the ground - is station Batuu operational?  Our screens show your offline.


----------



## Sarahelizabeth

Laur0406 said:


> logged in to the same account on each phone or each logged in to a different account?



We were all logged into the same account.


----------



## Sarahelizabeth

montreid said:


> Resistence recruits on the ground - is station Batuu operational?  Our screens show your offline.



Still not boarding.


----------



## Cookiemonster156

Im in group 12. Hopefully we get in soon.


----------



## thedarksyde

Still not boarding.


----------



## ironband74

The Jawas clearly changed their tactics and are doing night raids.


----------



## ZCarroll

So strange especially considering they closed way earlier for after dark last night!


----------



## BigOHawk

Yikes at this rate will be lucky to make 50 or 60 reg. BG's!


----------



## Ferrellcon

What would happen if they just gave up and decided not to open the ride today? That is a slim possibility.


----------



## ironband74

Yeah...not looking good, but I bet they find a way to get up through 83 today.


----------



## ironband74

I guess the other coast is having a bad day too.  Did they both install a software upgrade that broke everything?


----------



## njchris

ironband74 said:


> Yeah...not looking good, but I bet they find a way to get up through 83 today.


I’m not going to be able to stay much longer. BG 15 and still no boarding.


----------



## Going2DisneyAZ

ironband74 said:


> Did they both install a software upgrade that broke everything?


As a former data center manager if they did that someone or everyone on the team should be fired.


----------



## woody74

uh oh...


----------



## dina444444

ironband74 said:


> I guess the other coast is having a bad day too.  Did they both install a software upgrade that broke everything?


There was one day last month at DHS where they didn’t open till 2pm but when they opened they got through like 90 or so groups before closing at 8pm.


----------



## disneyholic family

i just got home from the gym and caught up with the thread....had to look at  my phone to see what time it is there and was shocked to see that it's already past noon DL time!!
wow...that's crazy....
well it is the 13th, but not friday the 13th..

.


----------



## montreid

Boarding 12!


----------



## matthewthompson87

12:24 group 12 just got called. Sadly, I’m gone now.


----------



## montreid

Cookiemonster156 said:


> Im in group 12. Hopefully we get in soon.


And thats essentially GROUP1 today!    GO GO GO GO!  Rise, cookie, rise.


----------



## crystal1313

My app says loading 12-14 now...


----------



## njchris

Oh they just started calling boarding groups!


----------



## socaldisneylover

Looking forward to seeing them scramble to meet the "guaranteed" quota.  It's going to be close given they close at 8:00.  They really have no margin for error, so they're probably praying it does not go down.


----------



## Going2DisneyAZ

socaldisneylover said:


> Looking forward to seeing them scramble to meet the "guaranteed" quota.  It's going to be close given they close at 8:00.  They really have no margin for error, so they're probably praying it does not go down.


but what does guaranteed really mean?


----------



## montreid

In WDW - recovery is ticket and fastpass for the following day.    They haven't needed it to date here.

An interesting twist would be to extend the folk INTO Valentine event for those up to 81.   That would be the route I take if I had a choice.


----------



## Ferrellcon

Going2DisneyAZ said:


> but what does guaranteed really mean?


 Exactly. The app even says a boarding group does not guarantee entry


----------



## Skyegirl1999

montreid said:


> In WDW - recovery is ticket and fastpass for the following day.    They haven't needed it to date here.
> 
> An interesting twist would be to extend the folk INTO Valentine event for those up to 81.   That would be the route I take if I had a choice.


I mean, I think they could call groups right up to 8:00 if they so choose... it’ll be interesting to see how it goes today.

I did find it curious that the first “After Dark” night had them lowball the regular groups SO much, and then this week they just kept them normal?  Seems like something like 60ish “guaranteed” groups might be a good number for these days?

I’m sorry to all whose day got scrambled by the unexpectedly late opening!


----------



## Skyegirl1999

Ferrellcon said:


> Exactly. The app even says a boarding group does not guarantee entry


Presumably they will offer something if they don’t get through guaranteed groups the way WDW does, though.  Otherwise they wouldn’t bother to distinguish between them and back-up groups.


----------



## ironband74

Skyegirl1999 said:


> I mean, I think they could call groups right up to 8:00 if they so choose... it’ll be interesting to see how it goes today.
> 
> I did find it curious that the first “After Dark” night had them lowball the regular groups SO much, and then this week they just kept them normal?  Seems like something like 60ish “guaranteed” groups might be a good number for these days?
> 
> I’m sorry to all whose day got scrambled by the unexpectedly late opening!


It is also possible that they will let folks with boarding groups 82 and under stay in the park past 8.  They could call all remaining groups at 8, fill the queue, and then direct them to leave the park after they ride.  Don't the event ticket people have wristbands or something?


----------



## ironband74

Going2DisneyAZ said:


> but what does guaranteed really mean?


I think that the verbiage is just regular and backup.  I don't think the app or anything says guaranteed.  I think that's just what we call them, but yeah they're not.


----------



## Skyegirl1999

ironband74 said:


> It is also possible that they will let folks with boarding groups 82 and under stay in the park past 8.  They could call all remaining groups at 8, fill the queue, and then direct them to leave the park after they ride.  Don't the event ticket people have wristbands or something?


Yeah, that's basically what I meant.  They can't keep *uncalled* groups in the park after 8 because you can't do anything without the event "credentials" (it was a lanyard last night), but they could call whatever they wanted *until* 8, even if it takes awhile to clear the line.  If they're close enough to 82 at that point, I wouldn't be surprised if that's what they did.


----------



## sjmac42

Daipew said:


> I have been following since day 1 and I know this has been covered, but I didn't think it would apply to me, but things have changed.  How can I delete linked annual passes from the app?  For the life of me I can't figure it out.  Wife and kid are going to sleep in at the hotel and I am going solo.  They are ok not riding RoTR this trip.
> 
> Also, I know there was a post/article that had all the tips etc. in one place, anyone have the link to that?
> 
> Thank you in advance!


No need to see guest services, just tap the 3 lines on the bottom right of the app, select “Tickets and passes” and add or delete tickets as you wish.  Link from the Disney Moms Panel below.
https://disneyparksmomspanel.disney...ls-pass-account-followed-instructions-404309/Also check the first 3 posts of this thread which are kept updated.


----------



## ironband74

Skyegirl1999 said:


> Yeah, that's basically what I meant.  They can't keep *uncalled* groups in the park after 8 because you can't do anything without the event "credentials" (it was a lanyard last night), but they could call whatever they wanted *until* 8, even if it takes awhile to clear the line.  If they're close enough to 82 at that point, I wouldn't be surprised if that's what they did.


Yeah, we're on the same page.  I just didn't read what was written quite right.


----------



## montreid

Just like any hard ticket events though, if you're IN line, they won't kick you out -- eg:  Guardians on oogie nights.  If you get in line by 8pm, they won't kick you off.   

So call x-82 before 8P and all get in line -- will run ride until finished.    That's what I would do.


----------



## matthewthompson87

sjmac42 said:


> No need to see guest services, just tap the 3 lines on the bottom right of the app, select “Tickets and passes” and add or delete tickets as you wish.  Link from the Disney Moms Panel below.
> https://disneyparksmomspanel.disney...ls-pass-account-followed-instructions-404309/Also check the first 3 posts of this thread which are kept updated.



This doesn’t work all the time. I’ve had to call to have tickets unlinked every time.


----------



## thedarksyde

36 was just called and the line is pretty long inside.  Longer than yesterday.  The queue is almost to where they are scanning boarding passes.


----------



## socaldisneylover

thedarksyde said:


> 36 was just called and the line is pretty long inside.  Longer than yesterday.  The queue is almost to where they are scanning boarding passes.


They're trying to pack 'em in to have a chance at getting through the "guaranteed."


----------



## Daipew

matthewthompson87 said:


> This doesn’t work all the time. I’ve had to call to have tickets unlinked every time.



I did have to call.  I did  not get the option to unlink/delete them.  The CM told me it happens sometimes, but she did not know why.  Fixed it in seconds.


----------



## montreid

If you "own" the tickets, you can't delete them on the app.   You have to call - weird, but true.

So ironically, it's easier to make a completely separate ROTR login with dummy email and link your varying tickets to it for ROTR if you have long term varying party members joining the cause


----------



## FakeLocke

Aaaand it's down. In line now.


----------



## CmdrThor

Was just past the first portion of the ride about 10 minutes ago and the ride went down. Was issued a multiple experiences FP for any ride including ROTR.


----------



## montreid

CmdrThor said:


> Was just past the first portion of the ride about 10 minutes ago and the ride went down. Was issued a multiple experiences FP for any ride including ROTR.


That probably means 1 hour reset mode down


----------



## JWelch62

montreid said:


> That probably means 1 hour reset mode down


If you're physically on the ride you get a FP. You have to evacuate the ride. It doesn't matter how long the down time will be. If you're in line, you may just have to wait it out.


----------



## montreid

JWelch62 said:


> If you're physically on the ride you get a FP. You have to evacuate the ride. It doesn't matter how long the down time will be. If you're in line, you may just have to wait it out.


Not absolutely -- We were in line before the main ride and waited 20minutes for a short reset.  We were not evacuated.


----------



## JWelch62

montreid said:


> Not absolutely -- We were in line before the main ride and waited 20minutes for a short reset.  We were not evacuated.


Where you on the ride though? Without spoilers, after first, but before second? I'm referring to second.


----------



## socaldisneylover

Anyone know if it's still down.  I'm showing Group 45 as highest group called.

I'm so over this ride's problems.  I'm sticking by my belief that it's going to be a mess for months if not years to come.  But I'm kind of excited to see if they give anything out for failing to meet the "guaranteed" number, and it looks like there's a shot of that today.  Unless they're planning on calling groups until 8:00 PM, when the park is supposed to close, and letting people stay in line.  If they stop calling at 6:00, there's no way they'll be able to get through 35 groups in the next 2 hours.

1 Step Forward, 2 Steps Back.


----------



## FakeLocke

Yep still down. No announcements in queue for awhile


----------



## montreid

JWelch62 said:


> Where you on the ride though? Without spoilers, after first, but before second? I'm referring to second.


Before the 2nd.   Trying not to be too specific -- the point - we were well into the experience and were NOT evacuated.   Had a lot of fun with the CMs during that time too


----------



## jacandjan

socaldisneylover said:


> I'm so over this ride's problems. I'm sticking by my belief that it's going to be a mess for months if not years to come


Wow.....after less than 4 weeks you are ready to condemn this ride for months and  years to come !


----------



## socaldisneylover

jacandjan said:


> Wow.....after less than 4 weeks you are ready to condemn this ride for months and  years to come !


Yeah, definitely months.  Until it shows signs of becoming more reliable, I still foresee it becoming a Rocket Rods type situation, with constant breakdowns.

Here we are at the 4 week mark, and it's having perhaps the worst day since opening.  8 hours after opening, and stuck at 45 groups.  I really don't see how they're going to get to 80 today, unless they just start calling groups and putting them in the line up until 8:00.


----------



## JWelch62

montreid said:


> Before the 2nd ride (main ride).   Trying not to be too specific -- the point - we were well into the experience and were NOT evacuated.   Had a lot of fun with the CMs during that time too


We were paused probably where you were at one point. Had quite a lot of fun with the CMs. It's the only place in the park where the CMs don't have to say please and thank you.


----------



## Tigger Trainer

socaldisneylover said:


> Yeah, definitely months.  Until it shows signs of becoming more reliable, I still foresee it becoming a Rocket Rods type situation, with constant breakdowns.
> 
> Here we are at the 4 week mark, and it's having perhaps the worst day since opening.  8 hours after opening, and stuck at 45 groups.  I really don't see how they're going to get to 80 today, unless they just start calling groups and putting them in the line up until 8:00.



How quickly people forget. I would not call ROTR a Rocket Rods, but rather an Indiana Jones or Radiator Springs. Can no one remember how often RSR broke down for the first year or two until things were ironed out? Indiana was the same way. Whenever the bar is raised and technology is improved with a new state of the art attraction, this is to be expected and not everything can be predicted. In a computer RSR was supposed to run with something like 39 cars, they finally figured out after a great deal of trial and error and break downs that 34 is the right number of cars. There must be a period of test and adjust and it will improve. It will just take time.

I am just grateful for the Boarding Group for as long as we have it. At least you don't have to wait in a long line for your entire day. And to all those who say they would rather wait 3 hours than have boarding groups, if you think the line would only be 3 hours then you need to take a look at the facts. ROTR would have more like a 5-8 hour line and would be much more of a disaster. I applaud Disney for reaching for the stars on this one and actually delivering. Let's give credit where credit is due. Have patience and know this ride, unlike Rocket Rods, will be around for a very very long time.


----------



## Going2DisneyAZ

Yup. I rode Indy on a preview night. 5 hour lines for weeks and constantly broke down.  This really is not that unusual for a revolutionary new ride system


----------



## CmdrThor

Additional groups were just called, about to head back with our FP after we ride Peter Pan.


----------



## montreid

JWelch62 said:


> We were paused probably where you were at one point. Had quite a lot of fun with the CMs. It's the only place in the park where the CMs don't have to say please and thank you.


Come to think of it; we had a 10minute pause on another time just after our longer wait -- while standing line - had a 'debate' with the CM on proper color shades and terminology.   We're not rebel scum.   we're the resistance.   in other news --- back up 46-48.     Three hours to crank 35 groups --- doable.


----------



## nutshell

The sky is not falling. The ride had a rough afternoon, but it certainly isn’t one step forward, two steps back. I haven’t looked at the tables, but I believe we had a couple record breaking bests the past week. Seems more like it’s two steps forward, one step back. PROGRESS!

I also note that thousands and thousands of people get to ride every single day. And those who ride it are universally blown away. Seems like a great result to me.


----------



## SOCALMouseMommy

Wow bad day for ROTR.


----------



## JWelch62

SOCALMouseMommy said:


> Wow bad day for ROTR.


While it is a bad day, it may not end up being the worst Thursday ever.


----------



## dina444444

If it can stay up my guess is they will rush to call through 82 by 7pm.


----------



## Cookiemonster156

Boarding Groups were called today at exactly 12:24PM. I was asking a CM what were our options because we had 1:15 reservation at Lamplight Lounge. And, as we were talking, the supervisor told us we didnt have to worry because we were going to be the first people to get on today.


----------



## montreid

So we thought we were having a brutal day --- 6pm with 57-72 and nice 25 group spread and 83 within earshot.

WDW today:    '61 total Boarding Groups were called - 61 Regular, 0 Backups - for a 5.1 BG per hour average (the long-term average not including today is 9.5).'


----------



## StarGirl11

montreid said:


> So we thought we were having a brutal day --- 6pm with 57-72 and nice 25 group spread and 83 within earshot.
> 
> WDW today:    '61 total Boarding Groups were called - 61 Regular, 0 Backups - for a 5.1 BG per hour average (the long-term average not including today is 9.5).'



Sounds like it’s been a rough day overall for the ride no matter where you were


----------



## ironband74

This is what we call the lightning round.


montreid said:


> So we thought we were having a brutal day --- 6pm with 57-72 and nice 25 group spread and 83 within earshot.
> 
> WDW today:    '61 total Boarding Groups were called - 61 Regular, 0 Backups - for a 5.1 BG per hour average (the long-term average not including today is 9.5).'


I do think it is curious that we both had relatively horrible days.  I am curious to see if we start mirroring each other more often if we are doing similar software/hardware updates in tandem.  If that is the case, we will typically do better since we are 3 hours behind them and have more opportunity to react to issues as they are identified.


----------



## dina444444

Up to 76. They should get to 82 by the end of the hour.


----------



## twodogs

Wonder if the groups being called now are only being given a 1 hour return window?


----------



## socaldisneylover

Yeah, nothing to see here.  They made it to 82.  Another successful day.


----------



## ironband74

Well, it was a day for sure.  This early in the game, though, there are going to be days like this.  As long as they learn something, identify a bug, find a weak point, etc, it's not a wasted effort.  

This makes four weeks of operations. 28 days, which in the scheme of things isn't that much. Keep in mind that DHS has not yet seen 75 days of ops. Combined, we don't even have 100 days yet. This attraction is just a baby.

It will be very interesting to see how they deal with the coming weekend which by all accounts should be pretty impacted. I know the internal line is "It's just another day" but I can't help but feel that the more crowded the parks are the higher CM stress must be, It may be that both coasts had an update that they wanted to push through before the long weekend, but didn't want to release on the long weekend in case it went horribly wrong - that way they could roll it back or patch it tonight and be ready. 

In any case, watching from afar is entertaining, but I'm sure for those of you going to the parks it is stressful.  Remember not to fear.  Fear is the path to the dark side, after all.


----------



## iHEARTflorida

How's does the 8am drop work on Magic Mornings? If I'm over in Tomorrowland I can still try to get a boarding group?


----------



## UrsulaTime

iHEARTflorida said:


> How's does the 8am drop work on Magic Mornings? If I'm over in Tomorrowland I can still try to get a boarding group?


I haven't done it myself yet but I have been following this thread and yes, after you have scanned your ticket into Disneyland Park (not DCA) you can try for a boarding group from anywhere via the app as soon as the park opens to the general public for the day.


----------



## matthewthompson87

iHEARTflorida said:


> How's does the 8am drop work on Magic Mornings? If I'm over in Tomorrowland I can still try to get a boarding group?



I did that this morning. It doesn’t matter where you are in the park... just make sure you have a signal for your phone.

FYI— be sure to have your Disney hotel key or physical ticket out for the cast members to get beyond Main Street.


----------



## CmdrThor

iHEARTflorida said:


> How's does the 8am drop work on Magic Mornings? If I'm over in Tomorrowland I can still try to get a boarding group?



I got group 23 as I exited Mr Toad’s Wild Ride. Made me super nervous boarding the ride with 2 minutes to go and service was pretty poor in the middle of the ride. With seconds to spare though we got off and I got the boarding group.


----------



## theluckyrabbit

Skyegirl1999 said:


> I am not sure about this.  Mostly people on this thread have said either way is fine.
> 
> Anecdotally, I know a number of groups where everyone’s been on their own account and they’ve gotten a BG just fine.  My husband and I were only two people, but we were each on our account and we were fine.
> 
> I don’t think it matters.


For DIS vets and people who are comfortable and confident with the DLR app, I would agree with you.   (And, technically, concerning the actual outcome of whether or not people get a BG, I also agree with you.) But for people who aren't in those categories (and there are SO many -- who knew there were that many guests who were clueless about using the app?!), I would strongly recommend streamlining the BG process as much as possible, just to keep things as easy and stress free as possible to give the greatest chance of success. The whole BG Boogie requires juggling enough plates as it is; throwing in the possibility of multiple phones logged in to more than one account can overwhelm people who don't even know how to use MP or how to Mobile Order. Or who are super stressed and can't juggle one more plate. If the confident folks can handle more plates, I don't worry about them. I know they'll be fine. But for the newbs, the fearful, and the overwhelmed? Whatever works the most simple way, at least for the first time, is what I would strongly recommend. (Once the fearful and super stressed become more confident, juggling more plates shouldn't be such an issue!)


----------



## hockey000

So do you and your party log into same account with linked passes or each try a different account with linked passes? I see both ways work at time but what should my plan be? Thanks


----------



## disneyholic family

theluckyrabbit said:


> For DIS vets and people who are comfortable and confident with the DLR app, I would agree with you.   (And, technically, concerning the actual outcome of whether or not people get a BG, I also agree with you.) But for people who aren't in those categories (and there are SO many -- who knew there were that many guests who were clueless about using the app?!), I would strongly recommend streamlining the BG process as much as possible, just to keep things as easy and stress free as possible to give the greatest chance of success. The whole BG Boogie requires juggling enough plates as it is, throwing in the possibility of multiple phones logged into more than one account can overwhelm people who don't even know how to use MP or how to Mobile Order. Or who are super stressed and can't juggle one more plate. If the confident folks can handle more plates, I don't worry about them. I know they'll be fine. But for the newbs, the fearful, and the overwhelmed? Whatever works the most simple way, at least for the first time, is what I would strongly recommend. (Once the fearful and super stressed become more confident, juggling more plates shouldn't be such an issue!)



newb here  
anyone think this system will still be in use in october when DH and i are there?

since we arrive in LA early thursday, i'm planning an afternoon in the parks practicing on the app (mobile order, MP), so that by friday morning i'll no longer be a newb.....

.


----------



## theluckyrabbit

hockey000 said:


> So do you and your party log into same account with linked passes or each try a different account with linked passes? I see both ways work at time but what should my plan be? Thanks


Your plan should be to use whatever you feel most comfortable using. This is where "playing along at home" before your trip can make a difference. Try both ways a few times to see what works best for you and your group. Then go with that option when you get to DL.


----------



## theluckyrabbit

disneyholic family said:


> newb here
> anyone think this system will still be in use in october when DH and i will be there?
> 
> since we arrive in LA early thursday, i'm planning an afternoon in the parks practicing on the app (mobile order, MP), so that by friday morning i'll no longer be a newb.....
> 
> .


Your guess is as good as anyone else's right now! But, by practicing at home and using the app on your arrival day (use it a lot -- really give it a work out to get used to how it works on _your_ phone), you'll have that much more confidence if you do need to do the BG Boogie during your trip! I know you've been playing along at home with the rest of us -- by October, you should be a pro!


----------



## theluckyrabbit

Daipew said:


> I have been following since day 1 and I know this has been covered, but I didn't think it would apply to me, but things have changed.  How can I delete linked annual passes from the app?...


I know your problem was resolved, but for anyone else following, this issue is addressed on page one in the second post (FAQs), "How Do I Join a Boarding Group?" 



Henryrhea said:


> For clarification; I downloaded the Disneyland app, made an account for myself, and bought all my party’s tickets. I want to increase our chances of getting a boarding group
> 
> -can I have all my party members download the Disneyland app and log into my account at the same time? To secure a boarding pass
> 
> or
> 
> -do they have to download the Disneyland app, create their own account, and then link all the tickets to their account?


Both methods will work. This question is addressed on page one, in the second post (FAQs), "How Do I Join a Boarding Group?" 



BFresh said:


> Good morning!
> I lurked here for quite some time planning for our trip to Disneyland and wanted to thank you all for the valuable information on here!  I also wanted to give an update on our trip so far and hopefully contribute to the collective knowledge on here:...
> 
> Any questions please ask, it was a wonderful two days in the parks for us and thank you to all your help on here!


Thank you for posting your tips and experience! I'm sure many DISers will find them helpful.



ironband74 said:


> ... In any case, watching from afar is entertaining, but I'm sure for those of you going to the parks it is stressful.  Remember not to fear.  Fear is the path to the dark side, after all.


Agree. For those feeling stressed out, remember, "Just keep swimming! Just keep swimming!" (I know, wrong franchise, but still true!)


----------



## theluckyrabbit

Welcome, Newcomers to this Superthread! Please take a minute to look over the first page and read the first two posts. Many questions will be answered there. The information is updated often, so it is accurate. If you do not find the answer to your question there, post here.


----------



## Theok029

Hello, everyone! How is the parking experience now? If I wanted to arrive to a parking lot by 7am for a ROTR chance, do you recommend Mickey and friends or the toy story lot?  
Thanks for your advice!


----------



## e_yerger

BG day is officially here! Got to harbor blvd security at 6:40 and now we’re in line. Line is just about to the monorail.


----------



## Aurora59

My husband, our adult daughter & I are going next week for my daughter's birthday. I've been telling my husband about the "joining boarding group" app process. Last night he said to me, "I read an article that said that for a group, only 1 person should try to join and a 2nd person should be ready as a backup." I replied, "Oh, you mean that SFGate article? Everyone in the DIS thread I'm following says that is exactly what you should NOT do. That you increase your chances with more than one person attempting to join."

So, thanks to everyone on this thread for your input! Fingers crossed it works for us....


----------



## disneyholic family

e_yerger said:


> BG day is officially here! Got to harbor blvd security at 6:40 and now we’re in line. Line is just about to the monorail.




may the force be with you!!  what time does the park open today?

.


----------



## ironband74

I was just about to ask if there was any news from the esplanade today!  Thanks and MTFBWY who are trying to rise today.




disneyholic family said:


> may the force be with you!!  what time does the park open today?


8:00 AM


----------



## e_yerger

Update: we are also meeting a photographer today to do our engagement shoot. I realized IN LINE that i forgot to put on lipstick. Sent the fiancé back to the hotel for said lipstick . Good thing we’re at BWPPI!

Additional update: the family of three in front of us just turned into a family of 9...... is this normal? Kinda peeved that they just held line for so many people.


----------



## ironband74

Interestingly enough it looks like DHS released a super low number of regular BGs today (58 and they started boarding with 8).  I wonder if Batuu West will follow suit.



e_yerger said:


> Additional update: the family of three in front of us just turned into a family of 9...... is this normal? Kinda peeved that they just held line for so many people.


Totally normal.  Breathe and roll with it.


----------



## EmJ

e_yerger said:


> Update: we are also meeting a photographer today to do our engagement shoot. I realized IN LINE that i forgot to put on lipstick. Sent the fiancé back to the hotel for said lipstick . Good thing we’re at BWPPI!
> 
> Additional update: the family of three in front of us just turned into a family of 9...... is this normal? Kinda peeved that they just held line for so many people.


It's normal even if completely obnoxious. Still, all you can do is breathe and not let it ruin your day. Have fun on your engagement shoot!


----------



## e_yerger

Gates opened


----------



## ironband74

e_yerger said:


> Gates opened


Did your fiance make it back with your lipstick in time?


----------



## e_yerger

ironband74 said:


> Did your fiance make it back with your lipstick in time?


LOL yes he did


----------



## thedarksyde

Day 3 at 7:20.  Those are dca gates, we're in line for DL.


----------



## e_yerger

NOW they’re letting people in


----------



## e_yerger

Through the gates


----------



## Sarahelizabeth

We got to the esplanade at 7:20 and lines were to CA Adventure and no clear place to get in line. We are moving now. My H said he doesn’t not want to do this tomorrow haha!


----------



## njchris

I've gone for the past 3 days for a BG (got one each day).  But I didn't go in today.  I feel weird and like I'm supposed to be there. lol


----------



## e_yerger

Got a FP using MP for Indiana Jones, so we shouldnt have any issues with doing the BG. Wish my hands weren’t so cold so they could move faster!!


----------



## disneyholic family

e_yerger said:


> Update: we are also meeting a photographer today to do our engagement shoot. I realized IN LINE that i forgot to put on lipstick. Sent the fiancé back to the hotel for said lipstick . Good thing we’re at BWPPI!
> 
> Additional update: the family of three in front of us just turned into a family of 9...... is this normal? Kinda peeved that they just held line for so many people.



how do you like BWPPI?
i have reservations for us there for october

.


----------



## ironband74

disneyholic family said:


> how do you like BWPPI?
> i have reservations for us there for october
> 
> .


That's our go-to for my typical party of 6.  It's decent, though last time we went they had plumbing issues in a neighboring unit and had the rooter out during the day.  Made it kind of loud while we were trying to nap one day, but they comped us a free day of parking, so that was cool.

Overall it's clean and functional.  No frills, but super close to the park.  I plan to return.


----------



## disneyholic family

just finished making dinner in time for me to  play along...
it's almost 6 pm here, so it must be almost 8 am at DL...tick tock...


----------



## ironband74

Alright, Lock S-Foils in attack position.  Stabilize your rear deflectors....Watch for enemy fighters...and may the Force be with you.


----------



## disneyholic family

ironband74 said:


> Alright, Lock S-Foils in attack position.  Stabilize your rear deflectors....Watch for enemy fighters...and may the Force be with you.


 
ditto....MTFBWY!!


----------



## disneyholic family

according to my play along, the regular BGs were gone at 30 seconds...


----------



## e_yerger

Fiancé had atomic clock running.... GOT BG 14!!!!


----------



## tsumgirl

I played along again today...my app must've been slower to load the backup boarding groups text. It changed at 8:01:05.


----------



## ironband74

e_yerger said:


> Fiancé had atomic clock running.... GOT BG 14!!!!


And now you can relax!


----------



## JWelch62

Back-ups at 8:03 form home


----------



## e_yerger

disneyholic family said:


> how do you like BWPPI?
> i have reservations for us there for october
> 
> .


we love it so far!! It’s so close to the parks - see fiancé lipstick debacle above


----------



## disneyholic family

tsumgirl said:


> I played along again today...my app must've been slower to load the backup boarding groups text. It changed at 8:01:05.



on my phone, the text changed long before the first minute was up
i actually said out loud, "woah" because i was so shocked at how fast the back up text popped up...
i looked at the clock and it hadn't turned to 8:01 yet

.


----------



## tsumgirl

disneyholic family said:


> on my phone, the text changed long before the first minute was up
> i actually said out loud, "woah" because i was so shocked at how fast the back up text popped up...
> i looked at the clock and it hadn't turned to 8:01 yet
> 
> .


Yeah I believe it. I have a midrange Samsung on cell data, so I'd expect it to be slower to update. So far, it's taken about 45 seconds before the My Status screen even registers that it's time even though it shows as refreshing.


----------



## disneyholic family

back up groups are still open at 8:08


----------



## disneyholic family

tsumgirl said:


> Yeah I believe it. I have a midrange Samsung on cell data, so I'd expect it to be slower to update. So far, it's taken about 45 seconds before the My Status screen even registers that it's time even though it shows as refreshing.



i have an iphone 11 working on a lightning fast home wifi connection....
i finally replaced my old iphone 6 in october when it kept crashing and it could no longer be upgraded to the latest iOS
.


----------



## Daipew

Thanks all. Got BG 10!


----------



## disneyholic family

disneyholic family said:


> back up groups are still open at 8:08



back up BG still open at 8:12

.


----------



## HydroGuy

I have a friend here in CO who is out there this weekend with his DW and DS13. He knows almost nothing about Disney but his DS13 loves Star Wars and they went specifically for SWGE and ROTR. I have been trying to coach him without overwhelming him on getting a BG, arriving early at DLR and all, to be inside the park at 8AM, etc. Today was his first day of three to get a BG. I was afraid for him that he would arrive late and/or just mess things up.   

He just texted me that they got BG 28. 

Moral of the story? It is possible for someone with minimal knowledge on BGs but a few key pieces of advice to be successful. Saying this for everyone who is stressed out about getting a BG. Of course YMMV.


----------



## Canadian Harmony

8:16 and Join BG was available! WOW!

We're not there until the 8th, and will be trying on the Monday and Tuesday, so maybe.... with pixie dust AND the Force... I can hardly wait!


----------



## disneyholic family

disneyholic family said:


> back up BG still open at 8:12



back up BG still open at 8:21


----------



## disneyholic family

Canadian Harmony said:


> 8:16 and Join BG was available! WOW!
> 
> We're not there until the 8th, and will be trying on the Monday and Tuesday, so maybe.... with pixie dust AND the Force... I can hardly wait!



that's a "join back up BG"....still better than no BG at all..
.


----------



## Sarahelizabeth

That was stressful! We got in the gates at 7:55. At the last minute a group of about 8 people jumped in line in front of us with their friends. Normally i wouldn’t care but i was worried about scanning in in time!! We made it through and went to the area in front of the train. Neither my husband or I ever got a red button. My 9 year old said he got it but i didn’t see the droid come up. Everyone around us was cheering and i thought for sure we didn’t get one. I tried again from the phone he was using and it said we were already in a boarding group!  My 9 year old got us 36!!


----------



## disneyholic family

disneyholic family said:


> back up BG still open at 8:21



back up BG still open at 8:25


----------



## disneyholic family

Sarahelizabeth said:


> That was stressful! We got in the gates at 7:55. At the last minute a group of about 8 people jumped in line in front of us with their friends. Normally i wouldn’t care but i was worried about scanning in in time!! We made it through and went to the area in front of the train. Neither my husband or I ever got a red button. My 9 year old said he got it but i didn’t see the droid come up. Everyone around us was cheering and i thought for sure we didn’t get one. I tried again from the phone he was using and it said we were already in a boarding group!  My 9 year old got us 36!!



see?  all those hours spent playing on the phone finally paid off!!!!
you should give him a prize!  oh you did,...a trip to DL!!

i would have completely freaked out if a big group jumped in front of me right before opening...
i would have been a nervous wreck!!!!
.


----------



## thedarksyde

Bg10 again.  Opened app at 7:59:50 and clicked find out more at 8am exact.  At Jolly holiday bakery inside ordering.


----------



## tsumgirl

I showed 8:33 BG all done for the day. 80 and up are backups.


----------



## disneyholic family

tsumgirl said:


> I showed 8:33 BG all done for the day. 80 and up are backups.



yes, the back ups were still open at 8:31, but then i had to put more food in the oven, so got distracted.
when i checked at 8:35 they were gone


----------



## ironband74

Considering that backups on the East coast were gone within 3 minutes...ours lasted ten times as long.


----------



## Skyegirl1999

Sarahelizabeth said:


> That was stressful! We got in the gates at 7:55. At the last minute a group of about 8 people jumped in line in front of us with their friends. Normally i wouldn’t care but i was worried about scanning in in time!! We made it through and went to the area in front of the train. Neither my husband or I ever got a red button. My 9 year old said he got it but i didn’t see the droid come up. Everyone around us was cheering and i thought for sure we didn’t get one. I tried again from the phone he was using and it said we were already in a boarding group!  My 9 year old got us 36!!


Glad it worked out!

What time did you guys get in line to enter?  I’m curious for more data points on when people are getting in line vs getting into the park.


----------



## Cookiemonster156

Got BG 10 today. Both 10 and 11 are the first ones for the day.


----------



## thedarksyde

Already open and 15 has already been called.


----------



## calilou

We are here today and got boarding group 73. Park closes at 8:00pm for valentines event. Any idea what time we might expect to get called?


----------



## HydroGuy

calilou said:


> We are here today and got boarding group 73. Park closes at 8:00pm for valentines event. Any idea what time we might expect to get called?


It depends on the day of course but 90-130 BGs per day are usually called. So a guess would be late afternoon?


----------



## jacandjan

calilou said:


> We are here today and got boarding group 73. Park closes at 8:00pm for valentines event. Any idea what time we might expect to get called?


App says 8 to 11 today


----------



## hiroMYhero

calilou said:


> We are here today and got boarding group 73. Park closes at 8:00pm for valentines event. Any idea what time we might expect to get called?


If the ride is running smoothly without downtime, close to 3:00-4:00ish for your BG.

Just factor in any actual downtimes today to estimate how late your group may be called.


----------



## calilou

hiroMYhero said:


> If the ride is running smoothly without downtime, close to 3:00-4:00ish for your BG.
> 
> Just factor in any actual downtimes today to estimate how late your group may be called.



Thanks! That doesn’t work well with our 4:00 dining reservation but we’ll hope for the best!!


----------



## disneyholic family

ironband74 said:


> That's our go-to for my typical party of 6.  It's decent, though last time we went they had plumbing issues in a neighboring unit and had the rooter out during the day.  Made it kind of loud while we were trying to nap one day, but they comped us a free day of parking, so that was cool.
> 
> Overall it's clean and functional.  No frills, but super close to the park.  I plan to return.



i'm debating between BWPPI and the Residence Inn Anaheim Convention Center.  It's at the corner of harbor blvd and katella, where the CVS pharmacy is.
I know it's at least a 10 minute walk from there, but it seems like a nice place and i have a 1 bedroom suite with full kitchen booked there.
I just don't know what to do.
I have reservations at both, so i don't have to decide yet.
this is for my husband and me...
first time in 36 years, it will be just the two of us!!
.


----------



## calilou

jacandjan said:


> App says 8 to 11 today



Oh maybe that was just last night and I thought it was the same tonight.


----------



## Skyegirl1999

calilou said:


> Oh maybe that was just last night and I thought it was the same tonight.


Yeah, there’s no Valentine’s event tonight.  Normal park hours.


----------



## montreid

You beat me to it.  No VDay event - weird, but true.  2nights prior yes.  but not on a Friday night, which makes sense for crowd management.


----------



## becauseimnew

We plan to go to DCA on Thursday 2/27, but want to try for BG, it's a EMH/MM which we won't be participating. What time will we be allowed to scan into at DL?


----------



## SOCALMouseMommy

calilou said:


> We are here today and got boarding group 73. Park closes at 8:00pm for valentines event. Any idea what time we might expect to get called?


The park is open until 11pm tonight.


----------



## HydroGuy

becauseimnew said:


> We plan to go to DCA on Thursday 2/27, but want to try for BG, it's a EMH/MM which we won't be participating. What time will we be allowed to scan into at DL?


On most days it is 30-45 minutes before offical park opening.


----------



## ironband74

Glad to see that they got things going earlier today, looks like 45 minutes into boarding they are moving at a good clip.  Huge jump on previous Friday starts...Let's see if they can hold off the Jawas today.


----------



## HydroGuy

disneyholic family said:


> i'm debating between BWPPI and the Residence Inn Anaheim Convention Center.  It's at the corner of harbor blvd and katella, where the CVS pharmacy is.
> I know it's at least a 10 minute walk from there, but it seems like a nice place and i have a 1 bedroom suite with full kitchen booked there.
> I just don't know what to do.
> I have reservations at both, so i don't have to decide yet.
> this is for my husband and me...
> first time in 36 years, it will be just the two of us!!
> .


I have a preference for BWPPI because it is just so freaking close to DLR and the cross-walk across Harbor. So for me, that is a no-brainer. When I am not at DLR I like RI's for the space and kitchen and all. But at DLR I am biased towards the walking distance.


----------



## Elk Grove Chris

calilou said:


> Thanks! That doesn’t work well with our 4:00 dining reservation but we’ll hope for the best!!


If you are dining in one of the parks, let them know your Boarding Group will interfere/overlap with reservation time. Many have reported that the CMs will honor your dining reservation as best they can after you get off the ride.


----------



## e_yerger

Just got in line!


----------



## ironband74

disneyholic family said:


> i'm debating between BWPPI and the Residence Inn Anaheim Convention Center.  It's at the corner of harbor blvd and katella, where the CVS pharmacy is.
> I know it's at least a 10 minute walk from there, but it seems like a nice place and i have a 1 bedroom suite with full kitchen booked there.
> I just don't know what to do.
> I have reservations at both, so i don't have to decide yet.
> this is for my husband and me...
> first time in 36 years, it will be just the two of us!!
> .


To be fair, When I stay at the BWPPI I usually wind up walking to the CVS at least once a night to get something we forgot or first aid supplies or something.  It's become a running joke that after we get in for the evening I just say "Well, time to go to CVS!  What do we need tonight?"

At the end of the day, that walk feels kinda long, but it isn't too bad.  If you think you will want to take an afternoon break at the hotel, the location of BWPPI can't be beat.  But if you want to cook...


----------



## HydroGuy

ironband74 said:


> To be fair, When I stay at the BWPPI I usually wind up walking to the CVS at least once a night to get something we forgot or first aid supplies or something.  It's become a running joke that after we get in for the evening I just say "Well, time to go to CVS!  What do we need tonight?"
> 
> At the end of the day, that walk feels kinda long, but it isn't too bad.  If you think you will want to take an afternoon break at the hotel, the location of BWPPI can't be beat.  But if you want to cook...


I usually can find that stuff at the little market in the Tropicana next door. Not as big as CVS, of course, and probably at a higher cost. But OMG it is just right there!


----------



## montreid

Cookiemonster156 said:


> Got BG 10 today. Both 10 and 11 are the first ones for the day.


Two days for you Grp '1' -- fast fingers!


----------



## montreid

Our typical goto is Hyatt Place with free breakfast; lots of space and just across from Toy Story shuttle to save the steps for the day.   

When we want midday breaks, we have rotated between the Fairfield/Courtyard (points) and Best Western places (hotwire deals).   The two Best westerns simply cannot be beat, but the motel style; basic breakfast, and draconian parking rules put a damper on the visit a lot....

SO -- this year, we bought in VGC  and closed just last week.


----------



## LizzyS

My boss and his wife are there today and got BG 29!

So happy for them!


----------



## becauseimnew

montreid said:


> Our typical goto is Hyatt Place with free breakfast; lots of space and just across from Toy Story shuttle to save the steps for the day.
> 
> When we want midday breaks, we have rotated between the Fairfield/Courtyard (points) and Best Western places (hotwire deals).   The two Best westerns simply cannot be beat, but the motel style; basic breakfast, and draconian parking rules put a damper on the visit a lot....
> 
> SO -- this year, we bought in VGC  and closed just last week.


We are staying at Hyatt Place for 3 nights, work is paying, then I'm thinking about switching to Fairfield for Friday & Saturday night, DH has 2 certificates we can use. The parks will be open 8AM-12AM, I'm thinking it would be nice to go back to the hotel and not have to walk all the way back to the Hyatt on those long days. DH is also platnium so I'm hoping for an upgrade, we would be switching hotels 2/28.

We were wanted to just stay at HP because of the free breakfast, but we still have $140 Brilliant credit to use before it resets 3/24, could I just charge Pizza Hut/ market stuff to the room?'

And Congrats on the investment.


----------



## montreid

becauseimnew said:


> We are staying at Hyatt Place for 3 nights, work is paying, then I'm thinking about switching to Fairfield for Friday & Saturday night, DH has 2 certificates we can use. The parks will be open 8AM-12AM, I'm thinking it would be nice to go back to the hotel and not have to walk all the way back to the Hyatt on those long days. DH is also platnium so I'm hoping for an upgrade, we would be switching hotels 2/28.
> 
> We were wanted to just stay at HP because of the free breakfast, but we still have $140 Brilliant credit to use before it resets 3/24, could I just charge Pizza Hut/ market stuff to the room?'
> 
> And Congrats on the investment.


Fairfield is okay.  no breakfast, but McDs and Panera are literally right there on the way.   The furnishings are 'updated' but still a motel noise so get away from the elevators if you don't like luggage wheels going by the room all the time.  

Consider using the Toy Story shuttle when at HP.  It's time neutral compared to walking and saves a lot of steps - especially at night!


----------



## Cookiemonster156

montreid said:


> Two days for you Grp '1' -- fast fingers!


Our group has been getting lucky. On Wednesday we got 12 as well.


----------



## Sarahelizabeth

Skyegirl1999 said:


> Glad it worked out!
> 
> What time did you guys get in line to enter?  I’m curious for more data points on when people are getting in line vs getting into the park.



We got to security around 7:15 i believe. We walked from the Fairfield so didn’t have to deal with parking.  Very small security line, walked into the Esplinade at 7:20 and in park gates at 7:55. 

Our line seemed to move slow compared to those around us.


----------



## e_yerger

Just got off - WOW WOW WOW!!!! Worth all the stress!!


----------



## rmonty02

montreid said:


> Our typical goto is Hyatt Place with free breakfast; lots of space and just across from Toy Story shuttle to save the steps for the day.
> 
> When we want midday breaks, we have rotated between the Fairfield/Courtyard (points) and Best Western places (hotwire deals).   The two Best westerns simply cannot be beat, but the motel style; basic breakfast, and draconian parking rules put a damper on the visit a lot....
> 
> SO -- this year, we bought in VGC  and closed just last week.


HOME...We hope to be back to our VGC home in December.  We'll see what kind of tips and tricks we need to follow to experience ROTR?
I've been reading every post, thanks to everyone for all the excitement


----------



## Butterfly123

I'm sorry if I missed the answer to this question...this thread has a lot of pages that I've been skimming through. Our trip isn't until mid July.  Do we know if these boarding groups are the permanent or semi-permanent plan for the foreseeable future? Is this what to expect for the summer? 

I would like to be able to get on this ride at least once in our five days! Is it possible we could actually miss it even if we are at the park opening on at least three of the days?


----------



## Skyegirl1999

Butterfly123 said:


> I'm sorry if I missed the answer to this question...this thread has a lot of pages that I've been skimming through. Our trip isn't until mid July.  Do we know if these boarding groups are the permanent or semi-permanent plan for the foreseeable future? Is this what to expect for the summer?
> 
> I would like to be able to get on this ride at least once in our five days! Is it possible we could actually miss it even if we are at the park opening on at least three of the days?


Nobody knows how long BGs will be in effect.

If the system stays the way it currently is, it’s pretty inconceivable that you could miss it with three days of trying.


----------



## HydroGuy

Butterfly123 said:


> I'm sorry if I missed the answer to this question...this thread has a lot of pages that I've been skimming through. Our trip isn't until mid July.  Do we know if these boarding groups are the permanent or semi-permanent plan for the foreseeable future? Is this what to expect for the summer?
> 
> I would like to be able to get on this ride at least once in our five days! Is it possible we could actually miss it even if we are at the park opening on at least three of the days?





Skyegirl1999 said:


> Nobody knows how long BGs will be in effect.
> 
> If the system stays the way it currently is, it’s pretty inconceivable that you could miss it with three days of trying.


Especially if you follow all the tips here - of which there are a lot! It seems that people who follow just a few of the tips are usually succcessful. Those who follow all of them seem to be near %100.


----------



## e_yerger

Okay to recap my morning (this was for an 8am park opening, no EMH/MM)

6:35 - left BWPPI for Harbor Blvd security
6:45 - through security & in line (line almost back to the monorail at this point)
7:15 - gates open
7:25 - start scanning people in
7:31 - through the gates and in DL
7:59 - stood under the entrance of Mr. Lincoln & fiancé had the atomic clock on his phone, held up next to mine. I tried to find space AWAY from everyone. 
8:00 - on iPhone XR, i clicked on “find out more”, “my status” (join boarding group was not lit up), and then clicked “join boarding group”. Got boarding group 14. 

(sometime between 8-9a they called our boarding group, unsure of the actual time)

9:43 - got in line for RotR. Queue was wrapped around pretty significantly outside, but not outside of the actual queue area. 
10:34 - got off the ride


----------



## ironband74

Butterfly123 said:


> I'm sorry if I missed the answer to this question...this thread has a lot of pages that I've been skimming through. Our trip isn't until mid July.  Do we know if these boarding groups are the permanent or semi-permanent plan for the foreseeable future? Is this what to expect for the summer?
> 
> I would like to be able to get on this ride at least once in our five days! Is it possible we could actually miss it even if we are at the park opening on at least three of the days?


It all depends on whom you ask.  There are those among us who believe that boarding groups will be necessary forever.  There are also those who believe they might fall out of use by summer.  it really comes down to how much the reliability of the attraction improves over the next four months.

But, I suspect that you'll be able to ride at least once in your five days, one way or another, if not more.


----------



## disneyholic family

montreid said:


> Our typical goto is Hyatt Place with free breakfast; lots of space and just across from Toy Story shuttle to save the steps for the day.
> 
> When we want midday breaks, we have rotated between the Fairfield/Courtyard (points) and Best Western places (hotwire deals).   The two Best westerns simply cannot be beat, but the motel style; basic breakfast, and draconian parking rules put a damper on the visit a lot....
> 
> SO -- this year, we bought in VGC  and closed just last week.



congrats on DVC!!  we're DVC at WDW.  Bought in 2018 indirect and then 2019 added on direct.
SSR and BLT are our home resorts.


----------



## ironband74

So we're rocking a 26 group spread as the clock chimes noon, Granted, we've seen the lunchtime acceleration (18 groups in the last hour) and expect things to level off and slow after lunch...but we're only 16 groups from the end of regular boarding.  If the Jawas are kept in check...we could see regular boarding concluded before 2, which is good news for the backup folks.


----------



## montreid

32 group spread now. That's a new high....but 2pm nears


----------



## montreid

In other news....wdw grp 63 while DLR is 78 already.


----------



## ironband74

montreid said:


> 32 group spread now. That's a new high....but 2pm nears


34! One away from the end of regulars!  no jawas!!!!


----------



## ironband74

All regulars called by 1pm.  That's new.


----------



## HydroGuy

ironband74 said:


> 34! One away from the end of regulars!  no jawas!!!!


----------



## disneyholic family

do we know how many are in a boarding group?  
are the boarding groups always the same size?
that is, is boarding group 14 on tuesday, the same size as BG 14 on friday or do they play with their internal settings?.
.


----------



## hiroMYhero

disneyholic family said:


> do we know how many are in a boarding group?


No - that’s been the greatest unknown since RotR opened in DHS. On opening day, it was rumored to be about 175 per BG. After massive problems resulting in massive Guest Recovery - Appeasement, the BGs appeared to be much smaller and there have been less regular BGs each day.


----------



## ironband74

Now looking at a spread of 36.  Now that lunch is over, I expect it to slow down a bit.


----------



## HydroGuy

disneyholic family said:


> do we know how many are in a boarding group?
> are the boarding groups always the same size?
> that is, is boarding group 14 on tuesday, the same size as BG 14 on friday or do they play with their internal settings?.
> .


It is believed to be about 75-100. However, as the day (and then night) goes on, the number of no-shows increases. So the actual group size will be lower later in the day.


----------



## ironband74

I believe there are 80/bg. That's conjecture and semi-educated calculation on my part.


----------



## Syndrome

What is the consensus on Magic Morning / Extra Magic Hour for ROTR boarding group advantages ? Is it worthwhile to try to get into the DL gates early for  a Magic Morning if we are staying on site at GC ?  We could potentially direct ourselfs to DL on a Tuesday and Thursday for MM for our upcoming trip in 2 weeks .
I dont think it will really help with obtaining a boarding pass for ROTR , but at least we will be "in" the park with time to spare to be prepared for the boarding group "grab" ........correct ?


----------



## Mark_E

They really are smashing it today!
Tbh, there seems to be little difference between the first 10-15 groups at the moment, all called pretty much within the opening 30 minutes.


----------



## Syndrome

Looks like DL is ahead of DW for boarding groups today ! WOW  !


----------



## StarlitNight05

Syndrome said:


> Looks like DL is ahead of DW for boarding groups today ! WOW  !


So impressive!!


----------



## ZCarroll

We left Camelot at 7:14 through (no bags) security and in line which was at DCA gates at 7:21, line started moving at 7:27 but then paused for an extended time so I went ahead to see what was up and I still don't know but the cm at the turnstile was talking with one guest for at least 3 minutes that I saw,  appeared to be going over all the ins and outs of the park, finally scanned in at 7:49.  We sat on a bench by the heart and I got BG 32 on a Verizon note9 after having a finger twitch panic where I selected and unselected the same ticket a couple times.  After a few rides at DCA we headed back to DL a little after 9 with long lines during which time our BG was called at 9:21, we made it in line for ROTR at 9:41 and were off at 10:28... there were a couple items not functioning/different from when I went yesterday.


----------



## calilou

Our BG 73 was called at 12:45 with an open window until 2:45. We entered the line at 1:40ish and then it shut down shortly after. Any insight into the average shut down time?


----------



## Ferrellcon

calilou said:


> Our BG 73 was called at 12:45 with an open window until 2:45. We entered the line at 1:40ish and then it shut down shortly after. Any insight into the average shut down time?


It takes about an hour to reset the ride.


----------



## Ferrellcon

I am very impressed with todays performance
 They called group 85 pefore 2pm. Asuuming the ride is fixed by 3pm, they have about 5 or 6 hours till they stop calling groups. Can they make it to 140?


----------



## calilou

Ferrellcon said:


> It takes about an hour to reset the ride.



Oh wow! An hour. So we probably can’t go do something else and return later within our BG window if we’ve already checked in?


----------



## montreid

calilou said:


> Our BG 73 was called at 12:45 with an open window until 2:45. We entered the line at 1:40ish and then it shut down shortly after. Any insight into the average shut down time?


The Jawas got in a little early today.  But already 85    Let's see if reset gets going before 245


----------



## EmJ

calilou said:


> Oh wow! An hour. So we probably can’t go do something else and return later within our BG window if we’ve already checked in?


If you are in line, do NOT do this without talking to a CM and preferably getting something in writing, like an actual FP to come back. Generally, they require everyone to stay in line or they forfeit their boarding group spot. The ride realistically could be down anywhere from 60-120 minutes if what it requires is one reset. (<--read: it could be shorter if it requires something less complicated than one reset, or longer if it requires more than one reset.)


----------



## nutshell

calilou said:


> Oh wow! An hour. So we probably can’t go do something else and return later within our BG window if we’ve already checked in?


Talk to a CM, but the general understanding is they don’t let you leave once you’ve checked in.  If you do leave you lose your BG, you cannot return. You c am leave for bathroom breaks, but someone in the party needs to stay in line and be sure you check in and out with a CM.


----------



## ElEubanks

I am thinking about giving this boarding group thing a try tomorrow. Anyone else planning going? What are your plans??


----------



## Ferrellcon

nutshell said:


> Talk to a CM, but the general understanding is they don’t let you leave once you’ve checked in.  If you do leave you lose your BG, you cannot return. You c am leave for bathroom breaks, but someone in the party needs to stay in line and be sure you check in and out with a CM.



What if your by yourself?


----------



## Epicnemesis

ElEubanks said:


> I am thinking about giving this boarding group thing a try tomorrow. Anyone else planning going? What are your plans??


Going with my wife. Leaving LA at 6, dropping her off, parking at a hotel. Scanning in and out of Disney and going to a low traffic spot in downtown Disney while my wife, who doesn’t trust leaving the park, is going to brave getting a group near a ticketing kiosk in case the whole system crashes.
Divide and conquer.


----------



## KPeterso

ElEubanks said:


> I am thinking about giving this boarding group thing a try tomorrow. Anyone else planning going? What are your plans??



I am planning for tomorrow. I have done this twice already. Thinking of being at parking lot around 6:30ish and then get in early. Will most likely exit the park once scanned in to get my boarding group. That worked much better than trying in the park for me.


----------



## ElEubanks

Epicnemesis said:


> Going with my wife. Leaving LA at 6, dropping her off, parking at a hotel. Scanning in and out of Disney and going to a low traffic spot in downtown Disney while my wife, who doesn’t trust leaving the park, is going to brave getting a group near a ticketing kiosk in case the whole system crashes.
> Divide and conquer.



Sounds like a great plan. I guess I would need to leave that earlier to get there on time   I think they have extra magic hours tomorrow too. Leaving the park might be a great idea. Is this your first attempt?


----------



## Epicnemesis

ElEubanks said:


> Sounds like a great plan. I guess I would need to leave that earlier to get there on time   I think they have extra magic hours tomorrow too. Leaving the park might be a great idea. Is this your first attempt?


First attempt. We are getting there super early because 1. Wife paranoia. 2. In-laws have the baby so this is kind of our only shot.


----------



## ElEubanks

KPeterso said:


> I am planning for tomorrow. I have done this twice already. Thinking of being at parking lot around 6:30ish and then get in early. Will most likely exit the park once scanned in to get my boarding group. That worked much better than trying in the park for me.



Nice! I think I will try leaving the park as well. Especially with extra magic hours


----------



## HydroGuy

montreid said:


> The Jawas got in a little early today.  But already 85    Let's see if reset gets going before 245


Mando is on patrol it would seem...


----------



## ironband74

HydroGuy said:


> Mando is on patrol it would seem...



I guess he took an early lunch.

Perhaps the Jawas are just jealous because they are not tall enough to ride?  Going on an hour and ten minutes of downtime now.


----------



## ironband74

What's wild is that they are still above the all time high and if they get started in the next 10 minutes will still be above it.

And as long as they get it started by 4:15, they'll still be doing better than the best Friday on record so far.

I have spoken.


----------



## ironband74

They just reset the callback to 68.  This suggests that they are back up and running.  Can anyone on the ground confirm?


----------



## montreid

Kind of sad that we're in holding pattern.  Was excited to see if we'd break 130 today.


----------



## brightlined

Ferrellcon said:


> What if your by yourself?


As a Solo, I've been debating that with myself. I think the best answer would be to talk to the people adjacent to where you are in line and see if they'll hold your spot, then tell the CMs that your spot in line is being held. (Maybe half-fib and say that your "friends" are holding your spot. I mean, we're all friends at Disneyland, right?  )


----------



## ironband74

brightlined said:


> As a Solo, I've been debating that with myself. I think the best answer would be to talk to the people adjacent to where you are in line and see if they'll hold your spot, then tell the CMs that your spot in line is being held. (Maybe half-fib and say that your "friends" are holding your spot. I mean, we're all friends at Disneyland, right?  )


That's how I would play it.  Maybe while getting in line make friends with another solo so you can have each other's back should it come to it.


----------



## montreid

We're heading up there this evening - was hoping reservations would close so could stop by to see the action -- but alas flex closed today already!


----------



## montreid

Mando cleared them


----------



## ironband74

Looks like it is limping along...

I have succeeded in getting preliminary authorization for a two day visit on April 15/16!  This might actually happen...


----------



## nutz2notz

Does anyone know if the Toy Story lot is still opening earlier than 6:30am?


----------



## JWelch62

ironband74 said:


> Looks like it is limping along...
> 
> I have succeeded in getting preliminary authorization for a two day visit on April 15/16!  This might actually happen...


Looks like they are just trying to stay at the high water mark.


----------



## Skyegirl1999

nutz2notz said:


> Does anyone know if the Toy Story lot is still opening earlier than 6:30am?


I think they both open at 6:30 now.


----------



## ironband74

Wow, they are slaying the all time high now.  It's already the best Friday on record.  Curious to see how many boarding groups were given out today.


----------



## Skyegirl1999

139 at 7:12.  Sweet.


----------



## JWelch62

Skyegirl1999 said:


> 139 at 7:12.  Sweet.


If they call the last BG at 9:00 (2 hrs before closing) could we see 160? We're at 145 as I write this. I wonder how many BGs were distributed. I guess we may find out.


----------



## montreid

151. Wow.  This is great seeing


----------



## ironband74

I expect they'll call the last at 8:30 as has been their custom unless coming off a breakdown.  Still, 40 minutes to go at least and we're at 151.


----------



## dina444444

Best day so far for number of groups.


----------



## njchris

I wonder how many backup groups there were.  Maybe it went to 151?


----------



## dina444444

They’ve gotten through 142 total groups today, previous total high was 131 on Saturday 2/1.


----------



## dina444444

njchris said:


> I wonder how many backup groups there were.  Maybe it went to 151?


They’ve called 63 backups. I wouldn’t be surprised if 151 was the final number distributed.


----------



## JWelch62

dina444444 said:


> They’ve called 63 backups. I wouldn’t be surprised if 151 was the final number distributed.


Certainly not much higher, I would think, Looks like 152 was just called. But it sure looks like they've stopped.


----------



## Going2DisneyAZ

Good numbers for sure. But I wonder if the size of the groups are changing?  Hard to know.


----------



## Skyegirl1999

Up to 153.


----------



## socaldisneylover

Going2DisneyAZ said:


> Good numbers for sure. But I wonder if the size of the groups are changing?  Hard to know.


You could tell based on how many times the ride has been down today, and for how long each time.  I'm guessing it couldn't have been down for more than a couple of hours today, otherwise there's no way we would be seeing group #'s this high.


----------



## ironband74

And that is where I think we end the night...


Best Friday on record, and all time high for any day.  Well done, Resistance!

It will be interesting to see how they do tomorrow.


----------



## ironband74

socaldisneylover said:


> You could tell based on how many times the ride has been down today, and for how long each time.  I'm guessing it couldn't have been down for more than a couple of hours today, otherwise there's no way we would be seeing group #'s this high.


We had one extended downtime for 100 minutes, and a shorter one followed it for about 20 minutes.  There were a couple of periods where it limped along, but also a few where I think they operated at full capacity.  They seem to have a comfort zone for loading, but there were a couple hours there where they really seemed to push it into maximum overdrive.

So, this week we had the best Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday on record, which was also the best day so far, despite having two hours of downtime.  I call that progress.  Perfection?  No.  But today is a good start for week 5.


----------



## ironband74

Going2DisneyAZ said:


> Good numbers for sure. But I wonder if the size of the groups are changing?  Hard to know.


I wouldn't put it past them to change the group numbers, but I don't think they gain much by doing so.  Looking at periods of loading today where the rate was on par with other days, I don't really think they have made a significant change, if any, to the size.  My estimates still put groups at about 80 people.  For my reasoning you can see the spoiler thread.


----------



## SOCALMouseMommy

Wow great day for ROTR! Lots of happy people today I bet.


----------



## JWelch62

ironband74 said:


> I wouldn't put it past them to change the group numbers, but I don't think they gain much by doing so.  Looking at periods of loading today where the rate was on par with other days, I don't really think they have made a significant change, if any, to the size.  My estimates still put groups at about 80 people.  For my reasoning you can see the spoiler thread.


Link to thread?


----------



## socaldisneylover

If they're calling groups from 8:30 AM to 8:30 PM, and experiencing only about 2 Hours of downtime, it will be possible to get through roughly 140 groups, give or take.  Today was obviously a very good day, and hopefully there will be some consistency.


----------



## tsumgirl

Today made me very hopeful that they're headed in the right direction. I can't handle the morning crowds that we've been seeing, so it's been great that there have been days where the backup groups are lasting more than 10 min. I'm hoping that by May, I can come 10 min after the morning rush and the crowds have disbursed and still have a chance at a backup group.


----------



## ironband74

JWelch62 said:


> Link to thread?





Spoiler: Link to Spoiler Thread



https://www.disboards.com/threads/r...spoilers-photos-on-pg-5.3786890/post-61465012


----------



## HydroGuy

ironband74 said:


> And that is where I think we end the night...
> View attachment 473848
> 
> *Best Friday on record, and all time high for any day.  Well done, Resistance!*
> 
> It will be interesting to see how they do tomorrow.


I knew getting a Mandolorian involved would do the trick. Never doubt a Mando!

If push comes to shove then we can bring in baby Yoda to seal the deal.


----------



## ironband74

HydroGuy said:


> I knew getting a Mandolorian involved would do the trick. Never doubt a Mando!
> 
> If push comes to shove then we can bring in baby Yoda to seal the deal.


No.  Do not bring the child.  The child is not tall enough to ride and might get angry and bring the whole thing down!


----------



## HydroGuy

ironband74 said:


> No.  Do not bring the child.  The child is not tall enough to ride and might get angry and bring the whole thing down!


So who is going to be the one to tell the baby "No"? You? Good luck!


----------



## montreid

Need to time our BG for tomorrow since in conference to 12noon.   have to resist hitting that red button too quickly if it shows up immediately.  1-apple; 2-apple 3-apples?  Probably the harder is rallying the ladies up.  Just finished WOC viewing from the terrace in GCH and walked back to room.  Nice little perk to enjoy for the $$$ of this place!


----------



## theluckyrabbit

Theok029 said:


> Hello, everyone! How is the parking experience now? If I wanted to arrive to a parking lot by 7am for a ROTR chance, do you recommend Mickey and friends or the toy story lot?
> Thanks for your advice!


What time you arrive for parking depends on what time DL opens that day. As stated in the FAQs on page one of this superthread, in the second post, all DLR parking opens 90 minutes before official park opening. For a 9 am opening, arriving at 7 am would give you plenty of time to park and get to the gates. If the park opens at 8 am, arriving to park at 7 am might be cutting things too close.



HydroGuy said:


> ... Moral of the story? It is possible for someone with minimal knowledge on BGs but a few key pieces of advice to be successful. Saying this for everyone who is stressed out about getting a BG. Of course YMMV.


Exactly. You don't need to know EVERYTHING, just a few key things and stick to them. If the software, hardware, and the Force all cooperate, you should be fine. And don't forget to breathe!



Sarahelizabeth said:


> That was stressful!...  My 9 year old got us 36!!


Congratulations!



Ferrellcon said:


> What if your by yourself?





brightlined said:


> As a Solo, I've been debating that with myself. I think the best answer would be to talk to the people adjacent to where you are in line and see if they'll hold your spot, then tell the CMs that your spot in line is being held...


This is how solo guests handle this issue at D23 Expo -- and it works just fine. Just make sure to make a mental note of what your neighbors in line look like (take a photo of your area in line if that helps) so that you remember how to get back to where you were. At Expo, it isn't unusual to see people wandering around with line amnesia because they don't know where their spot was!



nutz2notz said:


> Does anyone know if the Toy Story lot is still opening earlier than 6:30am?


As stated on the first page in the second post (FAQs), all DLR parking is opening 90 minutes before official park opening. People are reporting that they can line up at the parking booths, but are not allowed to enter to pay and park until that 90 minute mark.


----------



## theluckyrabbit

For everyone discussing hotels and DVC:  I am moving those posts to the Choosing the Right DLR Area Hotel for You thread. Please continue that discussion over there and not here.  Thank you!


----------



## shosh1530

montreid said:


> Need to time our BG for tomorrow since in conference to 12noon.   have to resist hitting that red button too quickly if it shows up immediately.  1-apple; 2-apple 3-apples?  Probably the harder is rallying the ladies up.  Just finished WOC viewing from the terrace in GCH and walked back to room.  Nice little perk to enjoy for the $$$ of this place!


Delurking to ask, where in GCH can you do this? Is it for concierge level only? We'll be staying there for first time in 29 days! 

We'll also be trying for boarding groups our 4 days in the parks. Fingers crossed we get one the first day, because not riding seems to NOT be an option for our 8 year old.


----------



## IsleofDisney

Arrived at TS parking lot at 6:55, parked fairly close to bus boarding tents. Security is not running at the lot.


----------



## IsleofDisney

Harbor Blvd security is long!!!


----------



## dina444444

IsleofDisney said:


> Harbor Blvd security is long!!!


hope you get through security and the gates before 8am. I avoid parking at toy story since security can be hit and miss.


----------



## IsleofDisney

Almost all entrances say Magic Morning


----------



## IsleofDisney

dina444444 said:


> hope you get through security and the gates before 8am. I avoid parking at toy story since security can be hit and miss.



Thanks Dina! No surprise that it's so busy today


----------



## IsleofDisney

Turnstiles open at 7:27


----------



## Tennor

IsleofDisney said:


> Harbor Blvd security is long!!!


How long was your wait at security?


----------



## montreid

Pure mayhem this am

Staying at gch and line into dtd was crazy long only to find line in esplanade extending to dtd...for character breakfast!!!

Far right lines best as usual recently

Passed the rotr kiosks at 715.  Only three people in line

In standby space Mt now


----------



## Skyegirl1999

IsleofDisney said:


> Almost all entrances say Magic Morning


How far back was security if you made it through in 12 minutes?


----------



## ironband74

IsleofDisney said:


> Turnstiles open at 7:27


Thanks for the play by play.  Today is going to be very interesting - Remember:


----------



## IsleofDisney

At train station platform


----------



## IsleofDisney

Skyegirl1999 said:


> How far back was security if you made it through in 12 minutes?



Busses dropped off to their own security lines & we kept moving to the right, then lucked out when they opened another line which we went into


----------



## ironband74

Something tells me today the 8 day streak of backups lasting more than 2 minutes ends...
a


----------



## IsleofDisney

Got into the 22/23 line which moved very quickly then split past the planters


----------



## disneyholic family

IsleofDisney said:


> At train station platform


 
wow...big crowd..

.


----------



## ironband74

This would be me explaining the boarding group process to my family:

All troop carriers will assemble at the north entrance. The heavy transport ships will leave as soon as they're loaded. Only two fighter escorts per ship. The energy shield can only be opened for a short time, so you'll have to stay very close to your transports.





The ion cannon will fire several shots to make sure any enemy ships will be out of your flight path. When you've gotten past the energy shield, proceed directly to the rendezvous point. Understood? Good luck. 

My family:  What is he talking about?


----------



## Epicnemesis

It was crazy, but I learned today that it doesn’t matter how early you get there on EMH days. You just need to hide between ticket booths and jump in a line when it changes from EMH to regular. We got here at like 6:40 and lined up in the 2 lines they had reserved for regular entrance. Then my wife went to scope out other lines and found one that changed over. We were in at like 7:35. Now I’m parked outside Black Tap with 22 ping.


----------



## montreid

Not bad here in tomorrowland.  Everyone settling down for 800


----------



## Epicnemesis

Using live bullets is a completely different animal.


----------



## IsleofDisney

BG 12!!!!


----------



## dina444444

IsleofDisney said:


> BG 12!!!!


Yay!!


----------



## Epicnemesis

BG15. Wife with the fast fingers! I’m blaming it on my de-selecting my daughters pass.


----------



## dina444444

Mine greyed out for about 20 seconds during the flip from regular to backups


----------



## montreid

2 apples work.    Group 36.  Perfect for noon!


----------



## ironband74

I'm surprised backups are still available at 8:05


----------



## Skyegirl1999

ironband74 said:


> I'm surprised backups are still available at 8:05


Pictures online look like the Esplanade is still packed.  I don’t think they got people in early enough.


----------



## sunflare

Is it just me, or is this lasting an awfully long time in backups for a Saturday on a 3 day weekend? Playing from home and got a backup notification at 8:01, but backups are still available at 8:08 and counting...


----------



## kappyfamily

Weird, I didn’t get a backup message until 8:06?


----------



## Epicnemesis

Also, my wife’s friend gave great advice I haven’t seen in this thread. To make sure you are logged in, run a mock mobile order.


----------



## Skyegirl1999

kappyfamily said:


> Weird, I didn’t get a backup message until 8:06?


It’s often on the text on the first screen, not a pop-up.  It’s confusing if you’re looking for a pop-up.


----------



## Skyegirl1999

The unfortunate thing about backups lasting while the entrance lines are so long is that it DOES mean the entrance procedure inequality is coming into play.

I suspect that also played into some people even getting into the park by rope drop.

Dislike.


----------



## Cookiemonster156

4/4 this trip to Disneyland. Got BG 12!!!

Wednesday 12
Thursday 12
Friday 10
Saturday 12


----------



## IsleofDisney

montreid said:


> 2 apples work.    Group 36.  Perfect for noon!



Pro skills


----------



## sunflare

I think today's long backup boarding times, along with some of the pictures of the lines getting into M&F vs TS, have cemented in my mind to park in Toy Story when I come in a few weeks.


----------



## kappyfamily

Trying to plan ahead for Sunday, March 8th. If I have a Plaza ADR for 8:10 with an 8am opening will this “help” me at all get in any earlier than the “regular” turnstyles? I know they let in early for early ADR’s but not sure if that’s much of a bonus anymore. I guess I’m wondering just how early they will let me in for a 8:10. i solely have it to try and get in earlier for ROTR. thanks for the input!


----------



## Epicnemesis

sunflare said:


> I think today's long backup boarding times, along with some of the pictures of the lines getting into M&F vs TS, have cemented in my mind to park in Toy Story when I come in a few weeks.


Park in Tropicana, valet, closer, cheaper, faster


----------



## BellaandMickey

Epicnemesis said:


> Park in Tropicana, valet, closer, cheaper, faster



Are you saying if you’re not a hotel guest?


----------



## sunflare

Epicnemesis said:


> Park in Tropicana, valet, closer, cheaper, faster


Do you need to arrange that with them ahead of time? I think I saw the same advice for Grand Legacy, as well. I've never done it so I'm not sure of the process.


----------



## Poppins2010

Double post Sorry.


----------



## Poppins2010

Cookiemonster156 said:


> 4/4 this trip to Disneyland. Got BG 12!!!
> 
> Wednesday 12
> Thursday 12
> Friday 10
> Saturday 12


You are clearly strong in the Force. Where were you standing?


----------



## dina444444

montreid said:


> 2 apples work.    Group 36.  Perfect for noon!


Already boarding groups 12-22. If they keep up your going to be called within the hour


----------



## montreid

Yeah.  Borderline 2 hour limit.  That's what I was targeting.  Perfect excuse to leave early!


----------



## msteddom

I cut it way too close this morning!  I got through the gate at 7:58.  Somehow I still managed to pull BG 19.  My best yet!  I’m posting from in line, which is moving super quick!


----------



## Go💛Go

BellaandMickey said:


> Are you saying if you’re not a hotel guest?


Yes. Tropicana has signs out for Valet for park guests.

We park at Courtyard by Marriott - valet and covered parking @ $29 - they’ve dropped their pricing by a dollar.


----------



## Epicnemesis

sunflare said:


> Do you need to arrange that with them ahead of time? I think I saw the same advice for Grand Legacy, as well. I've never done it so I'm not sure of the process.


I didn’t arrange. If you get there early enough you don’t have to it seems. But you can also use several parking apps to book ahead for a little more. If you are getting to the parks early save a few bucks and just go without booking. If you are doing a late start day maybe book ahead or just deal with Disney parking at that point.


----------



## dina444444

montreid said:


> Yeah.  Borderline 2 hour limit.  That's what I was targeting.  Perfect excuse to leave early!


And you’ve been called to ride.


----------



## BellaandMickey

Epicnemesis said:


> I didn’t arrange. If you get there early enough you don’t have to it seems. But you can also use several parking apps to book ahead for a little more. If you are getting to the parks early save a few bucks and just go without booking. If you are doing a late start day maybe book ahead or just deal with Disney parking at that point.



Which parking apps?


----------



## HydroGuy

montreid said:


> Just finished WOC viewing from the terrace in GCH and walked back to room.  Nice little perk to enjoy for the $$$ of this place!





shosh1530 said:


> Delurking to ask, where in GCH can you do this? Is it for concierge level only? We'll be staying there for first time in 29 days!


Don't get your hopes up, it is not that great of a view of WOC. But there is a WOC viewing platform on the 5th or 6th floor at GCH. I can't recall which. You can ask at the hotel. Pretty easy to find.


----------



## Epicnemesis

BellaandMickey said:


> Which parking apps?


Spothero is one. But there are others that might be better. This is the first time I’ve done this.


----------



## montreid

Not great view.  Off to the side and don't get a good view of the projections.   But...it's three minutes from the room and with sore feet and seen woc before.....it's adequate .  If you haven't seen it.   Get fastpass and watch it properly the first time.

It's 6th floor.  Paradise view terrace.   Go to the dvc wing on the very south side.  Take elevators to 6th floor.  Use room key to get in.  No concierge needed


----------



## montreid

dina444444 said:


> And you’ve been called to ride.


Lol. Should have counted three apple as initially planned.   The crowds spooked us.  .   Well early departure for last hour!


----------



## IsleofDisney

Interesting to note we were first BG of day and had a ride vehicle all to ourselves as well as the other family in our group. I think they saw the tall dad in the other family and didn't want to stick me & my DD10 behind them. So there is some sympathy among the first order


----------



## Skyegirl1999

montreid said:


> Lol. Should have counted three apple as initially planned.   The crowds spooked us.  .   Well early departure for last hour!


It figures that today they’re flying through the BGs the one time you’d like them to be dragging.


----------



## LeiaOfAlderaan

In line, ride is down.


----------



## Epicnemesis

Ride broken. Stuck in line.


----------



## ironband74

Jawas up early on Saturday.   Mando AWOL at Tosche station getting power converters...


----------



## ironband74

Skyegirl1999 said:


> It figures that today they’re flying through the BGs the one time you’d like them to be dragging.


The ride being down may work in your favor.   Make sure you screenshot your BG and you might be allowed a bit late.


----------



## IsleofDisney

Freshbaked! are here at DL today, just saw David & Ronnie!


----------



## LeiaOfAlderaan

Since I’m stuck in line I’ll share my experience today. It ended up going much different than planned but we ended up with BG36. Wanted to leave PP hotel by 6:45 but were running late due to lack of sleep. Got to downtown Disney security about 7:05 and lines were the longest I’ve ever seen them. Luckily our line moved fast. We had done a Starbucks mobile order at the west location and they were super backed up. By the time I got out of Starbucks it was about 7:30. I was shocked and happy to see the monorail was open and running for MM, so hopped on the next one (booked a fast pass while riding) and got in the park about 7:40. Waited around looking for good phone reception. 

The 3 of us scattered around the hub. DH iPhone 6s decided to try Disney WiFi. DD has an SE on tracfone data (she couldn’t connect to Disney WiFi for some reason). I have a 6s and used data and I was the one who scored the BG. Clicked find out more a few seconds after 8 but join boarding group was not active. Went to my status and in a couple of seconds join BG button was lit. It went much faster than I expected since my phone is very slow at all times. Now just waiting to ride, I think this is going to be a long breakdown.


----------



## Cookiemonster156

Poppins2010 said:


> You are clearly strong in the Force. Where were you standing?


We stood by the train entrance in Main street. Not a lot of people up there and really good signal with ATT.


----------



## nutshell

Sprint customers, where were you when you successfully obtained a BG?


----------



## Laur0406

Can any Canadian Rogers or Telus customers provide feedback on how you did while roaming?


----------



## kristensideaoffun

Heading to the parks tomorrow and Monday. DH is trying to play it cool, but I know he really, really wants to ride ROTR.

We usually rope drop because entry crowds are super low, but I know ROTR has done away with that luxury. Do you think getting to security by 6:30 will be early enough to get in line before the DL entry lines reach the halfway point in the esplanade? DH has PTSD and entry crowds give him really bad anxiety. I think it will be better to get in line early so we can be near the front where he can stand in front of a planter to get away from the crowd squeeze. 

There is a chance he won’t be able to handle it and will have to leave the line and wait for it to die down. If that happens, my daughter and I will still enter to try to get a BG. Then he and my daughter will ride and we will try again the next day.


----------



## LeiaOfAlderaan

Spoke too soon, ride went back up about 10 minutes after I posted and it was awesome! Thanks everyone for your tips.


----------



## BFresh

Re: Parking at the Grand Legacy - we did not book in advance, we just showed up and parked - $25 a day, in and out privileges until 3pm.  Yesterday (Friday of Presidents day weekend) we showed up at 1:30pm and thought we'd never get a spot but we did!  It's an awesome location.


----------



## BellaandMickey

BFresh said:


> Re: Parking at the Grand Legacy - we did not book in advance, we just showed up and parked - $25 a day, in and out privileges until 3pm.  Yesterday (Friday of Presidents day weekend) we showed up at 1:30pm and thought we'd never get a spot but we did!  It's an awesome location.



Does that mean you have to leave by 3pm? Or that you can come and go before 3, but if you leave after 3 you can’t come back, but you could leave your car there longer as long as you don’t leave?


----------



## socaldisneylover

I'm reading on Reddit that people are saying it took them 45 minutes to get in the park, when they got in line at 7:30 AM.  Is that the case these days?  Do you have to be in line at 7 AM to be assured of getting scanned in time?


----------



## ironband74

socaldisneylover said:


> I'm reading on Reddit that people are saying it took them 45 minutes to get in the park, when they got in line at 7:30 AM.  Is that the case these days?  Do you have to be in line at 7 AM to be assured of getting scanned in time?


On a magic morning on a holiday weekend like today, possibly.  A lot hinges on how soon they convert the lines after the MM crowd gets in and how you navigate the madness.


----------



## montreid

Got there with one minute to spare .  I do wonder what happens if you're late for the group time.  We rode and it was in b mode ( or maybe c mode) different from our prior rides..... Just as awesome as usual


----------



## ironband74

All the regulars called by 1:45.  Without the 45 minute downtime earlier, that would have put us at the 1pm mark for the second day in a row.

Watchfully waiting to see how the afternoon goes.  I suppose I should check on the other coast...


----------



## ironband74

Other coast seems to be operating at half capacity.

Meanwhile ours is accelerating loading with a 28 group spread and called 11 new groups in the last 15 minutes...


----------



## ironband74

montreid said:


> Got there with one minute to spare .  I do wonder what happens if you're late for the group time.  We rode and it was in b mode ( or maybe c mode) different from our prior rides..... Just as awesome as usual


My guess is that they give you a 15 minute grace period somewhat like they do for fastpasses.  I'm also guessing that if you are coming in after a breakdown or something that they give you a little more leeway.


----------



## Lewdannie

ignore this


----------



## BFresh

BellaandMickey said:


> Does that mean you have to leave by 3pm? Or that you can come and go before 3, but if you leave after 3 you can’t come back, but you could leave your car there longer as long as you don’t leave?


Correct on the second part - you can come and go before 3pm as much as you want, if you leave after 3pm you can't come back.  We were there until 11pm last night no problem.  I've been to Disney many times and parked at many different places, this is the best one I've found so far - the whole family loved it... who knew parking would get such rave reviews?!  It's really nice at the end of a long day to just walk out the gates and 5 minutes later you're in your car.


----------



## ironband74

Now a 30 group spread.  They're pulling out all the stops here...but does it end in a breakdown or ultimate victory?

Anyone hear some high numbered backups today? Curious to know how they distributed...



Lewdannie said:


> ignore this


Don't think of pink light sabers.


----------



## StarGirl11

Apparently there’s a bit of a cost to the wife spread. I won’t post what’s not working since ya know spoilers. But ride is operating in B Mode according to Twitter.


----------



## ironband74

StarGirl11 said:


> Apparently there’s a bit of a cost to the wife spread. I won’t post what’s not working since ya know spoilers. But ride is operating in B Mode according to Twitter.


I saw that on Twitter as well.  I can only hope that the space is configured such that the A Mode element can be worked on while B Mode is being presented, so that A Mode might resume even if the attraction doesn't go down.  I don't think that the element in question is really a cost of the high throughput, in fact I think that it is pretty cool that the attraction can operate without that element.


----------



## wowsmom

Groups 68-100 at 2:35.

I have a friend whose family got group 94 today so she's in there!


----------



## ironband74

Don't look now, but at the 6 hour mark we have hit group 100 (started at 11, so that's 90 on the day...15 per hour) and we still have almost 6 hours to go.  If the Jawas stay away, we're looking at a huge day.


----------



## KPeterso

We got there about 6:20 and had no real issues parking in Mickey and friends when it opened. Security was easy and right onto a tram. The lines to enter the parks were insane. We ended up in a magic morning line (my mom just cannot follow the instructions on what line to get into) but when it switched we got in right at 7:32. We renewed rage das since we had time and then headed back to the esplanade. At 8, I got boarding group 36 and then headed to dca. We were called about 9:30 or so. By the time we got over there, it was down. Came back up about 10:30 and we were right there and got in line which moved well and were off around 11:05. There was at least 1 thing that was stilll not working when we rode. We left the park around 1:30 as the parks were pure chaos!


----------



## pocketwatches

socaldisneylover said:


> I'm reading on Reddit that people are saying it took them 45 minutes to get in the park, when they got in line at 7:30 AM.  Is that the case these days?  Do you have to be in line at 7 AM to be assured of getting scanned in time?


Took us about 45 minutes on a Tuesday 2 weeks ago. Lines were back to CA. We were thing when magic morning opened and basically got in 15 minutes before normal open. Line next to us was a lot faster maybe 30 minutes.


----------



## SOCALMouseMommy

ironband74 said:


> I saw that on Twitter as well.  I can only hope that the space is configured such that the A Mode element can be worked on while B Mode is being presented, so that A Mode might resume even if the attraction doesn't go down.  I don't think that the element in question is really a cost of the high throughput, in fact I think that it is pretty cool that the attraction can operate without that element.


If you have a moment could you post in the spoiler thread what A mode and B mode are?


----------



## montreid

Yes bmode at noon.   Insane all around. Took lo g lunch and rs still at 2 hours.   Wow.  Packed today


----------



## socaldisneylover

The Resistance has killed All the Jawas.  

R.I.P. Jawas.


----------



## socaldisneylover

So, in B Mode, one or more elements are not present.  Are there any other rides at the parks which sometimes operate in a "B" mode?


----------



## midnight star

StarGirl11 said:


> Apparently there’s a bit of a cost to the wife spread. I won’t post what’s not working since ya know spoilers. But ride is operating in B Mode according to Twitter.


What twitter account?


----------



## midnight star

montreid said:


> Yes bmode at noon.   Insane all around. Took lo g lunch and rs still at 2 hours.   Wow.  Packed today


Just got home from the parks. I knew it was going to be packed but whoa was it crazy! Still not as bad as when I went on Columbus Day, but still pretty crazy. Best part about the day was weather! It’s beautiful out!


----------



## Aurora0427

Go💛Go said:


> Yes. Tropicana has signs out for Valet for park guests.
> 
> We park at Courtyard by Marriott - valet and covered parking @ $29 - they’ve dropped their pricing by a dollar.



How much do they charge for valet at Tropicana? We are coming up for a day trip Wednesday and maybe we’ll do this instead of dealing with Mickey and Friends.


----------



## Aurora0427

midnight star said:


> Just got home from the parks. I knew it was going to be packed but whoa was it crazy! Still not as bad as when I went on Columbus Day, but still pretty crazy. Best part about the day was weather! It’s beautiful out!



Hahahahahahaha Columbus Day. The day my husband said “We are never coming back in October again.”


----------



## montreid

It is absolutely gorgeous today.   Even grabbed fantasmic and woc just in case .   But dd found out cheer competition at convention center and wants to check.it out.

Almost an August type crowd.


----------



## JWelch62

socaldisneylover said:


> So, in B Mode, one or more elements are not present.  Are there any other rides at the parks which sometimes operate in a "B" mode?


As an example, if Rocket is not working in GotG they have a video that takes over the normal welcome video.


----------



## montreid

socaldisneylover said:


> The Resistance has killed All the Jawas.
> 
> R.I.P. Jawas.


Force ghost of Jawas attacked  down stuck at 108


----------



## midnight star

Aurora0427 said:


> Hahahahahahaha Columbus Day. The day my husband said “We are never coming back in October again.”


Yeah I’m not going back ever on Columbus Day! Hahahahaha


----------



## hiroMYhero

Aurora0427 said:


> How much do they charge for valet at Tropicana? We are coming up for a day trip Wednesday and maybe we’ll do this instead of dealing with Mickey and Friends.


According to the Parkopedia site, Tropicana is $20 + tax.
https://en.parkopedia.com/parking/lot/tropicana_inn_and_suites/92802/anaheim/


----------



## Aurora0427

hiroMYhero said:


> According to the Parkopedia site, Tropicana is $20.
> https://en.parkopedia.com/parking/lot/tropicana_inn_and_suites/92802/anaheim/



Thank You!


----------



## ironband74

SOCALMouseMommy said:


> If you have a moment could you post in the spoiler thread what A mode and B mode are?


A "B" mode is a secondary mode which is not the intended operation of the ride, but provides a similar experience or disables something that might not be noticed as being inoperable.

Here is a link to the spoiler thread where I post what I know about it. I'm sure some other knowledgeable folks will chime in with some others.



Spoiler: B modes - spoilers



https://www.disboards.com/threads/r...spoilers-photos-on-pg-5.3786890/post-61563920


----------



## ElEubanks

Zetus Lapetus! As everyone on here said the crowds were insane.

Here is how my day went. Hopefully this will help someone out there

Left Burbank around 6:20 got to Mickey and Friends at 6:55 but took one look at the line of cars and knew I wouldn't get parked in time. Got back on the freeway and parked at Toy Story (super easy). Took shuttle to harbor entrance for security. Huge lines in security but got through in about 5 min. Got in line to get into DL at 7:35 and line was all the way to DCA. Tapped in at 7:52 then walked out of the park and sat next to stroller rental area. I got group 73 but people around me all got in the 20's.


It was pretty miserable walking around today but I found the Gospel Festival and sat there until my boarding group was called. If you are still in the park but need to get away from the crowds I would highly reccomend the festival. The singers are INCREDIBLE 

*Side note* I think the boarding groups are going so quickly because I don't think they are even trying to fix a couple parts of the ride. There were 2 (really good) parts missing.


----------



## socaldisneylover

montreid said:


> Force ghost of Jawas attacked  down stuck at 108


It went from 108 to 113, then stopped again.  Only shows a spread from 109-113 right now.


----------



## ironband74

114 called.  Looks like we're trying to come back up again.  That was essentially a 2 hour downtime with a failed restart in the middle.  Let's see what they can do here in the last 3 hours.  Hopefully at least with this they got A mode running again.  Anyone here still waiting to ride?


----------



## midnight star

ElEubanks said:


> Zetus Lapetus!


Love the Zenon reference  

Ok, back to ROTR lol


----------



## ironband74

ElEubanks said:


> *Side note* I think the boarding groups are going so quickly because I don't think they are even trying to fix a couple parts of the ride. There were 2 (really good) parts missing.


On the one hand, I get what you are saying that if they took the ride down to fix those elements it would obviously slow things down.

On the other, as I understand it the elements that are down are not elements that would improve throughput.  So the efficiency we are seeing is still an improvement, though it is a bummer that the riders don't get to witness the firepower of a fully armed and operational battlestation (That's not a spoiler, just a ROTJ reference).


----------



## socaldisneylover

Looks like a good chance to beat yesterdays record assuming no problems in next couple of hours.  Currently at 132.


----------



## SOCALMouseMommy

ironband74 said:


> A "B" mode is a secondary mode which is not the intended operation of the ride, but provides a similar experience or disables something that might not be noticed as being inoperable.
> 
> Here is a link to the spoiler thread where I post what I know about it. I'm sure some other knowledgeable folks will chime in with some others.
> 
> 
> 
> Spoiler: B modes - spoilers
> 
> 
> 
> https://www.disboards.com/threads/r...spoilers-photos-on-pg-5.3786890/post-61563920


Thank you!


----------



## dina444444

socaldisneylover said:


> Looks like a good chance to beat yesterdays record assuming no problems in next couple of hours.  Currently at 132.


They have to get to at least 155 to surpass yesterday


----------



## ironband74

dina444444 said:


> They have to get to at least 155 to surpass yesterday


Yeah, that doesn't seem likely.  Though they only have to get to 142 for the best Saturday on record.  Maybe we can shoot for that?  But we seem to be stuck at 135...that might be it...


----------



## Aurora0427

I’m sorry, but if the ride isn't working , and parts are not working, it just doesn’t count.

I am so thankful we were able to experience the ride . From what I can tell, everything was working properly.


----------



## socaldisneylover

Yeah, it's down, so there's no chance of making 155.


----------



## montreid

They still have two hours unless they call it. 

In other news.   WDW . 90 groups.


----------



## Pickles2000

Laur0406 said:


> Can any Canadian Rogers or Telus customers provide feedback on how you did while roaming?


Sorry it took a while to reply, just catching up, but I’m on TELUS. No issue getting BGs following the tips here. Got them twice this week, easily.


----------



## Aurora0427

So I just read that Jeff Bezos and his girlfriend were at Disneyland yesterday, and they went to Galaxy’s Edge. I wonder if he scored a boarding group.


----------



## Cookiemonster156

I got lucky this weekend with the Disney magic.
Early BGs every single day, got upgraded to the secret room at the Lamplight Lounge, and opened a red kyber crystal to luckily get a black one.


----------



## dina444444

They started calling groups again. Up to 144 now.


----------



## ironband74

Best Saturday ever... and they are up to 146.  Wondering how much later they'll go...


----------



## midnight star

ironband74 said:


> Best Saturday ever... and they are up to 146.  Wondering how much later they'll go...


Good to know. Nice gift to those who had a high BG and have to endure that crowded park all day lol


----------



## socaldisneylover

Aurora0427 said:


> So I just read that Jeff Bezos and his girlfriend were at Disneyland yesterday, and they went to Galaxy’s Edge. I wonder if he scored a boarding group.


He bought Disneyland.


----------



## midnight star

Aurora0427 said:


> So I just read that Jeff Bezos and his girlfriend were at Disneyland yesterday, and they went to Galaxy’s Edge. I wonder if he scored a boarding group.


Maybe he will open an Amazon store on Main Street lol


----------



## Theok029

ironband74 said:


> Best Saturday ever... and they are up to 146.  Wondering how much later they'll go...



I'd pause before getting too excited. The ride has been down since 7:11pm and I got in line for bg 123 at 815, hasn't come back on and it's 9:35pm. We're gonna call it at 10 if it doesn't happen, but really I don't think the got past a few people in the 120s before it died for the day.


----------



## Supermavs

My Mom and sister were a late BG and are stuck in line. She said it’s been an hour so far and wonders how much longer it can be. They came straight from my nieces dance competition and haven’t even had dinner.  
I hope it gets moving!


----------



## ironband74

Theok029 said:


> I'd pause before getting too excited. The ride has been down since 7:11pm and I got in line for bg 123 at 815, hasn't come back on and it's 9:35pm. We're gonna call it at 10 if it doesn't happen, but really I don't think the got past a few people in the 120s before it died for the day.


Good to have a late report from the ground.   I guess the flurry at 8:45 was either a false start or a decision to fill the queue.  Let us know how it turns out.


----------



## Theok029

ironband74 said:


> Good to have a late report from the ground.   I guess the flurry at 8:45 was either a false start or a decision to fill the queue.  Let us know how it turns out.


Cast member at scanning was letting people know they were just moving us to a staging area (filling the queue) but no promises or updates. Stuck behind the waterfall at the queue start and handfuls of people have been leaving the line, meaning any movement up is just filling in space for people that left.


----------



## nutshell

Update?


----------



## Theok029

Reports of cheering just now, 1008pm. We've stood up and people have perked. No movement. Here is a resistance light fixture.


----------



## Theok029

1011pm and we are moving.


----------



## Supermavs

My family members just left the line and of course the ride started up again. But they can’t wait any longer anyway. I guess they’ll try again. They were told it would be another hour from their point in line.


----------



## Theok029

1027pm pre-show. Woo!


----------



## ironband74

This is definitely late for them to be running.  It will be interesting to see if this means a late start tomorrow.


----------



## Theok029

1049 pm off a 95% successful ride! Saw things I didn't before and only read about but yay! Good luck fellow and future recruits!


----------



## StarGirl11

ironband74 said:


> This is definitely late for them to be running.  It will be interesting to see if this means a late start tomorrow.



Especially with it being a dreaded Sunday


----------



## Theok029

Just wanted to add that they processed Everyone real fast. Queue was deserted upon our exit.


----------



## matthewthompson87

ironband74 said:


> This is definitely late for them to be running.  It will be interesting to see if this means a late start tomorrow.



I’m not going tomorrow, so no reason it should open late


----------



## ironband74

Behold:  The Chart!

@theluckyrabbit please copy to Post 3 in the thread.


----------



## montreid

Debating whether to do another go for rise tomorrow vs enjoy a day in EMH in CA; or just --- gads -- SLEEP IN.


----------



## theluckyrabbit

ironband74 said:


> Behold:  The Chart!
> View attachment 474149
> @theluckyrabbit please copy to Post 3 in the thread.


Done! And thank you for doing this!


----------



## theluckyrabbit

shosh1530 said:


> Delurking to ask, where in GCH can you do this? Is it for concierge level only?...


Ask your question here: World of Color Superthread. You'll get great help with any WOC questions.



Epicnemesis said:


> Also, my wife’s friend gave great advice I haven’t seen in this thread. To make sure you are logged in, run a mock mobile order.


This is a good suggestion for anyone who hasn't purchased MP. The usual suggestion here is to try to get a FP via MP to test log in and that all tickets are scanned in. But without MP, at least testing that you are logged in by trying a mock Mobile Order can help.



montreid said:


> Got there with one minute to spare .  I do wonder what happens if you're late for the group time...


This is a good question. Can someone who is there today ask CMs about this? Do they have a 15 minute grace period like regular FP?



Aurora0427 said:


> Hahahahahahaha Columbus Day. The day my husband said “We are never coming back in October again.”


Tell your husband that at least he was fortunate to have missed Columbus Day 2018: when Columbus Day and Gay Days coincided AND the MP/FP system and the app crashed for most of the day. And it was hot. And super crowded. We got Starbucks, sat on a bench, and watched the pandemonium. For hours... So Columbus Day 2019 was an improvement!



midnight star said:


> Yeah I’m not going back ever on Columbus Day! Hahahahaha


This is what DH says, too!


----------



## theluckyrabbit

For anyone wanting to continue the hotels/DVC discussion: Please go to Choosing the Right DLR Area Hotel for You. Do not continue to discuss this topic here in this thread.

For those who want to discuss WOC: Please go to the World of Color Superthread. You'll get great help there. Please do not discuss the show in this thread.

For everyone working to keep this super long superthread on track: Thank you!


----------



## kristensideaoffun

In our Lyft on our way from our hotel in Irvine (semi-last minute trip and everything near the park was booked last night) to our hotel by the park. We had a late start and then our Lyft driver got on the freeway going the wrong direction. Hopefully we still have time to drop our stuff at our hotel and make it into the park to try for a boarding group!!


----------



## e_yerger

In the esplanade this morning!! Lines already halfway back


----------



## jacandjan

e_yerger said:


> In the esplanade this morning!! Lines already halfway back


Thanks for the report, we will be there next week so good to keep track of how early things are backing up and when they open the gates.


----------



## kristensideaoffun

As of right now, lines are all the way back to DCA Gates.


----------



## ironband74

e_yerger said:


> In the esplanade this morning!! Lines already halfway back


Good luck today.  Hopefully your presence breaks the dreaded Sunday Curse.


----------



## ironband74

kristensideaoffun said:


> As of right now, lines are all the way back to DCA Gates.


This means you made it, right?


----------



## kristensideaoffun

ironband74 said:


> This means you made it, right?



My husband took our bags so daughter and I could get in no-bag line. We got in the entry line at 7:05am, husband is still trying to get through security.. They’ve already opened the gates and started scanning tickets. Looks like we will make, hopefully my husband gets here soon!!


----------



## ironband74

Alright folks, I'm off to church, so no playing along for me.  May the Force be with you, and may the Sunday curse be broken!


----------



## Sarahelizabeth

We got to harbor security at 7 and my son and i went in the no bag line and got through at 7:07. Lines were all they way back to CA Adventure. They started letting people in early and we were through at 7:25.


----------



## e_yerger

currently waiting in Mr. Lincoln - CM in here advising people to close out their apps and reopen them


----------



## kristensideaoffun

Sarahelizabeth said:


> We got to harbor security at 7 and my son and i went in the no bag line and got through at 7:07. Lines were all they way back to CA Adventure. They started letting people in early and we were through at 7:25.



We arrived at the same time and got through security at 7:05am. But we didn’t get into the park until 7:35. Sitting outside Holly Jolly bakery now. We chose our line poorly. But we are in! May the force be with you!


----------



## kristensideaoffun

Boarding group 62. Our internet must have been really slow. The people around us all got between 12-30. We don’t care though. DD is crying With happiness because we got one. Lol


----------



## socaldisneylover

Got group 27 while walking through Peter Pan queue.  Saw Wonka Kid exiting 1st boat as I got in mine.  Getting on Toad now.


----------



## hiroMYhero

Playing at home I didn’t get the red Join button at first using iPhone 8 + WiFi. Not much different than when I used data-no WiFi.

Went to Backup BGs within 30 seconds.


----------



## Sarahelizabeth

kristensideaoffun said:


> We arrived at the same time and got through security at 7:05am. But we didn’t get into the park until 7:35. Sitting outside Holly Jolly bakery now. We chose our line poorly. But we are in! May the force be with you!



Our line split and moved fast!


----------



## dina444444

What time did backups run out at?
They are also already boarding. Starting with group 11 and last regular group is 81.


----------



## closetmickey

hiroMYhero said:


> Playing at home I didn’t get the red Join button at first using iPhone 8 + WiFi. Not much different than when I used data-no WiFi.
> 
> Went to Backup BGs within 30 seconds.


Seems faster than usual? I also received backup message before 8:01.


----------



## montreid

Wow 30 secs.  New record I think.   Gonna be busy day.  Hopefully Jawas stay asleep . Beautiful day again


----------



## kristensideaoffun

The boarding groups went QUICK! We got boarding group 62 about 15 seconds after 8. Someone behind us in line for the guest services kiosk said the back-up pop up message appeared for him at about 20 seconds after 8. He got boarding group 81 and thought he had a back-up group. Turns out he lucked out with the last regular boarding group.


----------



## Sarahelizabeth

The 9 year old got it again!  BG 28 We just did smugglers run using the single rider line 3 times in a row!


----------



## montreid

Wow 30 secs.  New record I think.   Gonna be busy day.  Hopefully Jawas stay asleep . Beautiful day again


----------



## kristensideaoffun

Sarahelizabeth said:


> Our line split and moved fast!



Our line split, too. But the three people standing in front of us turned into a 30 person cheer team and they all had to have their pictures taken for their tickets. Just had to take a deep breath and let it go.


----------



## Aurora0427

kristensideaoffun said:


> Our line split, too. But the three people standing in front of us turned into a 30 person cheer team and they all had to have their pictures taken for their tickets. Just had to take a deep breath and let it go.



Oh geez. It would’ve taken every ounce of strength I had not to totally lose my mind.


----------



## pharmama

My DD14 got to go on a last minute trip with some friends this weekend and promised me they wouldn't want to get up early enough to get a BG so she wouldn't go on the ride without me.

She texted me at 8:06 this morning that she hopes I still love her but they got a Boarding Group.  They have BG 135 though so being Sunday and all....  Though Friday and Saturday went well (I think were the first times we've gotten far enought that 135 would get on?) so we'll see.

Is it wrong that I'm not sure if I should be praying for or against the Jawas today??


----------



## midnight star

kristensideaoffun said:


> Our line split, too. But the three people standing in front of us turned into a 30 person cheer team and they all had to have their pictures taken for their tickets. Just had to take a deep breath and let it go.


On a busy weekend like this they should just forgoe pictures until midday


----------



## dina444444

Anybody know what time the backups ran out at?? Trying to update the chart.


----------



## pharmama

DD's group got BG 135 at 8:01-8:02 (she isn't 100% sure) so they couldn't have lasted much longer than that.


----------



## Sarahelizabeth

kristensideaoffun said:


> Our line split, too. But the three people standing in front of us turned into a 30 person cheer team and they all had to have their pictures taken for their tickets. Just had to take a deep breath and let it go.



That’s frustrating!!


----------



## ShoeCello

theluckyrabbit said:


> This is a good suggestion for anyone who hasn't purchased MP. The usual suggestion here is to try to get a FP via MP to test log in and that all tickets are scanned in. But without MP, at least testing that you are logged in by trying a mock Mobile Order can help.



Just a quick note about this - note that you can place a mobile order even without being scanned into the parks, whereas you cannot get a FP via MP unless you have scanned into the park. So placing a mock mobile order would only test if you are logged into your account, and not that the system has correctly registered you as having scanned into the park (which apparently has been glitching for some folks, causing them to be unable to get a BG or delaying them if they didn't force close the app after park entry). If you have MP you would still need to try and get a FP via MP to test that.


----------



## ZCarroll

kristensideaoffun said:


> Our line split, too. But the three people standing in front of us turned into a 30 person cheer team and they all had to have their pictures taken for their tickets. Just had to take a deep breath and let it go.



I'm usually not at all bothered by people saving places in line for friends and family but both Thursday and Friday morning we experienced several of these large cheer groups jumping ahead of us last minute, it was crazy to go from just a few people to hundreds in front of us in a split second, very frustrating!


----------



## ironband74

dina444444 said:


> Anybody know what time the backups ran out at?? Trying to update the chart.


Thrill-Data shows 8:05, but that may not be precise.  Though it is possible that with the good performance they have upped the number of backups offered.  

So far, so good.  The early start puts them ahead of the all time high at 9:45, but it is early yet.  Also of note is that the rate of call an hour in is a little higher than usual.  Typically once they front load the queue they go to a boarding group every 5 minutes, but right now they are moving along at a BG every 3 minutes.  It will be interesting to see how long they can keep that up, but it does speak to increasing throughput, which we expected to come eventually.


----------



## e_yerger

Just finished our second trip on RotR! Here is how our morning went:

6:39 - left hotel (staying at BWPPI)
6:42 - at harbor blvd security
6:49 - through security
6:50 - in line; line was halfway back esplanade
7:08 - gates opened
7:10 - we found a shorter line that just opened, jumped up to by the first set of planters outside the turnstiles 
7:14 - through the gates

(in this time we went to the bathroom, warmed up inside Mr. Lincoln, and booked our first FP to make sure we were both scanned into the park)

7:50 - went to stand under the Mr. Lincoln marquee, on the left hand side as your exit. We stood against the wall on the CM foot mat. (This is were we stood on Friday also when we got our BG 14) 
7:55 - opened DL app, clicked on get more info
8:00 - clicked on my status, then join boarding group. got BG 16. 
8:29 - BG called
9:18 - entered queue
9:50 - got off ride


----------



## ironband74

e_yerger said:


> Just finished our second trip on RotR! Here is how our morning went:
> 
> 6:39 - left hotel (staying at BWPPI)
> 6:42 - at harbor blvd security
> 6:49 - through security
> 6:50 - in line; line was halfway back esplanade
> 7:08 - gates opened
> 7:10 - we found a shorter line that just opened, jumped up to by the first set of planters outside the turnstiles
> 7:14 - through the gates
> 
> (in this time we went to the bathroom, warmed up inside Mr. Lincoln, and booked our first FP to make sure we were both scanned into the park)
> 
> 7:50 - went to stand under the Mr. Lincoln marquee, on the left hand side as your exit. We stood against the wall on the CM foot mat. (This is were we stood on Friday also when we got our BG 14)
> 7:55 - opened DL app, clicked on get more info
> 8:00 - clicked on my status, then join boarding group. got BG 16.
> 8:29 - BG called
> 9:18 - entered queue
> 9:50 - got off ride


Nice!

iPhone or Android?  Carrier?

Also, without spoilers, can you say if the attraction is fully operational or if anything is in "B" Mode?

Also, did you see any Jawas in the vicinity?


----------



## ShoeCello

ironband74 said:


> Thrill-Data shows 8:05, but that may not be precise.  Though it is possible that with the good performance they have upped the number of backups offered.
> 
> So far, so good.  The early start puts them ahead of the all time high at 9:45, but it is early yet.  Also of note is that the rate of call an hour in is a little higher than usual.  Typically once they front load the queue they go to a boarding group every 5 minutes, but right now they are moving along at a BG every 3 minutes.  It will be interesting to see how long they can keep that up, but it does speak to increasing throughput, which we expected to come eventually.



Less than two hours in and we're at BG 45 already (though started at 11) - they're flying today... can anyone on the ground report if they're using all four load rooms today? (there's a much better name for the load rooms that I'm not going to use here since it's a mini-spoiler) The past times I've been only three of the four have been in operation.


----------



## ironband74

ShoeCello said:


> Less than two hours in and we're at BG 45 already (though started at 11) - they're flying today... can anyone on the ground report if they're using all four load rooms today? (there's a much better name for the load rooms that I'm not going to use here since it's a mini-spoiler) The past times I've been only three of the four have been in operation.


I feel like they have been bringing those online one by one.  The first weekend there were reports that they were using only two.  If they are up to using all four, that would account for the increased throughput this weekend.


----------



## hiroMYhero

ironband74 said:


> Thrill-Data shows 8:05, but that may not be precise.


Thrill-Data only runs 5 minute checks and they had been relying on DISers for more precise details.  I hadn’t kept checking this morning to see when backups stopped.

@ironband74 , when the red Join BG button is tapped, does that ‘hold’ a specific BG until all the checks are run and the Profiles are placed into that BG?

Or, does placement in an open BG only occur after the Profile checks are run?

Have been discussing this with some TPAS Mods and we can’t determine when the exact placement occurs. With so many ‘playing at home,’ could that cause ‘in park guests’ to be blocked from regular BGs?


----------



## dina444444

Spread is 11-50 now. Last time I ever saw an ROTR spread that large was the day dhs had a 2pm open.


----------



## ironband74

hiroMYhero said:


> Thrill-Data only runs 5 minute checks and they had been relying on DISers for more precise details.  I hadn’t kept checking this morning to see when backups stopped.
> 
> @ironband74 , when the red Join BG button is tapped, does that ‘hold’ a specific BG until all the checks are run and the Profiles are placed into that BG?
> 
> Or, does placement in an open BG only occur after the Profile checks are run?
> 
> Have been discussing this with some TPAS Mods and we can’t determine when the exact placement occurs. With so many ‘playing at home,’ could that cause ‘in park guests’ to be blocked from regular BGs?


While I have only conjecture and "how I would build it" thoughts, I believe that the message doesn't get sent to the server until you pass the point where the tickets are selected and the second "Join boarding group" button is pressed.  I think the communication goes like this:

Client loads page. Checks with server to see if the server can receive messages. If it can, it activates the button (Note that if page is cached, the check may not happen. This is why you don't want to click in to the Find out more page until after park open).

Client taps Join Boarding Group button from either the Find out More page or the Status Page.

Client selects tickets from the tickets scanned into the app.

Client taps "Join Boarding Group" at the bottom of the page.

Client sends message to server which includes all selected ticket numbers/pass numbers.

Server receives message and spools it.  

Gate 1 checks the message to see if all ticket numbers in the message have been scanned into the park. If not all tickets are scanned in, it returns a message to the client indicating that all tickets are not scanned in and moves the client to a screen to deselect tickets. If they are all scanned in, it passes to Gate 2.

Gate 2 checks the message to see if any ticket numbers in the message have already been assigned a boarding group. If they have, it returns a message to the client to show the "You are already in a boarding group error. If none of the tickets in the message are assigned a boarding group, it passes the message to the Scheduler.

Note that Gates 1 and 2 can be multithreaded since they do not assign anything and just pass back a message to direct client behavior.

The Scheduler I believe is single threaded, but may be multithreaded and depend on the low probability of messages from the same group being in the same batch.  The scheduler knows that the message has passed gates 1 and 2, and so now assigns boarding groups in succession while keeping tickets in the same message assigned to a single group.  Once a group has been assigned, the Scheduler returns a message indicating which boarding group the tickets have been assigned and the client displays the success screen.

So I don't think that folks playing along at home tax anything, except the ping to the server to see if it is ready to accept messages or not.


----------



## ironband74

dina444444 said:


> Spread is 11-50 now. Last time I ever saw an ROTR spread that large was the day dhs had a 2pm open.


Yeah, even taking front loading into account, that is a large spread.  

They seem to have slowed to a group every 4 minutes.


----------



## montreid

Spread 12-52.   That's 40!  Wow.  Anyone in the queue?   I may go over there in the evening to see if they keep this up


----------



## ironband74

What will be interesting is to see if we suffer the same fate as DHS, which peaked just as our coast opened, and has been in a steady decline ever since.  One theory is that they sent all the best mechanics and engineers from their coast to ours, and eventually some or all may go back.  Another theory is that wear and tear have come into play and that they are now having to replace some elements which have worn out.  

Not sure, but definitely watching what is happening over there as well.


----------



## ironband74

montreid said:


> Spread 12-52.   That's 40!  Wow.  Anyone in the queue?   I may go over there in the evening to see if they keep this up


That does include most of the morning front load.  We should see that fall off by about 10:45.  Still...impressive.


----------



## ironband74

hiroMYhero said:


> Thrill-Data only runs 5 minute checks and they had been relying on DISers for more precise details.  I hadn’t kept checking this morning to see when backups stopped.


On the backup stuff they seem to check more often, but I don't doubt that they confirm the timing with additional data.


----------



## socaldisneylover

ironband74 said:


> Nice!
> 
> iPhone or Android?  Carrier?
> 
> Also, without spoilers, can you say if the attraction is fully operational or if anything is in "B" Mode?
> 
> Also, did you see any Jawas in the vicinity?
> [/


----------



## socaldisneylover

Ridiculously busy today with Large groups of Cheerleaders everywhere.  Good day for a single 53 yr old guy like me just to people watch, rather than walk around trying to go on rides w/o fast pass.


----------



## SOCALMouseMommy

kristensideaoffun said:


> Boarding group 62. Our internet must have been really slow. The people around us all got between 12-30. We don’t care though. DD is crying With happiness because we got one. Lol


Did your husband make it?


----------



## e_yerger

ironband74 said:


> Nice!
> 
> iPhone or Android?  Carrier?
> 
> Also, without spoilers, can you say if the attraction is fully operational or if anything is in "B" Mode?
> 
> Also, did you see any Jawas in the vicinity?


I
iPhone XR on Verizon
Everything on the ride seemed to be working fine, except some audio and visuals did to match up in a certain first order scene. It was only noticeable if you looked for it.


----------



## ironband74

Jawa sighting...Someone get on the comm link with the Mando and head this thing off before it gets bad...


----------



## Katiebird

@socaldisneylover I think that’s definitely a spoiler. Please consider editing.


----------



## kappyfamily

I’ve been trying to follow all the tips and rules the past couple weeks but I can’t seem to find which way is best for a group of 5: 
1. all 5 log into MY own DL app and all try at 8am 
OR 
2. all 5 of us have our own account with all 5 of our tickets scanned into each account and everyone try on their own account?

thank you!


----------



## JWelch62

ironband74 said:


> Jawa sighting...Someone get on the comm link with the Mando and head this thing off before it gets bad...


Perhaps just a pause to allow queue to thin?


----------



## JWelch62

kappyfamily said:


> I’ve been trying to follow all the tips and rules the past couple weeks but I can’t seem to find which way is best for a group of 5:
> 1. all 5 log into MY own DL app and all try at 8am
> OR
> 2. all 5 of us have our own account with all 5 of our tickets scanned into each account and everyone try on their own account?
> 
> thank you!


Both have worked for various members of this board. There does not seem to be a clear cut "winner"


----------



## ironband74

kappyfamily said:


> I’ve been trying to follow all the tips and rules the past couple weeks but I can’t seem to find which way is best for a group of 5:
> 1. all 5 log into MY own DL app and all try at 8am
> OR
> 2. all 5 of us have our own account with all 5 of our tickets scanned into each account and everyone try on their own account?
> 
> thank you!


Both work equally well.  #1 is easier.  #2 you need to make sure that you all have the same tickets scanned.  Either way, I suspect the server doesn't see the two situations any differently.


----------



## kappyfamily

ironband74 said:


> Both work equally well.  #1 is easier.  #2 you need to make sure that you all have the same tickets scanned.  Either way, I suspect the server doesn't see the two situations any differently.


Perfect thank you!


----------



## ironband74

JWelch62 said:


> Perhaps just a pause to allow queue to thin?


At 56 for 30 minutes now...if this is a queue thinning...it's a long one.

Anyone on the ground who can confirm we're down?


----------



## JWelch62

ironband74 said:


> At 56 for 30 minutes now...if this is a queue thinning...it's a long one.
> 
> Anyone on the ground who can confirm we're down?


Yeah, I thought I saw it pop to 57. I guess I was too optimistic


----------



## hiroMYhero

@ironband74 ~ Thanks for your insight! Very informative and I will pass the info along.  We had always been trying to figure out why it seemed so randomized.



ironband74 said:


> One theory is that they sent all the best mechanics and engineers from their coast to ours, and eventually some or all may go back.


When WDW had the major problems at RotR’s start-up, they flew in trackless ride specialists from Tokyo DL.

They did it very quietly and it was only noted by entertainment CMs because the group of 20 were given priority at all character meals and wherever else they wanted to visit...even backstage during a Fant performance. That’s how important it was to attempt to get RotR running relatively smoothly.

Perhaps DL has done the same?


----------



## HydroGuy

socaldisneylover said:


> Don’t like spoilers, but this one has been part of the advertising for months, so hope nobody is offended.  Just rode, and the laser through ceiling never happened on mine.





Katiebird said:


> @socaldisneylover I think that’s definitely a spoiler. Please consider editing.


I have been seeing that light saber scene since last summer in the previews. I have a hard time seeing it as a spoiler FWIW. Mods can decide.

In fact I would be really bummed if that scene was broken when I went on ROTR for the first time. Didn't know they could run the show without it so this post from @socaldisneylover actually prepared me better without being a spoiler (for me).


----------



## kristensideaoffun

SOCALMouseMommy said:


> Did your husband make it?



Yup. He jumped in line with us just after we went under the monorail track.


----------



## kristensideaoffun

HydroGuy said:


> I have been seeing that light saber scene since last summer in the previews. I have a hard time seeing it as a spolier FWIW. Mods can decide.
> 
> In fact I would be really bummed if that scene was broken when I went on ROTR for the first time. Didn't know they could run the show without it so this post from @socaldisneylover actually prepared me better without being a spoiler (for me).



There are people on this board (like my husband and I) that have not seen any previews for the ride.


----------



## ZCarroll

Katiebird said:


> @socaldisneylover I think that’s definitely a spoiler. Please consider editing.



Fwiw, I definitely considered it a spoiler, had actually just been avoiding talking about that specific detail which did not work for us when I was viewing this thread and that popped up, so that was a bit of a bummer... we've never seen any advertising for the ride and my kids have been on the extreme end of avoiding any and all spoilers.


----------



## Aurora0427

The title of the thread says “no spoilers please.” I had no idea that particular scene happened the first time we rode ROTR. I think the post should be edited or spoiler tagged.


----------



## Katiebird

HydroGuy said:


> I have been seeing that (detail) since last summer in the previews. I have a hard time seeing it as a spolier FWIW. Mods can decide.
> 
> In fact I would be really bummed if that scene was broken when I went on ROTR for the first time. Didn't know they could run the show without it so this post from @socaldisneylover actually prepared me better without being a spoiler (for me).




That’s great for you, but not so great for the people who are actively avoiding all spoilers including previews. 

Maybe if certain aspects are very important to discuss, you can do that in the spoiler thread instead?

It was SO GREAT to be able to do this attraction blind, having no idea what would happen, but still be able to prep with this thread. I would hate to see that ruined for others given that the thread is clearly labeled no spoilers.


----------



## HydroGuy

HydroGuy said:


> I have a friend here in CO who is out there this weekend with his DW and DS13. He knows almost nothing about Disney but his DS13 loves Star Wars and they went specifically for SWGE and ROTR. I have been trying to coach him without overwhelming him on getting a BG, arriving early at DLR and all, to be inside the park at 8AM, etc. Today was his first day of three to get a BG. I was afraid for him that he would arrive late and/or just mess things up.
> 
> He just texted me that they got BG 28.
> 
> Moral of the story? It is possible for someone with minimal knowledge on BGs but a few key pieces of advice to be successful. Saying this for everyone who is stressed out about getting a BG. Of course YMMV.


For some reason my PP got more "likes" than I think I have ever gotten! I think folks on this thread are nervous and this post was re-assuring.

I have not wanted to bother my friend while he was on this trip, so have refrained from asking him about the experience other than he got his BG on Friday. Today I heard back from him with a bunch of texts so now I know a lot more about his weekend.

First, his DLR dates were Friday-Sunday/today. A busy, kind of double-holiday weekend (Valentine's Day and Presidents Day). So YMMV.

Second, he and his DS13 were blown away by ROTR. He said all the hassle was worth it. Which is a lot coming from a non-Disney fan.

Third, Even though he is not a big Disney fan, he did believe me enough to arrive early at security 6:45AM. He did that Friday. That is the PP above. Saturday they had MM and I told him if he wanted to do MM he should try to arrive at 6:45AM at the very latest. For me I would shoot for 6:15-6:30 for MM but I thought was a stretch for him and his pregnant DW. Plus he was there Friday and could see things for himself before deciding on MM. He said they did not make it there until 7:10 yesterday (MM was at 7AM) and did not get inside DL until 8:15AM.  Not sure if he had planned to try for BGs again on Day 2 or not, but he was too late.

We are going in 3 more weekends for my first crack at ROTR (two mornings so two chances) and he told me it was crazy getting into the parks - and that my 6:45AM (to security) advice was spot on. He emphasized I needed to be there at 6:45AM myself! Now _he_ is giving _me _advice LOL!


----------



## ironband74

Looks like we're back up after a 50 minute downtime.  Let's see how they recover...


----------



## HydroGuy

Katiebird said:


> That’s great for you, but not so great for the people who are actively avoiding all spoilers including previews.
> 
> Maybe if certain aspects are very important to discuss, you can do that in the spoiler thread instead?
> 
> It was SO GREAT to be able to do this attraction blind, having no idea what would happen, but still be able to prep with this thread. I would hate to see that ruined for others given that the thread is clearly labeled no spoilers.


Sorry! I edited my post responding to the PP by @socaldisneylover. 

I will add that I make a distinction on spoilers that _are not_ advertised and those that _are_.  This has been all over the place online, on TV (IIR) and I also saw it at D23 Expo in August. But I had seen it way before that too like early in 2019.

But I totally understand where you are coming from and took appropriate action.


----------



## HydroGuy

ironband74 said:


> Looks like we're back up after a 50 minute downtime.  Let's see how they recover...


Mando has to take lunch breaks too. Looks like his was 50 minutes today.


----------



## kristensideaoffun

Yay! It’s back up! We are about to board MFSR and hopefully our boarding group will be called by the time we get off!


----------



## socaldisneylover

I edited my post


----------



## sunflare

dina444444 said:


> Anybody know what time the backups ran out at?? Trying to update the chart.


Edited to say 8:05...I was playing from AZ, which is an hour ahead.

I'm not sure when they finished, but I logged in from home at 8:05 and was still getting the backup group notification.


----------



## ironband74

And...looks like it was a false start.  Still at 59...


----------



## Susie63

Sarahelizabeth said:


> Our line split and moved fast!


What is this line split at the planter that everyone keeps talking about please


----------



## kristensideaoffun

Susie63 said:


> What is this line split at the planter that everyone keeps talking about please



Some entry lines are located behind planters, so the planter doesn’t allow an actual line to form behind it. So the line next to the line behind the planter feeds both the lines. So two entry points for one line. Hopefully that makes sense.


----------



## midnight star

socaldisneylover said:


> Ridiculously busy today with Large groups of Cheerleaders everywhere.  Good day for a single 53 yr old guy like me just to people watch, rather than walk around trying to go on rides w/o fast pass.


Just peaked at the app and yikes! Yesterday was equally as bad. Lol


----------



## Susie63

kristensideaoffun said:


> Some entry lines are located behind planters, so the planter doesn’t allow an actual line to form behind it. So the line next to the line behind the planter feeds both the lines. So two entry points for one line. Hopefully that makes sense.


Are these in the middle of the gate area?  I may have to Google satellite the esplanade.


----------



## HydroGuy

Susie63 said:


> Are these in the middle of the gate area?  I may have to Google satellite the esplanade.


Yes. I believe it is lines 13 (on the right) and 18 (on the left) that have splits because of the planters.

I usually shoot for one of those unless the lines are really short.



ETA - this link may help if you change the background layer to satellite. But the trees obscure the planters. Well, the trees are in the planters!

http://wikimapia.org/#lang=en&lat=33.809212&lon=-117.918813&z=19


----------



## Susie63

midnight star said:


> Just peaked at the app and yikes! Yesterday was equally as bad. Lol


Changing our first park day to Tuesday. I think tomorrow will be just as bad


----------



## ironband74

OK, looks like we're on the move again...Let's see if she can hold together...


----------



## dina444444

Despite the downtime we are already on to backups.


----------



## ironband74

And either thinning the queue or down again?  Tactical decision or Sunday curse?  You decide!


----------



## kristensideaoffun

We got off about 30 minutes ago. I am completely speechless. It’s amazing! Totally worth the 5am wake-up call.


----------



## Ferrellcon

I think the curse is broken. They got to 85 by 3pm


----------



## ironband74

Ferrellcon said:


> I think the curse is broken. They got to 85 by 3pm


True...but we've been essentially down most of the afternoon so far...


----------



## socaldisneylover

Time #1 (Opening Day) - Group 92 - Called At 7:15 PM, After I Had Left

Time #2 (A Saturday) - Group 54 - Called At 12:30 PM

Time #3 (Today) - Group 27 - Called At 8:45 AM


----------



## ironband74

Well, it's been limping along with 10 groups in the last two hours.  Hopefully it is going to get some traction soon.  At the same time it has already beat two of the four past Sundays and is trending well above the abysmal average.


----------



## ironband74

Looks like we're back on the dewback and loading at a good clip again (10 groups in the last half hour).  If they can repeat this morning's performance they will have shown Sunday who is boss.


----------



## Angrose

Susie63 said:


> Are these in the middle of the gate area?  I may have to Google satellite the esplanade.


These pics might help. I took them in the early evening a few weeks ago though, so it doesn’t show the actual split but you can imagine people moving into those gates in front of the trees.


----------



## socaldisneylover

Angrose said:


> These pics might help. I took them in the early evening a few weeks ago though, so it doesn’t show the actual split but you can imagine people moving into those gates in front of the trees.



Yeah, I ended up in one of those this morning.


----------



## Aurora0427

Angrose said:


> These pics might help. I took them in the early evening a few weeks ago though, so it doesn’t show the actual split but you can imagine people moving into those gates in front of the trees.
> 
> View attachment 474376View attachment 474377



this is how we made it into the park on time a few Sundays ago. We got so lucky that our “line” ended up splitting into two lines because of these planters!


----------



## ironband74

Officially best Sunday ever.  Not saying much...but with 3 hours to go yet and a 27 group spread...


----------



## e_yerger

as i’m walking around the parks and overhearing people discuss RotR, it really shows that a _majority_ of the population has no clue how these BG work. “Ugh i do NOT want to get up that early” ... “why can’t we just show up?”


----------



## midnight star

e_yerger said:


> as i’m walking around the parks and overhearing people discuss RotR, it really shows that a _majority_ of the population has no clue how these BG work. “Ugh i do NOT want to get up that early” ... “why can’t we just show up?”


When I was walking around yesterday I heard a little girl ask her parents why they couldn't go on the new ride. Her mom said "I don't want to pay extra for a Boarding Group"


----------



## DLgal

midnight star said:


> When I was walking around yesterday I heard a little girl ask her parents why they couldn't go on the new ride. Her mom said "I don't want to pay extra for a Boarding Group"



She was probably just lying to her kid. Sometimes it's the easiest way out of things when you don't want the hassle of explaining the truth. Honestly, I kinda lied about it to my kids...I told them we had to enter a contest and win in order to ride. Maybe that mom doesn't want to deal with the hassle of waking her kid up early and deal with all the stress.


----------



## Kit Jackson

e_yerger said:


> as i’m walking around the parks and overhearing people discuss RotR, it really shows that a _majority_ of the population has no clue how these BG work. “Ugh i do NOT want to get up that early” ... “why can’t we just show up?”



To me, that to me sounds like they do understand how the boarding groups work. My understanding is that you have to be in Disneyland Park at rope drop to claim a boarding pass because they all get claimed within about 15 minutes of the park opening. If I am wrong can someone please correct me on this, especially since I have a trip coming up soon.


----------



## EmJ

DLgal said:


> She was probably just lying to her kid. Sometimes it's the easiest way out of things when you don't want the hassle of explaining the truth. Honestly, I kinda lied about it to my kids...I told them we had to enter a contest and win in order to ride. Maybe that mom doesn't want to deal with the hassle of waking her kid up early and deal with all the stress.


I knew of someone who told her kids that you had to have a special license to drive the “car cart” at the grocery store and she didn’t have one  I stand by harmless but useful lies as a legitimate parenting strategy, lol.


----------



## coaches24

I’m so bummed. The trip organizer for my trip this week (I’m a chaperone for DDs theatre group) doesn’t have us scheduled to get into the parks before park opening so I won’t have a chance at getting a boarding group unless things change. Oh well just means I have to plan another trip where we can do our own schedule


----------



## Lewdannie

Whoa...Sunday be dammed

Go you good thing!


----------



## Ferrellcon

Wow its almost 150 and its not even 8 how many groups are there?


----------



## ironband74

With an hour to go, we're at 147 and a 26 group spread.  We have a real shot at the all time high here.  The considerable downtime has been offset with improvements in efficiency.  Weird Wild Stuff!


----------



## ironband74

Ferrellcon said:


> Wow its almost 150 and its not even 8 how many groups are there?


Only the ancients know...


----------



## Ferrellcon

I just want them to run out to see what they do. Do they open a standby line? Open more groups? Just close the ride?


----------



## ironband74

Ferrellcon said:


> I just want them to run out to see what they do. Do they open a standby line? Open more groups? Just close the ride?


It's close enough to the normal close that they would just shut it down for the night.  They do not want to create the situation where people stand around outside hoping that the groups all get called in order to get into a standby queue, and the logistics of doing another set of groups would be more trouble than it would be worth.  If they got through all the groups with hours and hours left, maybe they would do something.  But I suspect that they have a target in mind every day and that they release enough groups to get them within an hour of the planned end time.

Yesterday they extended the run time considerably to allow folks the option of getting in line even though the attraction was down, though, so they seem flexible on the other end of the spectrum. I expect that when they get to the point whrere they regularly get all the groups on they'll start issuing more backups.

On a day like today when the call zone is about 12 hours long, if they operate at what we've seen peak efficiency-wise today we could see them hitting 200 groups if the downtime is minimal.  Today we had over 3 hours of downtime plus a one hour period where it just limped along at 6 groups per hour.  That's 33% of the operating day out of comission or operating well below capacity.  I'm fairly amazed at the improvement during the past week (Thursday notwithstanding).


----------



## Ferrellcon

Whats the highest number called so far?


----------



## JWelch62

Ferrellcon said:


> Whats the highest number called so far?


150 According to thrill-data.com


----------



## Ferrellcon

JWelch62 said:


> 150 According to thrill-data.com


Amazing we beat that today.


----------



## JWelch62

JWelch62 said:


> 150 According to thrill-data.com


And it just went to 151. So, who knows how high it will go.


----------



## JWelch62

Ferrellcon said:


> Amazing we beat that today.


I posted, and then checked the current number. I guess I should have done it the other way.


----------



## ironband74

Ferrellcon said:


> Amazing we beat that today.


Highest number called was on Friday, 153.  

We're almost there...


----------



## ironband74

152...


----------



## Ferrellcon

ironband74 said:


> Highest number called was on Friday, 153.
> 
> We're almost there...


 Oh we will beat that today for sure.


----------



## ironband74

153...


----------



## ironband74

154!


But wait...on Friday we started at 10 and today we started at 11...so we still need one more...


----------



## montreid

It was 153 last time.   154...new record....on a Sunday no less.

Took a rest to watch all star game.  Dca still busy as heck with loads of cheer and dance teams


----------



## dina444444

We’ve tied Friday for total groups called.


----------



## ironband74

155!


----------



## midnight star

Yay! Maintenance guy came through today! lol


----------



## Lewdannie

You can bet the ride operators are acutely aware of the daily record


----------



## ironband74

Lewdannie said:


> You can bet the ride operators are acutely aware of the daily record


I don't doubt it.  And Scott Trowbridge will be all like:


----------



## pharmama

DD14 and the rest of her group just got off a little bit ago (BG135) and said it was amazing. She and the rest of her group were totally blown away by the experience. She’s being good and not telling me anything else that might be a spoiler so there’s still a chance I’ll speak to her when she gets home tomorrow


----------



## nutshell

What’s DHS’s record?


----------



## dina444444

nutshell said:


> What’s DHS’s record?


I think 190 something and that was on NYE when the hours were 6am - 12am.

edit: the ride also had almost no downtime that day.

Edit #2: they called 215 total groups that day, we had group 13 and road before 7am


----------



## HydroGuy

midnight star said:


> Yay! Maintenance guy came through today! lol


Nope it was Mando.


----------



## ironband74

Looks like we're done at 156 (146 called).  I think we can say the Sunday curse is no more.


----------



## HydroGuy

ironband74 said:


> Looks like we're done at 156 (146 called).  I think we can say the Sunday curse is no more.


----------



## StarGirl11

Still too early to probably say for sure but looking at Thrill Data’s page the ride headed in all the right directions operations wise this week. So maybe there starting to see how to start minimizing some of the rides issues. Hopefully this continues going forward.


----------



## EmJ

The new record high. Look how pretty!


----------



## EmJ

StarGirl11 said:


> Still too early to probably say for sure but looking at Thrill Data’s page the ride headed in all the right directions operations wise this week. So maybe there starting to see how to start minimizing some of the rides issues. Hopefully this continues going forward.


I think this graph is pretty interesting too. It’s the number of groups processed per hour each day. The ride isn’t perfect, but the trend is obviously toward improvement.


----------



## ten6mom

You'll all appreciate this (in a sad and commiserating sort of way).

After spending an hour at my son's friend's house last week explaining to both 15yo boys AND their dad how to have the best shot at securing a BG (today was the only day they would have a chance), I get a text shortly after 9 my time (a few minutes after park opening) that they "didn't know" they had to be through the turnstiles.

I spent an hour explaining this to all of you!!!!!!  

It was not my finest moment.


----------



## Aurora0427

midnight star said:


> When I was walking around yesterday I heard a little girl ask her parents why they couldn't go on the new ride. Her mom said "I don't want to pay extra for a Boarding Group"



The boards need to add a face palm emoji in addition to the like, love, laugh etc..... 

Although as a mom I will say she could totally be lying to her kid because she doesn’t want to deal with the chaos that is getting a BG.


----------



## ShoeCello

For those parking in TS in the morning to get a ROTR BG, what time have you arrived (and was it a weekday or weekend)? How long has the wait been, and how much extra time does it take to get from arriving at TS to entering inside the Esplanade, including 1) getting into parking lot, 2) waiting for buses, and 3) the actual bus ride? Has your experience been that security at TS (if open) takes about the same as at Harbor? I normally Uber/Lyft to the Harbor entrance but am considering renewing/upgrading to a pass with parking, but am nervous about how much more time it will add in the morning when every minute counts for getting into the parks on time for a BG versus the convenience of being dropped off on Harbor. The pictures of cars backed up to get into M&F has me scared! I'm eyeing TS not only because it sounds like it'll be less congested but because I'll be coming from south of the parks.


----------



## ironband74

EmJ said:


> I think this graph is pretty interesting too. It’s the number of groups processed per hour each day. The ride isn’t perfect, but the trend is obviously toward improvement.
> 
> View attachment 474413


The trend is definitely heading in the right direction for now.

What concerns me is seeing how DHS's trend went in the right direction until shortly after we opened. They had a day with almost no down time (1/20), finished at 6pm, and the slope of their almost straight line from just before 8 to 6 was 13-14bg/hr. 

Since then, their trend has been downward, and I can't help but wonder if the cause is wear and tear after a month and a half of ops.

Now the engineer in me says "Well, the WDI will take note of the parts wearing out in that installation and proactively prepare to swap those parts out in our attraction so that we don't suffer the same fate." And that seems reasonable to take the data from back East and apply it here in the West.

But I wonder if there is some other reason for the slide out there and if it is unavoidable.  We'll find out, of course, in due time.


----------



## Evita_W

If you are going on a morning with early entry and you don't have early entry, get a reservation for Breakfast at Plaza Inn at least 30 minutes prior to park opening, then you will not have to deal with the lines, can have a pretty decent breakfast with a lot of characters, including some rare ones.

We did this yesterday with a 7:30 AM reservation and got Boarding Group 62 and for characters we had:

Minnie
Chip
Dale
Eyeore (sp)
Captain Hook
Tigger
Gideon
Raffiki
Fairy Godmother (we had a great chat about Boarding Groups)
Pluto
I think there were a couple more characters, they just kept coming out. Really a great value, not only can you get into the park early  without lines (only on days with early entry), but good food with great character interaction and lots of characters, so saves even more time in not needing to stand in line to meet the characters

On a side note, it is interesting to watch the entire park stop at park opening for about 5 minutes.

Wherever you park, make sure you arrive at least 45 minutes before that parking lot opens if you want to ensure you have enough time to make it through security and into the park before it opens.


----------



## ironband74

You cannot escape your destiny...er...The Chart...





























@theluckyrabbit - you know what to do.


----------



## GoldeneyezCA

ShoeCello said:


> For those parking in TS in the morning to get a ROTR BG, what time have you arrived (and was it a weekday or weekend)? How long has the wait been, and how much extra time does it take to get from arriving at TS to entering inside the Esplanade, including 1) getting into parking lot, 2) waiting for buses, and 3) the actual bus ride? Has your experience been that security at TS (if open) takes about the same as at Harbor?



On opening weekend, TS arrival/esplanade arrival were 6:15/6:45 and 6:45/7:15, respectively.  So, it took about 30 min to park, go through security and  ride the tram.  TS security is definitely faster but not always an option.  From there, the time in line depends on the gate opening - 30 min the first day (in park by 7:15), 30 min the second day (in park by 7:45).  However, all signs indicate that the mornings have been busier since then, and a friend arrived at TS this morning at 7:15 and didn’t get into the park until 8:45!  All bets are off this weekend! We’re aiming for a 6:15-6:30 am arrival at TS tomorrow morning, which will be our first try for a BG since opening weekend.  After this week, more reasonable arrival times may be possible.


----------



## theluckyrabbit

ShoeCello said:


> Just a quick note about this - note that you can place a mobile order even without being scanned into the parks, whereas you cannot get a FP via MP unless you have scanned into the park. So placing a mock mobile order would only test if you are logged into your account, and not that the system has correctly registered you as having scanned into the park (which apparently has been glitching for some folks, causing them to be unable to get a BG or delaying them if they didn't force close the app after park entry). If you have MP you would still need to try and get a FP via MP to test that.


Agree, but my suggestion, as stated, was for those who will not be purchasing MP. (After the recent price hike, this is becoming an issue for more people.) For those who will have MP, we have long been advising they get a "test" FP via MP as a prep before trying for a BG. But for those without MP, there isn't that option, so at least Mobile Ordering allows them to check that their log in is working.


----------



## theluckyrabbit

ironband74 said:


> You cannot escape your destiny...er...The Chart...
> View attachment 474428View attachment 474429
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> @theluckyrabbit - you know what to do.


Yes, Sir, Squadron Leader!


----------



## pokee99

EmJ said:


> The new record high. Look how pretty!
> 
> View attachment 474411



Looks great, but MAN those long afternoon breakdown waits still look brutal!


----------



## pokee99

theluckyrabbit said:


> Agree, but my suggestion, as stated, was for those who will not be purchasing MP. For those who will have MP, we have long been advising they get a "test" FP via MP as a prep before trying for a BG.



Can you do a MaxPass request before rope drop - even if you get in early?


----------



## theluckyrabbit

pokee99 said:


> Can you do a MaxPass request before rope drop - even if you get in early?


Yes, you can start using MP (assuming you've already purchased it) as soon as your ticket is activated at the gates. (If you haven't purchased it, do so right after going through the gates -- should only take a few minutes or so.) Your return times won't be until after the park opens, but you will be able to start getting FPs before then.
See: Maxpass/Fastpass Superthread: an overview and some strategy


----------



## theluckyrabbit

e_yerger said:


> In the esplanade this morning!! Lines already halfway back


Did you remember to arm yourself with lipstick this morning? Resistance fighters have to be prepared!



Katiebird said:


> That’s great for you, but not so great for the people who are actively avoiding all spoilers including previews.
> 
> Maybe if certain aspects are very important to discuss, you can do that in the spoiler thread instead?
> 
> It was SO GREAT to be able to do this attraction blind, having no idea what would happen, but still be able to prep with this thread. I would hate to see that ruined for others given that the thread is clearly labeled no spoilers.


Totally agree.

For everyone participating in this superthread: When posting something that might be a spoiler and you aren't sure (even if you think it isn't, but it _could_ be... -- this includes photographs, descriptions of the ride, of the inside of the building, of the story line, etc.), please err on the side of caution and use the spoiler tags! Better to be safe than sorry and to take into account those participating here who have tried/are still trying to stay away from any reveals, spoilers, previews, etc. Thank you!


----------



## Vysecity

I will probably arrive at TS parking around 7:10. Hope that's enough time...


----------



## e_yerger

theluckyrabbit said:


> Did you remember to arm yourself with lipstick this morning? Resistance fighters have to be prepared!
> 
> 
> Totally agree.
> 
> For everyone participating in this superthread: When posting something that might be a spoiler and you aren't sure (even if you think it isn't, but it _could_ be... -- this includes photographs, descriptions of the ride, of the inside of the building, of the story line, etc.), please err on the side of caution and use the spoiler tags! Better to be safe than sorry and to take into account those participating here who have tried/are still trying to stay away from any reveals, spoilers, previews, etc. Thank you!


LMAO yes!!! Lipstick was applied!


----------



## e_yerger

GOOD MORNINGGG!! From the esplanade for the last time - lines seem a little less bad but not by much. Fiancé say they’re the same as yesterday. Maybe i’m just being hopeful the crowds wont be as insane as yesterday


----------



## Vysecity

e_yerger said:


> GOOD MORNINGGG!! From the esplanade for the last time - lines seem a little less bad but not by much. Fiancé say they’re the same as yesterday. Maybe i’m just being hopeful the crowds wont be as insane as yesterday


 Please keep us updated! I want to see if I have a shot at BG today. Wife is a late riser...


----------



## e_yerger

Vysecity said:


> Please keep us updated! I want to see if I have a shot at BG today. Wife is a late riser...


Are you here yet?!


----------



## Vysecity

e_yerger said:


> Are you here yet?!


No. Getting ready to leave hotel. heading to toy story parking


----------



## e_yerger

Gates just opened (not letting people in though)

lines are about halfway back.You may be cutting it close. May the force be with you!!


----------



## e_yerger

Started letting people in. Seems like they’re doing photos this morning as lines aren’t moving consistently


----------



## e_yerger

Just got in! Back over to Mr. Lincoln!


----------



## montreid

Got up early for conference.  Gch line was 5 min.

  In line 720 in esplanade as usual.  Already letting in already today so line only back to midesplanade.   Middle middle opened too.   So get to the right of the middle line and just after the monorail planter split to the right as that splits again into gates 18 and 19 as your target


----------



## Vysecity

Just boarded bus...


----------



## Malroy

Current sitch at harbour security. Not getting my hopes up but trying to be optimistic


----------



## e_yerger

Malroy said:


> Current sitch at harbour security. Not getting my hopes up but trying to be optimistic View attachment 474471


YIKES so glad we got through this earlier. Good luck!!


----------



## Vysecity

at security about 20 people in front


----------



## montreid

Don't forget to grab fastpasses right now. 

 Including the decoupled fantasmic and world of color fastpasses.   Radiator springs is wide open too.  Broke down a lot yesterday so get this early if that's in your plans today

Mobile order your food too.  Red rose and Flo's was backed up tons yesterday


----------



## Sarahelizabeth

We closed the park last night so let the kids sleep in an extra 30 and just made it through the gates. When we got through security at about 7:20 or so they were letting people in and lines were just past the monorail. Definitely not as bad as the last few days but it might be because gates were already open when we got in.


----------



## Malroy

e_yerger said:


> YIKES so glad we got through this earlier. Good luck!!


We’re in line for the main gate now. Just about under the monorail.


----------



## Vysecity

10 people before I get scanned. think I'm in


----------



## Sarahelizabeth

montreid said:


> Got up early for conference.  Gch line was 5 min.
> 
> In line 720 in esplanade as usual.  Already letting in already today so line only back to midesplanade.   Middle middle opened too.   So get to the right of the middle line and just after the monorail planter split to the right as that splits again into gates 18 and 19 as your target



this was our line and there was no one in front of the planter!


----------



## Vysecity

I'm in! Coaching wife again


----------



## e_yerger

Vysecity said:


> I'm in! Coaching wife again


yay!!!


----------



## Aurora0427

Vysecity said:


> I'm in! Coaching wife again



I can’t believe you made it. I was anxiously reading through to see if you did! Amazing!


----------



## IsleofDisney

ShoeCello said:


> For those parking in TS in the morning to get a ROTR BG, what time have you arrived (and was it





Vysecity said:


> I'm in! Coaching wife again



Phew!! Praise the maker!!


----------



## e_yerger

BT 26!


----------



## jackbo487

Tried from home again just now for Disneyland ROTR and after closing/opening the app at 7:58, neither Join a Boarding Group nor the pull-down My Status option worked. I had to force quit and re-open the app to get anything to show up, and by then it was already at standby lines. 

This same scenario happened to me a few weekends ago at the park and I got Group 99. Not sure exactly WHY this happened, though? Other times I've gone on the ride this worked just fine... just luck of the draw?


----------



## Malroy

Well both of our phones like glitched out so we got backup group 108! So we’ll see


----------



## dina444444

Malroy said:


> Well both of our phones like glitched out so we got backup group 108! So we’ll see


If they hold track with the past 3 days you should be called to ride in the afternoon.


----------



## Vysecity

BG14! And helped out an older woman that kept clicking on grey button. Got her  group BG 112


----------



## Syndrome

Weird , been playing along at home for a little while now prepping for our upcoming trip in a little over a week . No problems so far . 
This morning , it was different .........
I never got a join boarding group red tab , or nothing on my status to join for about 30-45  seconds . As soon as it did appear, it was already in back-ups ??? I kept resetting, backed out , turned off the app, etc .......nothing worked , till back-ups started ! I have great internet at home , on an iphone 8 plus ??? This is the first time I have had the atomic clock running in the background ....... maybe the prob ?
Wondering if anyone else had something similar this morning ?
This is making me nervous when we get to DL now . At least we will have 5 trys/days to get a boarding pass !
I dont really care about even getting a back-up if its a lower number as we are staying at GC all week , so we can easily plan around a call to board . Still nervous as to what happened this morning !
Back-ups still up at 15 minutes after !


----------



## Sarahelizabeth

They dropped the rope early so we started walking to Galaxy’s Edge. We stopped at 7:59 right at the entrance and my phone finally lit up!  I beat the 9 year old and got us BG 12. 

The last two days i started from the “find out more” page and couldn’t get in while my son was in the page that says “my status” and he got them so i tried that today and my button turned red and i got in right away.


----------



## Malroy

jackbo487 said:


> Tried from home again just now for Disneyland ROTR and after closing/opening the app at 7:58, neither Join a Boarding Group nor the pull-down My Status option worked. I had to force quit and re-open the app to get anything to show up, and by then it was already at standby lines.
> 
> This same scenario happened to me a few weekends ago at the park and I got Group 99. Not sure exactly WHY this happened, though? Other times I've gone on the ride this worked just fine... just luck of the draw?



this is pretty much what happened to us, my husband and I both!


----------



## Malroy

dina444444 said:


> If they hold track with the past 3 days you should be called to ride in the afternoon.


That’s what I’m hoping! Haven’t been paying too close attention but I’ve been skimming this thread


----------



## IsleofDisney

Started calling group 10 already with back ups still available!


----------



## e_yerger

After doing this for three days, this is my biggest tip:
Have someone in your group download the AtomicClock - NTP Time app on their phone. Have that open at the same time as the person getting the BG. Already have the DL app open and on the “my status”/“join boarding group” page. RIGHT AT 8:00:00 click on “my status” and then “join boarding group”. This has gotten us BG 14, 16 & 26.

i have an iPhone.


----------



## Aurora0427

Wow they’re already boarding!


----------



## montreid

Data point.  Did 7 second wait from the conference room in GCH today.  Grp 80.


----------



## ironband74

Malroy said:


> That’s what I’m hoping! Haven’t been paying too close attention but I’ve been skimming this thread


Boarding has begun!


----------



## Ferrellcon

I am at home and I played along. I closed the app at 758 at 8 i opened the app skipped the fireworks and got the join boarding group to turn red before it said they were on backups. I like to think i would have gotten a regular boarding group.


----------



## dina444444

e_yerger said:


> After doing this for three days, this is my biggest tip:
> Have someone in your group download the AtomicClock - NTP Time app on their phone. Have that open at the same time as the person getting the BG. Already have the DL app open and on the “my status”/“join boarding group” page. RIGHT AT 8:00:00 click on “my status” and then “join boarding group”. This has gotten us BG 14, 16 & 26.
> 
> i have an iPhone.


I have an Apple Watch and I put the face to utility and the seconds hand shows.


----------



## Ferrellcon

ironband74 said:


> Boarding has begun!


Wow! Thats Great! Boarding when the park opens is a great sign and i can still join a backup.


----------



## virk4

Am I missing something? I was at DHS last December. Arrived at five am....got in at 620am, and immediately got a boarding group [12]. I will be back in a few weeks, and as I understand it, all are let into the park 30-40 minutes early but cannot get a boarding group until the exact second of the official park opening. So, thousands of people are in DHS--all are on their phones at exactly park opening [9am], and in a few minutes, all groups are gone for the day. Where the reward for getting to the park early? Now, Slinky Dog and Smugglers have an immediate 2-3 hour wait.  I've been at this for a while, and usually, I can understand the reasons for changes like this, but this has me confused. In this new system, by two minutes after 8:00 on March 14, for example, all boarding groups will be gone and the standby lines everywhere are very long. As I said, I must be missing something.


----------



## dina444444

virk4 said:


> Am I missing something? I was at DHS last December. Arrived at five am....got in at 620am, and immediately got a boarding group [12]. I will be back in a few weeks, and as I understand it, all are let into the park 30-40 minutes early but cannot get a boarding group until the exact second of the official park opening. So, thousands of people are in DHS--all are on their phones at exactly park opening [9am], and in a few minutes, all groups are gone for the day. Where the reward for getting to the park early? Now, Slinky Dog and Smugglers have an immediate 2-3 hour wait.  I've been at this for a while, and usually, I can understand the reasons for changes like this, but this has me confused. In this new system, by two minutes after 8:00 on March 14, for example, all boarding groups will be gone and the standby lines everywhere are very long. As I said, I must be missing something.


You’re not. They are leveling the field so that everyone that’s in the park at park opening has a chance. They switched to this system at DHS within the first 2 weeks and it’s been this way the whole time at Disneyland.


----------



## brightlined

jackbo487 said:


> Tried from home again just now for Disneyland ROTR and after closing/opening the app at 7:58, neither Join a Boarding Group nor the pull-down My Status option worked. I had to force quit and re-open the app to get anything to show up, and by then it was already at standby lines.
> 
> This same scenario happened to me a few weekends ago at the park and I got Group 99. Not sure exactly WHY this happened, though? Other times I've gone on the ride this worked just fine... just luck of the draw?


One tip: do not, under any circumstance, click on Find Out More before 8:00am. There's an indication that it caches that page, and that locks people out. If you're on Android, it's a good idea to Clear Cache on the app before 8:00am. (Just don't Clear Data.)


----------



## IsleofDisney

8:20 back ups are gone, does anyone else concur?


----------



## GoldeneyezCA

Success!  Arrived Toy Story 6:35. Esplanade 6:55 - no wait for tram and quick line at security.  Gate lines were almost to medallion. Gates opened around 7:05.  Sitting on bench at train station by 7:15.  BG 19 on Verizon data iPhone X.


----------



## Syndrome

brightlined said:


> One tip: do not, under any circumstance, click on Find Out More before 8:00am. There's an indication that it caches that page, and that locks people out.



This is what I did this morning , could be the reason for my inability to have a "join boarding group" show up until about 45 seconds after opening . (it has never been a problem before though ?) Will try it differently tomorrow ! 
Thanks for the tip !


----------



## closetmickey

jackbo487 said:


> Tried from home again just now for Disneyland ROTR and after closing/opening the app at 7:58, neither Join a Boarding Group nor the pull-down My Status option worked. I had to force quit and re-open the app to get anything to show up, and by then it was already at standby lines.
> 
> This same scenario happened to me a few weekends ago at the park and I got Group 99. Not sure exactly WHY this happened, though? Other times I've gone on the ride this worked just fine... just luck of the draw?





Syndrome said:


> Weird , been playing along at home for a little while now prepping for our upcoming trip in a little over a week .
> I never got a join boarding group red tab , or nothing on my status to join for about 30-45  seconds . As soon as it did appear, it was already in back-ups ??? I kept resetting, backed out , turned off the app, etc .......nothing worked , till back-ups started ! I have great internet at home , on an iphone 8 plus ??? This is the first time I have had the atomic clock running in the background ....... maybe the prob ?
> Wondering if anyone else had something similar this morning ?
> This is making me nervous when we get to DL now . At least we will have 5 trys/days to get a boarding pass !
> I dont really care about even getting a back-up if its a lower number as we are staying at GC all week , so we can easily plan around a call to board . Still nervous as to what happened this morning !
> Back-ups still up at 15 minutes after !





Malroy said:


> this is pretty much what happened to us, my husband and I both!


Happened to me today too from home- for the first time.


----------



## msteddom

brightlined said:


> One tip: do not, under any circumstance, click on Find Out More before 8:00am. There's an indication that it caches that page, and that locks people out. If you're on Android, it's a good idea to Clear Cache on the app before 8:00am. (Just don't Clear Data.)



That tracks with my experience at DHS last month.  I toggled back and forth between the home page and the find out more screens a few minutes before park open (I was nervous they were going to start early), and got locked out.

Hitting “find out more” exactly at 8 AM at Disneyland the past three weekends has earned me BGs 35, 28 and 19.

It also seems like muscle memory is helping, because I seem to be getting lower groups each time.


----------



## jackbo487

Syndrome said:


> Weird , been playing along at home for a little while now prepping for our upcoming trip in a little over a week .
> I never got a join boarding group red tab , or nothing on my status to join for about 30-45  seconds . As soon as it did appear, it was already in back-ups ??? I kept resetting, backed out , turned off the app, etc .......nothing worked , till back-ups started ! I have great internet at home , on an iphone 8 plus ??? This is the first time I have had the atomic clock running in the background ....... maybe the prob ?
> Wondering if anyone else had something similar this morning ?
> This is making me nervous when we get to DL now . At least we will have 5 trys/days to get a boarding pass !
> I dont really care about even getting a back-up if its a lower number as we are staying at GC all week , so we can easily plan around a call to board . Still nervous as to what happened this morning !
> Back-ups still up at 15 minutes after !


same experience at home! Weird


----------



## dina444444

I think it may be down. Stuck on 22 for a bit now.


----------



## Vysecity

my BG went from be back by 9:18 to 10:18


----------



## montreid

Yeah down.  Have friend in queue....which they cleared and gave FP.   

Jawas up early today


----------



## GoldeneyezCA

Yep, BG 19 called at 8:28 while we were riding Buzz, and the ride was broken down by the time we got here. Unexpected delight - Breakfast platter at Docking Bay 7 is tasty!


----------



## MajorasMask

We will have 8 Androids and 1 iphone trying to pull when we go for Spring Break.  Our carrier is Verizon.  Can anyone share where they have good reception, in the park, with Verizon?  We will have EMH when it is available. I have not really paid attention to where my signal is strong before, only frustration when it is horrible!


----------



## GoldeneyezCA

MajorasMask said:


> We will have 8 Androids and 1 iphone trying to pull when we go for Spring Break.  Our carrier is Verizon.  Can anyone share where they have good reception, in the park, with Verizon?  We will have EMH when it is available. I have not really paid attention to where my signal is strong before, only frustration when it is horrible!



Verizon - I’ve gotten 20 (Ronto Roasters back in SWGE), 31 (Splash Mountain), 19 (on ground-level bench in front of train station) with my iPhone 10 or XSMax.  I ran a speed test from the train platform this morning and also the area right inside the gates, but there were a lot of people in both places.  I had faster speed results and page-loading from the bench, so we stayed put.  In other words, it can work in many different places.  Just be in the park by 7:45, to give yourself time to set up your phones. The guy sitting next to me got 105 - I saw a lot of furious tapping (maybe clicked too early?), and he seemed unfamiliar with how to proceed through the screens.

Restart the app around 7:57, make sure you only have the passes linked for those who are in the park, and have your finger poised above the Find Out More button while watching a watch or app with the seconds counting down.  Click exactly at 8.  We are 3 for 3 with BG attempts, and also 3 for 3 for this fantastic attraction breaking down every time our BG is called.  LOL


----------



## MajorasMask

Thank you for taking the time posting all the tips! I have the lone iphone xs max, but my kids will grab it and run a speed test for me!  Just a follow up question.  I have seen people clicking Find Out More first and then some who bypass this step.  Is it believed to be safer to go the Find Out More route?


----------



## HydroGuy

MajorasMask said:


> We will have 8 Androids and 1 iphone trying to pull when we go for Spring Break.  Our carrier is Verizon.  Can anyone share where they have good reception, in the park, with Verizon?  We will have EMH when it is available. I have not really paid attention to where my signal is strong before, only frustration when it is horrible!


As alluded to in the PP, the key thing is not signal strength. It is network speed. Use an app to see how fast you are accessing. And usually it is better to be in a location where there are fewer people.


----------



## MajorasMask

Okay, I am going to admit it, I would have been the one relying on signal strength only without the above posts.


----------



## dina444444

Looks to be back up and calling numbers


----------



## e_yerger

Just got in line! Verryyyy backed up in the queue. We’re guessing a 40+ min before the first show room.


----------



## ZCarroll

ironband74 said:


> Boarding has begun!



What number did they start with today?


----------



## jacandjan

ZCarroll said:


> What number did they start with today?


#10


----------



## GoldeneyezCA

On 9:50, off 10:23.  Line moved continuously, no breakdowns, but ride is in an alternative mode today.


----------



## Skyegirl1999

GoldeneyezCA said:


> On 9:50, off 10:23.  Line moved continuously, no breakdowns, but ride is in an alternative mode today.


Can you put details of what wasn’t working on the spoiler thread?


----------



## brightlined

GoldeneyezCA said:


> On 9:50, off 10:23.  Line moved continuously, no breakdowns, but ride is in an alternative mode today.


I've had this random concern over the last few days that the seeming improvements in uptime are substantially because they're working around broken things and running the ride anyway. On one hand, maybe that's not a big deal, but I personally think if two of the bigger (problematic) things aren't running, it diminishes the ride a reasonable amount. (Not that a first-timer would know the difference, but still.)


----------



## dina444444

brightlined said:


> I've had this random concern over the last few days that the seeming improvements in uptime are substantially because they're working around broken things and running the ride anyway. On one hand, maybe that's not a big deal, but I personally think if two of the bigger (problematic) things aren't running, it diminishes the ride a reasonable amount. (Not that a first-timer would know the difference, but still.)


In my opinion there is only thing that if it goes down should the ride go down and them not do the work around and it’s not one of the current things happening. And I have not seen reports of them doing this at Disneyland like they have at DHS.


----------



## GoldeneyezCA

Skyegirl1999 said:


> Can you put details of what wasn’t working on the spoiler thread?


Done!


----------



## jacandjan

Iornband74, I have seen you mention a twitter feed that you are getting current info from, can you please give us a link to that feed ??

Thanks for all the great info you provide.


----------



## ironband74

jacandjan said:


> Iornband74, I have seen you mention a twitter feed that you are getting current info from, can you please give us a link to that feed ??
> 
> Thanks for all the great info you provide.


Hey, sorry I'm not chiming in today... traveling to chilly Chicago.

I don't have any one feed, I just check latest posts of #disneyland and #riseoftheresistance. There is always some superfluous info to filter out, but usually some random person will tweet something useful.


----------



## Tattylou

I have BG 126 today. Says they're at 80 now. Its 2pm....fingers crossed I can get on later!


----------



## ironband74

Backups at 2pm is good! Here's hoping the jawas take the rest of the day off...


----------



## e_yerger

Here is how our morning went! Staying at BWPPI, using an iPhone Xr

6:40 - left hotel
6:44 - got to security
6:49 - in line (about even with first set of ticket booths)
7:06 - gates opened (lines surged forward and now we’re under the monorail)
7:08 - started letting people in
7:12 - in the park

(in this time we went to the bathroom, warmed up inside Mr. Lincoln, and booked our first FP to make sure we were both scanned into the park)

7:45 - went to stand outside under the Mr. Lincoln marquee
8:00 - got BG 26
9:51 - BG called with 2 hour window
10:52 - got in line
11:38 - got off ride


----------



## ironband74

I'm boarding group 4!!!!!...
...
From SFO to ORD...

sigh.


----------



## Tattylou

Seems stuck at 94 for a little bit. Come on!!! Keep moving. 126! 126!


----------



## HydroGuy

ironband74 said:


> I'm boarding group 4!!!!!...
> ...
> From SFO to ORD...
> 
> sigh.


Any Jawa sightings? Have you looked into the cockpit?


----------



## Hettie

Evita_W said:


> If you are going on a morning with early entry and you don't have early entry, get a reservation for Breakfast at Plaza Inn at least 30 minutes prior to park opening, then you will not have to deal with the lines, can have a pretty decent breakfast with a lot of characters, including some rare ones.
> 
> We did this yesterday with a 7:30 AM reservation and got Boarding Group 62 and for characters we had:
> 
> Minnie
> Chip
> Dale
> Eyeore (sp)
> Captain Hook
> Tigger
> Gideon
> Raffiki
> Fairy Godmother (we had a great chat about Boarding Groups)
> Pluto
> I think there were a couple more characters, they just kept coming out. Really a great value, not only can you get into the park early  without lines (only on days with early entry), but good food with great character interaction and lots of characters, so saves even more time in not needing to stand in line to meet the characters
> 
> On a side note, it is interesting to watch the entire park stop at park opening for about 5 minutes.
> 
> Wherever you park, make sure you arrive at least 45 minutes before that parking lot opens if you want to ensure you have enough time to make it through security and into the park before it opens.



Were you inside the restaurant when you joined the BG? Your morning sounds like a good alternative to me, I’m not sure I want my family’s first day ever at DL to start with the lines and stress.


----------



## JoySK

Hettie said:


> Were you inside the restaurant when you joined the BG? Your morning sounds like a good alternative to me, I’m not sure I want my family’s first day ever at DL to start with the lines and stress.


Honestly, when we were there our first park day was a Sunday and we didn’t try to go early for the BG. We did it on all 3 tues, wed, thurs, and then didn’t again for our last day on Saturday. It was nice not to start our trip with the lines and stress! We still rode 3 times, so we were very happy


----------



## matthewthompson87

Anyone know what Sunday morning/RotR security lines from GCH into DTD have been like recently?


----------



## Evita_W

Hettie said:


> Were you inside the restaurant when you joined the BG? Your morning sounds like a good alternative to me, I’m not sure I want my family’s first day ever at DL to start with the lines and stress.


We had five people, four went outside and one stayed inside to spread out between different cell towers, the rest came back in after getting the boarding group without issue.


----------



## Sarahelizabeth

This is a good question. Can someone who is there today ask CMs about this? Do they have a 15 minute grace period like regular FP?

[/QUOTE]

I asked a CM yesterday and she said there was no grace period but she didn’t sound very sure of her answer. 

Today when we went to ride at about 9:15 (I believe) it had just broken down so i asked if we still had to be back within our window (we had an hour left) and the CM told me we didn’t because it broke down but that it had to be relatively close, he said we couldn’t come back and expect to ride in the afternoon for example.  We went and used a fast pass and got some food and came back at 11:30 and were able to ride no problem even though our window was up at 10:15.


----------



## superdeluxe

Quick question,  does the entire party need to be there at rope drop?  Do the entire party tickets need to be scanned in (as if everyone is there?). 

Or can one person scan in,  and if all the other tickets are attached in the group.  They will be in?

We are going in about a week


----------



## ShoeCello

superdeluxe said:


> Quick question,  does the entire party need to be there at rope drop?  Do the entire party tickets need to be scanned in (as if everyone is there?).
> 
> Or can one person scan in,  and if all the other tickets are attached in the group.  They will be in?
> 
> We are going in about a week



Every person that wants to get a BG must be scanned into the park - one person cannot claim BGs for other people who are not scanned into the park, even if your tickets are linked.


----------



## Skyegirl1999

Sarahelizabeth said:


> I asked a CM yesterday and she said there was no grace period but she didn’t sound very sure of her answer.
> 
> Today when we went to ride at about 9:15 (I believe) it had just broken down so i asked if we still had to be back within our window (we had an hour left) and the CM told me we didn’t because it broke down but that it had to be relatively close, he said we couldn’t come back and expect to ride in the afternoon for example.  We went and used a fast pass and got some food and came back at 11:30 and were able to ride no problem even though our window was up at 10:15.


Did the boarding pass barcode still show up in your app at that point?  I’ve been curious about this.


superdeluxe said:


> Quick question,  does the entire party need to be there at rope drop?  Do the entire party tickets need to be scanned in (as if everyone is there?).
> 
> Or can one person scan in,  and if all the other tickets are attached in the group.  They will be in?
> 
> We are going in about a week


Everyone who wants a BG must be scanned into the park, so you all have to be there.


----------



## superdeluxe

ShoeCello said:


> Every person that wants to get a BG must be scanned into the park - one person cannot claim BGs for other people who are not scanned into the park, even if your tickets are linked.





Skyegirl1999 said:


> Did the boarding pass barcode still show up in your app at that point?  I’ve been curious about this.
> 
> Everyone who wants a BG must be scanned into the park, so you all have to be there.



Thanks everyone!  This might be a father/son journey!  The wife and four year old Daughter will likely meet us later!


----------



## superdeluxe

Is there any kind of general thought what day would have a better chance,  Wednesday or Thursday?


----------



## dina444444

superdeluxe said:


> Is there any kind of general thought what day would have a better chance,  Wednesday or Thursday?


Wednesday. Thursday there is emh/mm.


----------



## dina444444

Been stuck on 111 for a bit but the park is open for another 5.5+ hours.


----------



## Sarahelizabeth

Skyegirl1999 said:


> Did the boarding pass barcode still show up in your app at that point?  I’ve been curious about this.
> 
> Everyone who wants a BG must be scanned into the park, so you all have to be there.



Yes, it still was there. When they scanned me it looked like he had to do another step. I’m guessing an over ride button or something. But he didn’t say anything.  He just scanned each of them.


----------



## StarGirl11

superdeluxe said:


> Is there any kind of general thought what day would have a better chance,  Wednesday or Thursday?



Wednesdays tend to be slower overall. So that’s probably your better bet


----------



## Tattylou

dina444444 said:


> Been stuck on 111 for a bit but the park is open for another 5.5+ hours.



Waiting too...
My 11 yr old son is getting tired, but feels too close to leave....


----------



## Malroy

Well we got notification that our group was called at 5:03, came back to the parks (had been resting at the hotel), got dinner and headed over around 6;15 to find it down. CM said it had been down for over an hour. Now trying to decide, do we wait around here or give up on today? Three more park days....


----------



## dina444444

The app just went from 100-111 to 95-111. Wonder if it’s back up. I’ve seen that happen before following downtime.


----------



## Malroy

dina444444 said:


> The app just went from 100-111 to 95-111. Wonder if it’s back up. I’ve seen that happen before following downtime.


It must be back up, 112-113 now and they had set up a line for the people who were on the ride and got exited.


----------



## dina444444

Tattylou said:


> Waiting too...
> My 11 yr old son is getting tired, but feels too close to leave....


112-116 now. I have hope for you to get on tonight.


----------



## kuhltiffany

Can I “give” my boarding time to my nephew? I’ll be there in the morning with my kids but don’t really want to ride. He doesn’t arrive until noon. I’m wondering if he can take my place instead?


----------



## DLgal

kuhltiffany said:


> Can I “give” my boarding time to my nephew? I’ll be there in the morning with my kids but don’t really want to ride. He doesn’t arrive until noon. I’m wondering if he can take my place instead?



Yeah, you will have to give him your phone though to go through the queue. Or have him install the DL app on his own phone and then sign in using your account credentials. You will also have to get a high enough BG number to be able to ride after noon. There is no way to guarantee that.


----------



## Skyegirl1999

kuhltiffany said:


> Can I “give” my boarding time to my nephew? I’ll be there in the morning with my kids but don’t really want to ride. He doesn’t arrive until noon. I’m wondering if he can take my place instead?


You can also screenshot your boarding pass and text it to him.


----------



## dina444444

Tattylou said:


> Waiting too...
> My 11 yr old son is getting tired, but feels too close to leave....


They’ve called 126!


----------



## JWelch62

dina444444 said:


> They’ve called 126!


At 129 now, which is the highest BG called on a Monday. I think we need to get to 130 to tie most groups called. I think we started at 10 today?


----------



## JWelch62

JWelch62 said:


> At 129 now, which is the highest BG called on a Monday. I think we need to get to 130 to tie most groups called. I think we started at 10 today?


122 groups called on 1/27. So, if we started at 10 we would need to get to 131 to tie, 132 to break the record.


----------



## montreid

broken


----------



## Fuzeon

Just wanted to thank all on this forum for their tips and for sharing their experiences in obtaining a BG. It helped us have an awesome SWGE experience and overall wonderful trip to DLR with my boys.

A quick review of our experience:

 -Thursday, 2/13: DL EMH, arrived at turnstiles from GCH a little before 6:30 am. Lines just past planters. Gates opened a little before 7, and we were held at end of MS. Released about 5-10 min later. Be sure to have most current CC information on app. I didn’t, and had a slight panic/delay in purchasing MP right before rope drop, but still managed a 8 am FP for SM. Fast walked to PP, and happy to report we were one of the first ones on. Such a sweet ride! Rode rest of FL, then AB around 7:45 before deciding at last minute to try BG from Red Rose since we wanted breakfast and had read here that it was a good place to try. Sat outside, and when clock on my IPhone X on AT&T turned 8, clicked FOM, to find JBG not lit. Went to MS, and still JBG not lit. Luckily, 10 year old with my old IPhone 6 on WIFI got BG 73. My JBG did finally light up. We were called around 6:30 pm that night and line moved steadily. Awesome ride and boys wanted to try for another BG next day.

-Friday, 2/14: DCA EMH, arrived at 6:30 to find few people. I guess everyone was going over to DL. First in line at our turnstile and when gates opened at 7, boys were through onto CL, since no rope drop. We were first on to RSR, then turned right back around to DL to try for another BG. Unfortunately, when we exited DCA at 7:15, DL were backed up to DCA and curved. We got into a line and made it into DL around 7:45. Sat halfway up train stop ramp and ten year old was on platform. Right at 8, clicked FOM, then MS to find JBG lit. Got BG 29. Old phone on WIFI kept shutting app down. This was the day ROTR didn’t start boarding until after 1 pm, and I really don’t remember when we were called.

-Saturday, 2/15: DL EMH, we were exhausted by now so didn’t make it to the gates until a after 7. It was insane. One regular line stretched past Starbucks in DTD. Lines were so long we had a hard time finding the EMH/MM gates. They actually changed over our gate to regular while we were still in line. Finally made it in a little before 7:45, and decided to try near Plaza Inn. Stood by the little landscaped island with the lone tree across from PI, facing the castle. Same technique as day before, but got BG 25. Used our SM FP, then had to stop off at first aid, so by the time we  showed up, our window was almost an hour in.  Ride was down when we arrived, so left figuring we had an hour to kill. Boys rode Splash SR, which took forever. By the time we returned our BG was a few outside the window, but they still let us on. I still had the barcode active and they were able to scan us in.  I think this time we got the B mode of the ride, but the boys still enjoyed it as it was different than what we had experienced prior.

Last but not least, if you get a chance, you must order the Forest Mushroom pizza at the Craftsman Grill at GCH. It is seriously the BEST pizza you will ever have! I’m still thinking about it five days later!


----------



## dina444444

We are up to 141


----------



## ironband74

150... they gotta stop here, right?


----------



## dina444444

ironband74 said:


> 150... they gotta stop here, right?


They don’t close till midnight so I could see them calling all groups again today.


----------



## ironband74

HydroGuy said:


> Any Jawa sightings? Have you looked into the cockpit?


Sadly, this seemed to be a purely terrestrial flight.


----------



## ironband74

Opening holiday weekend (Fri-Mon) resulted in a total of 382 boarding groups called.

This past holiday weekend (Fri-Mon) resulted in a total of 566 boarding groups called.


----------



## NorthernCalMom

montreid said:


> broken


I hope you mean the record, not the ride...


----------



## ironband74

The Chart...has spoken


----------



## ironband74

Also, let's take a moment and appreciate that in the last 7 days, 6 of them have been the best ever for that day of the week (with Thursday being the black sheep).


----------



## montreid

interesting why they closed early today (or jawas attacked late).  Still, great weekend when it was needed with all the crowds.


----------



## kappyfamily

ironband74 said:


> The Chart...has spoken
> 
> View attachment 474675
> View attachment 474677


Thank you for all the hard work and time you‘ve
put into this, please know it’s appreciated!!


----------



## kappyfamily

Just making sure, purely for the sake of “helping” get into the parks quicker, does a Plaza ADR at 8:10am for a park opening of 8am help anymore since the turnsty,es open so early?


----------



## Tennor

How do cast members know who is in the park for magic morning and who is let in early just for main St?
I can't find a good strategy guide for magic mornings and getting a BG


----------



## ironband74

kappyfamily said:


> Thank you for all the hard work and time you‘ve
> put into this, please know it’s appreciated!!


For now @dina444444 is doing the hard part   I'm just posting screenshots.


----------



## ironband74

montreid said:


> interesting why they closed early today (or jawas attacked late).  Still, great weekend when it was needed with all the crowds.


They didn't really close early.  Regardless of when the park closes, they seem to target having the attraction clear by 10pm for evening maintenance.  This means that they usually stop calling around 8:30 so that the last folks are getting in the queue at 9:30 and done by 10.  Tonight they called until 9, so actually a little longer than usual.  And of course on Saturday operated into extra time due to a late breakdown.


----------



## dina444444

montreid said:


> interesting why they closed early today (or jawas attacked late).  Still, great weekend when it was needed with all the crowds.


It’s possible they only distributed through group 150 this morning.


----------



## Malroy

We walked over after fantasmic and they let us on! We were the only people in our ride vehicle and it was INCREDIBLE!!!! Seriously mind blowing and we were grateful to get in because it means we can sleep in a bit tomorrow  totally worth the wait.


----------



## Vysecity

I'm glad to see the lady who I helped get a BG got to ride it(if she stayed til 6pm). I had talked to her a few seconds before 8am. Then when she asked what BG I got I noticed her clicking away at the greyed out button, asked her quickly if I could help her. Clicked "My status" then join a boarding group and got her BG 112. I taught the other members of her group what to do if button was greyed out. They were so thankful


----------



## theluckyrabbit

montreid said:


> Yeah down.  Have friend in queue....which they cleared and gave FP...


Is this the new protocol? Are we done with the "holding you hostage in line for who knows how long game"? Has anyone had to play that game recently? 



superdeluxe said:


> Quick question,  does the entire party need to be there at rope drop?  Do the entire party tickets need to be scanned in (as if everyone is there?).
> 
> Or can one person scan in,  and if all the other tickets are attached in the group.  They will be in?...


While your questions were answered by other posters, the answers can be found on page one, in the FAQs in post two.


----------



## theluckyrabbit

To Everyone Participating in this Superthread:
Before posting a question, please take a moment to look over the first 3 posts on page one (as the thread title asks). Many answers can be found there (check the FAQs) and the information is updated often, so it is accurate and recent.


----------



## theluckyrabbit

ironband74 said:


> The Chart...has spoken
> 
> View attachment 474675
> View attachment 474677


Updated as of 2/18/20!


----------



## theluckyrabbit

Vysecity said:


> I'm glad to see the lady who I helped get a BG got to ride it(if she stayed til 6pm). I had talked to her a few seconds before 8am. Then when she asked what BG I got I noticed her clicking away at the greyed out button, asked her quickly if I could help her. Clicked "My status" then join a boarding group and got her BG 112. I taught the other members of her group what to do if button was greyed out. They were so thankful


Thank you for spreading some kindness around! We read so much about the chaos and craziness involved in getting a BG -- it's refreshing to read that the knowledge shared in this superthread can be used to make the Disney galaxy a better place! Way to go!


----------



## theluckyrabbit

Sarahelizabeth said:


> This is a good question. Can someone who is there today ask CMs about this? Do they have a 15 minute grace period like regular FP?



I asked a CM yesterday and she said there was no grace period but she didn’t sound very sure of her answer.

Today when we went to ride at about 9:15 (I believe) it had just broken down so i asked if we still had to be back within our window (we had an hour left) and the CM told me we didn’t because it broke down but that it had to be relatively close, he said we couldn’t come back and expect to ride in the afternoon for example.  We went and used a fast pass and got some food and came back at 11:30 and were able to ride no problem even though our window was up at 10:15.
[/QUOTE]
Thank you for reporting back!


----------



## Tennor

It's finally my day.  I'm up before my wife and kids and can't wait to start the day.  

We have a magic morning to use this morning, we plan to walk to the Park and get in around 7:15.  

Then a visit to City Hall for my daughter's DAS, a quick breakfast, and get that boarding group!


----------



## Mark_E

I’m taking two first timers today who have never experienced a Disney theme park. Hoping for a nice early boarding group!


----------



## Aurora0427

Mark_E said:


> I’m taking two first timers today who have never experienced a Disney theme park. Hoping for a nice early boarding group!



can you please report back on crowds? There’s a lot of hotel availability tonight and the wait times yesterday were not bad for a holiday. Thinking about bringing my girls tomorrow and curious about crowd levels today.

hope you get an early BG!!!! MTFBWY!


----------



## JWelch62

Tennor said:


> How do cast members know who is in the park for magic morning and who is let in early just for main St?
> I can't find a good strategy guide for magic mornings and getting a BG


They'll ask to see your room key when you try to go further into the park.


----------



## NorthernCalMom

theluckyrabbit said:


> Is this the new protocol? Are we done with the "holding you hostage in line for who knows how long game"? Has anyone had to play that game recently?



Sounds as if so far the choice whether to scan people out for a return FP or letting them stew in line is left up to whatever senior cast member (supervisor?) is on shift at the time (as opposed to actual policy guidelines). That is so frustrating! Let’s hope that lots of people’s emailing guest services will lead to more consistency in this, in either their willing to evacuate the line more readily, or to give people the choice to stay or leave without forfeiting their chance to ride, and/or to provide some kind of comfort/entertainment to those stuck in line as they seem to routinely do at Disneyworld‘s version of the ride.

Here’s hoping they get this figured out!!! 

Joining you in waiting to hear from more people at the frontlines to see if things are changing...


----------



## Aurora59

We will be there this Thursday but don't have MM/EMH & am wondering what strategy I should use. I understand that most of the entry turnstiles are dedicated early on to the MM/EMH visitors but should we be at the gates by 7am anyway to wait in the regular line? I assume they eventually open up more regular lines but want to be sure we've entered before 8am. Any suggestions?


----------



## Mark_E

Harbour BLVD entrance is insanely busy! Hoping we can get into the park in time


----------



## Susie63

Here we go! TS at 6:35 and through the gate at 7:25. Wow! The crowds are huge. Sitting on a bench in front of the train station, looking at the flag pole. Wish me luck


----------



## SOCALMouseMommy

Aurora59 said:


> We will be there this Thursday but don't have MM/EMH & am wondering what strategy I should use. I understand that most of the entry turnstiles are dedicated early on to the MM/EMH visitors but should we be at the gates by 7am anyway to wait in the regular line? I assume they eventually open up more regular lines but want to be sure we've entered before 8am. Any suggestions?


I went on a Magic Morning (a Tuesday). I tried to be at the gates by 8 (9am regular opening) but we were late and arrived to the esplanade at 8:20. It was hectic but we scanned in at 8:48. Would have liked a few extra minutes so I didn’t have to stress as much. If they haven’t yet opened the gates to regular guests, I would stand in the middle of the esplanade near the Monorail track and wait for them to open the turnstiles, then look for a line that is moving well and hop into it (end of line might be behind you). You can look for the place where the line splits around the trees and feeds into multiple turnstiles.... always a good bet.


----------



## Mark_E

Got in fine but app was glitchy. Aggh! Backup group 116 for us today, praying we get to ride


----------



## ironband74

Playing from Chicago and saw regular groups gone by 8:00:50.

All wings report in!


----------



## hiroMYhero

ironband74 said:


> Playing from Chicago and saw regular groups gone by 8:00:50.
> 
> All wings report in!


Was also playing at home and using ATT iPhone 8 did get in using Find Out More > My Status > Join BG. Did wait a split second after 8:00 to begin the tapping.

Also noted regular BGs lasting for almost a full minute.

ETA: Backups lasted for 12 minutes


----------



## Mark_E

Fyi the screenshot I took of my boarding group 116 was at 8:01! They went super quick


----------



## dina444444

Backups still available


----------



## Tattylou

dina444444 said:


> They’ve called 126!




Woo hoo!!! It was awsome!
Anyone know how high numbers got last night? I'm gonna try again later in week bc my parents and my older son didnt wait bc they were exhausted. So DH, my 9 year old, and I went on it. Amazing!!


----------



## dina444444

Tattylou said:


> Woo hoo!!! It was awsome!
> Anyone know how high numbers got last night? I'm gonna try again later in week bc my parents and my older son didnt wait bc they were exhausted. So DH, my 9 year old, and I went on it. Amazing!!


They called through 150 which we think may have been the last boarding group given out.


----------



## Tattylou

dina444444 said:


> They called through 150 which we think may have been the last boarding group given out.



Oh wow!! Awesome. We arent trying today. Still in security line. Gonna try later in week.


----------



## Syndrome

Seemed to work fine at home this morning , unlike the glitching yesterday . 
Steps that worked well this morning for me . 
1. Had Atomic clock running .
2. 30 seconds before 8 , opened DL app .
3. Shut down Atomic clock at 8:59.59 .
4. Switched to DL app and immediately clicked on find out more tab .
5. Join boarding group button was red , so clicked on it and continued as far as I could go .
Kept backing out and trying from the Join Boarding group button , and through my Status . Both worked well up till about 8:01 , then it went into back-ups .
Feeling better today about it than yesterday .
Note : there is some caching going on in the DL  app , so if something seems wonky , CLOSE the app and restart it quickly . ( think that was my problem yesterday) .


----------



## dina444444

Tattylou said:


> Oh wow!! Awesome. We arent trying today. Still in security line. Gonna try later in week.


If they still have backups when you get through I would say to just get one in case. They are still giving out backups.


----------



## dina444444

And nvm on that. Backups are gone now. Backups start at 79.


----------



## dina444444

My guess is first group of the day will either be 7 or 8 based on them typically giving out 70 or 71 guaranteed groups.


----------



## montreid

Interesting how they are shortening the start groups in the AM recently.  Perhaps they are trying out reset and restart times?  That would be a welcomed development as they continue to improve the capacity throughput this past week.

Let's just hope no 2 steps backwards like WDW experienced past two weeks.


----------



## Susie63

Group 20!!!!!! Thanks for all your help everyone


----------



## imjen

Played along from home today. On my Samsung phone, I had to click "Find Out More" and then the "My Status" button to get the Join Boarding Group button to light up. I went back and forth from the home screen several times and this was the only way I could have scored a Boarding Group. Strangely, right about 8:01, presumably when it went to back up boarding groups, the Join Boarding Group button on the "Find Out More" screen went red and I could then join (likely for a back up group) from that screen. I tried it several times from the home screen to "Find Out More" and the Join Boarding Group button was red on that page for me after 8:01. It grayed out around 8:13.


----------



## dina444444

And we are loading. First group of the day is 8. Current spread is 8-13.


----------



## disneyholic family

dina444444 said:


> And we are loading. First group of the day is 8. Current spread is 8-13.



8-25


----------



## Tennor

BOARDING GROUP 8!!


----------



## DLgal

Skyegirl1999 said:


> You can also screenshot your boarding pass and text it to him.



I tried to do that when getting a return time and the CM made me show it to her from my app.


----------



## LeiaOfAlderaan

Our second and last time trying for a BG this morning, DH scored BG11 on iPhone 6s on Disney WiFi! He was by the partners statue. I was in another part of the hub on AT&T and kept getting an error message and figured we were out of luck, so I was shocked when I got the message I was already in a group. We were called about 8:25 and walked right on the ride. Two things that weren’t working the first time we rode (but didn’t know at the time) were working so that made it even better.


----------



## NorthernCalMom

ShoeCello said:


> Just a quick note about this - note that you can place a mobile order even without being scanned into the parks, whereas you cannot get a FP via MP unless you have scanned into the park. So placing a mock mobile order would only test if you are logged into your account, and not that the system has correctly registered you as having scanned into the park (which apparently has been glitching for some folks, causing them to be unable to get a BG or delaying them if they didn't force close the app after park entry). If you have MP you would still need to try and get a FP via MP to test that.


Took me a while to find this post... I guess that shows my obsession with this fast moving thread, that I suddenly find myself thinking about a days old post, wondering about strategies. Find below another possible idea for checking if your whole party is scanned in (feedback of the collective Disboards think tank here about this having the potential to work is greatly appreciated) for people whose travel budget doesn’t include Maxpass.

We’re a family of four, and I don’t mind running for FPs during the day, which is why I’m wondering if the benefit of getting one bonus pre-opening FP and the opportunity to pick up canceled FPs in the late afternoon/evening is worth an extra $80 per day for us. Yet, alas, there is the lovely reassurance that all of us are properly scanned in, while waiting for the boarding groups to become available, which we’d forego if we decide to not buy it. What to do?

As you mention above, it wouldn’t help to place a test mobile order, since you can do this even when not scanned in (though that would at least show me if I’m signed into my account in the app—I noticed that the app sometimes signs me out, seemingly without any good reason).

So, here is my question/idea:

Could I go through the process of purchasing Maxpass without giving the final ok for the credit card payment to go through (or without having my credit card or other payment method linked at the time) to find out if any of the linked tickets belong to people not recognized by the system as “scanned into the park”?

I guess this working or not would depend on in which order the system checks (A) if all the people selected for purchase are in the park and thus eligible to buy Maxpass and (B) if there is a valid method of payment associated with the account to complete the purchase. If the system checks (A) first and then (B), this should work; if it checks (B) and doesn’t even bother checking (A) before there’s payment, then it obviously wouldn’t.

Say, oh wise fellow ROTR obsessed ones, do you think this could be a possible alternative to spending the money on Maxpass? Anybody in the parks willing to play around with this and report back? I’d be happy to try it myself, but I won’t be there until August (and of course none of us know what exact procedures they’ll be using by then—I hope that BG will still be a thing at the time, but who knows...).


----------



## StarlitNight05

Fuzeon said:


> *Last but not least, if you get a chance, you must order the Forest Mushroom pizza at the Craftsman Grill at GCH. It is seriously the BEST pizza you will ever have! I’m still thinking about it five days later!*



I know this isn't RotR related but I wanted to echo my agreement with this statement. WE LOVE THIS PIZZA. We even made our own version at home... going to get it again when we go in April and examine the ingredients again. I think ours is pretty close though.


----------



## Ciyra

We're heading into the parks next week. How long is it taking everyone to get through security??? We're going next Tues-Thurs and we have magic mornings on Tuesday plus a pre-opening breakfast reservation on Wednesday. I'm wondering how much time I should allot for getting through security since clearly it's not business as usual at the moment. We will be entering at Harbor.


----------



## ironband74

So far on pace for a good day, into the backups already.


----------



## montreid

Jawa time nearing though....let's go mando


----------



## LizzyS

e_yerger said:


> After doing this for three days, this is my biggest tip:
> Have someone in your group download the AtomicClock - NTP Time app on their phone. Have that open at the same time as the person getting the BG. Already have the DL app open and on the “my status”/“join boarding group” page. RIGHT AT 8:00:00 click on “my status” and then “join boarding group”. This has gotten us BG 14, 16 & 26.
> 
> i have an iPhone.



Thanks for the advice!  The last couple of times I've played along at home (Android phone), I've had to tap My Status as the Join Boarding Group button didn't light up red at all until they were distributing backup groups.


----------



## LizzyS

imjen said:


> Played along from home today. On my Samsung phone, I had to click "Find Out More" and then the "My Status" button to get the Join Boarding Group button to light up. I went back and forth from the home screen several times and this was the only way I could have scored a Boarding Group. Strangely, right about 8:01, presumably when it went to back up boarding groups, the Join Boarding Group button on the "Find Out More" screen went red and I could then join (likely for a back up group) from that screen. I tried it several times from the home screen to "Find Out More" and the Join Boarding Group button was red on that page for me after 8:01. It grayed out around 8:13.



YES

I played along at home Saturday and Sunday and had this same experience as well.  I'm going to sit on the "Find out More" screen and hit "My Status" at 8:00, I think.


----------



## manicmonkey

Random thoughts... do you think the people playing at home are adding to the stress on the distribution system? I know they can't actually get them, but I would think it would have some impact.  Also, why do they not always start at BG 1? This annoys the statistician in me


----------



## LizzyS

I have zero knowledge about how this ride works, but could it be they run test cycles some mornings and those are the first groups that are not distributed?


----------



## montreid

That is the working theory -  and the amount of groups is lowering from 10 to 9 to 8 to run those tests as is the time to open.   before it was 10 groups and about an hour.  Lately ~30minutes and less groups overall.


----------



## HydroGuy

Ciyra said:


> We're heading into the parks next week. How long is it taking everyone to get through security??? We're going next Tues-Thurs and we have magic mornings on Tuesday plus a pre-opening breakfast reservation on Wednesday. I'm wondering how much time I should allot for getting through security since clearly it's not business as usual at the moment. We will be entering at Harbor.


It depends on bag vs. no bag line of course. From what I have gathered (I have not done this myself for ROTR - just reading here) I would plan to hit security at least 30 minutes early for MM or your early breakfast days. If you do NOT have MM, I would make that at least 60 minutes early (before official park opening)  - if you want to be inside for ROTR BGs.


----------



## hiroMYhero

manicmonkey said:


> Random thoughts... do you think the people playing at home are adding to the stress on the distribution system? I know they can't actually get them, but I would think it would have some impact.  Also, why do they not always start at BG 1? This annoys the statistician in me


I had always wondered the same about ‘playing’ and asked @ironband74 and this was his response:
BG Booking Explained


----------



## brightlined

manicmonkey said:


> Random thoughts... do you think the people playing at home are adding to the stress on the distribution system? I know they can't actually get them, but I would think it would have some impact.


I really doubt it. You've got several thousand trying in the park versus maybe a few hundred trying at home. (I strongly doubt that a lot of people are "playing-at-home" on a regular basis - mostly just high-interest folks like people here.)

The most taxing part on the server(s) is what happens after you select tickets and submit, which the at-home people can't do. The big struggle in the park is the strain of all of those simultaneous transactions on the mobile network(s) and/or wifi, which would not be impacted by at-home folks.

I strongly believe that the vast overwhelming number of problems are caused within the app itself, such as the caching of the Find Out More page that stops people from being able to book a BG. That wouldn't be affected by at-home folks, either.


----------



## jouster

So if tomorrow is an 8am opening with no early hour, what time do the gates actually open? With the early hour everyone can get in before 8 and be ready with the app, how does it work without early morning?


----------



## Aurora0427

brightlined said:


> I strongly believe that the vast overwhelming number of problems are caused within the app itself, such as the caching of the Find Out More page that stops people from being able to book a BG. That wouldn't be affected by at-home folks, either.



I agree. The app is so glitchy. I’m not a tech person at all, but I think sometimes it’s your phone too. When I had my old iPhone 6s, I couldn’t even get it to work and it was so slow and the app would shut itself off. The only we even got a BG is because my dad has one of the new super fast iPhones. I just bought a new iPhone 11 so it’ll be interesting to see how much better the app works overall when we go to the parks tomorrow!


----------



## IsleofDisney

jouster said:


> So if tomorrow is an 8am opening with no early hour, what time do the gates actually open? With the early hour everyone can get in before 8 and be ready with the app, how does it work without early morning?


They've been scanning guests in at least 30 minutes before published opening time and sometimes earlier depending on how crowded the esplanade becomes.


----------



## JWelch62

ironband74 said:


> So far on pace for a good day, into the backups already.


Really seems like they are managing the BG call rate to keep it along a preferred slope. Almost looks like a control feedback loop (says the circuit designer AKA nerd).


----------



## MonocularVision

brightlined said:


> The most taxing part on the server(s) is what happens after you select tickets and submit, which the at-home people can't do. The big struggle in the park is the strain of all of those simultaneous transactions on the mobile network(s) and/or wifi, which would not be impacted by at-home folks.



I can confirm this. In examining the network activity of the app, I can see that when you tap on the button the join a boarding group from outside the park, the server responds with the list of folks in your party but in that response it states who is in and not in the park.When you continue from the party selection screen, there is no additional network call made, the client just displays the error that people aren’t in the park yet.

Here is the end of the response. I crossed out the 6 guest IDs (my family) because I have no idea how secret those should remain.


----------



## Mark_E

Been called and in queue now!


----------



## JWelch62

At this rate, if Mando can keep the Jawas away, we'd hit 150 in about 2 hrs (7 PM). 160 by 8. Park is open to 11 tonight. I wonder how many BGs were distributed.


----------



## brightlined

MonocularVision said:


> "postedSummonReturnWindowMinutes": 60


Is it possible the answer was under our noses the entire time? 

Is it possible that regular groups get 2 hours and backup groups get 1 hour? 

(At the very least, this code implies the length of the return time is decided at park open when the BGs are distributed, rather than later in the day.)


----------



## jouster

So what time does security open to get in to the main lines on a morning with no early hour like tomorrow?


----------



## Mark_E

That was super swift! 
There was nobody even waiting in the inside queue before boarding. Straight on.


----------



## JWelch62

Mark_E said:


> That was super swift!
> There was nobody even waiting in the inside queue before boarding. Straight on.


Which lends credence to the theory that the late BGs are called faster than the early BGs because folks have already left for the day. This, IMO, is one of the biggest flaws with the virtual queue.  Not everyone has the flexibility, or patience, to wait all day.


----------



## JWelch62

JWelch62 said:


> At this rate, if Mando can keep the Jawas away, we'd hit 150 in about 2 hrs (7 PM). 160 by 8. Park is open to 11 tonight. I wonder how many BGs were distributed.


Looks like the Jawas may have made a late appearance. I can't believe that they'd be closing down for the night at this point.


----------



## midnight star

JWelch62 said:


> Which lends credence to the theory that the late BGs are called faster than the early BGs because folks have already left for the day. This, IMO, is one of the biggest flaws with the virtual queue.  Not everyone has the flexibility, or patience, to wait all day.


That reminds me. I saw an Instagram blogger (forgot the name), mention "30 or below, or we don't go" lol. So that is probably true for many people. Unless of course you want a later group, which I heard of as well.


----------



## redandrea

Thank you all SO MUCH!!! I was thrilled to get BG 10 for my fam this morning. iPhone 8 on Disney wifi, faster than hubby on at&t or son (wannabe gamer) on wifi. We were in line to ride Dumbo... Then I helped the lady behind us get bg 122, hope she and her young kids make/made it on. The ride was amazing!


----------



## Going2DisneyAZ

jouster said:


> So what time does security open to get in to the main lines on a morning with no early hour like tomorrow?


Read a bit of the thread


----------



## ironband74

MonocularVision said:


> I can confirm this. In examining the network activity of the app, I can see that when you tap on the button the join a boarding group from outside the park, the server responds with the list of folks in your party but in that response it states who is in and not in the park.When you continue from the party selection screen, there is no additional network call made, the client just displays the error that people aren’t in the park yet.
> 
> Here is the end of the response. I crossed out the 6 guest IDs (my family) because I have no idea how secret those should remain.
> 
> View attachment 474850


Also of note is that the message does not seem to include any indication of the account the user is signed in to...so this seems to confirm that the system is agnostic to which account you are on and relies on the ticket numbers (guestIds) for the message.


----------



## ironband74

JWelch62 said:


> Looks like the Jawas may have made a late appearance. I can't believe that they'd be closing down for the night at this point.


Unless 140 was the highest issued group today, which doesn't seem like it would be the case.  Anyone in the park that can confirm the attraction is down?

Edit:  Twitter shows it is indeed down..


----------



## JWelch62

ironband74 said:


> Unless 140 was the highest issued group today, which doesn't seem like it would be the case.  Anyone in the park that can confirm the attraction is down?
> 
> Edit:  Twitter shows it is indeed down..


Not a bad performance up to that point. 10 hrs without interruption.


----------



## ironband74

JWelch62 said:


> Not a bad performance up to that point. 10 hrs without interruption.


Yeah, it looks like there might have been a 20 minute downtime a little after 10am, but other than that seems like it chugged along pretty well today until the 6pm Jawa raid.


----------



## Varty Yo

145 now


----------



## ironband74

Looks like we're back up.  I expect they'll call until 9 due to the downtime, assuming it stays operational.  It's already eclipsed last Tuesday (previously best Tuesday on record), but has a chance to go all time high...


----------



## Varty Yo

148


----------



## JWelch62

ironband74 said:


> Yeah, it looks like there might have been a 20 minute downtime a little after 10am, but other than that seems like it chugged along pretty well today until the 6pm Jawa raid.


That could easily be flushing the queue if there was a large backup. Even so, 20 minutes barely qualifies.


----------



## montreid

152.  Let's see if they pass 156


----------



## dina444444

montreid said:


> 152.  Let's see if they pass 156


154 now


----------



## dina444444

With group 154, we’ve hit a new high of total groups in a day with 147 total groups called. Let’s see where we end tonight.


----------



## ironband74

155.  This breaks yesterday's record since they started at 8 today and 10 yesterday...


----------



## Varty Yo

156!!!


----------



## ironband74

150 groups called now...curious if this is it at 8:30 or if we keep going...


----------



## Lewdannie

socaldisneylover said:


> But I'm beginning to realize that the BG's is more a result of the fact the ride is so unbelievably unreliable, that a day doesn't go by that there isn't at least one significant breakdown.  This is the problem.  That reliability may not improve over time.  It hasn't improved to any great degree in almost 2 months at WDW, or 1 week at DL.  I see no way they can stop BG's unless that occurs.
> Rocket Rods.


care to walk any of this back yet?


----------



## dina444444

ironband74 said:


> 150 groups called now...curious if this is it at 8:30 or if we keep going...


151 total now


----------



## Ginaoz

At 8:01 I was 103. able to board 3:00-5:00. Fantastic


----------



## ironband74

So it looks like we are done at group 158, which gives us 151 called...which is 10 more than yesterday's 141 called and 5 more than Sunday's 146 called.  These likely account for all BGs issued, though it is hard to know that.  10 is a nice increment.  I expect tomorrow they will release 5 or 10 more than this as they continue to ratchet up.

It does beg the question (which we'll never learn the answer to) of what they changed last Thursday that has given us this amazing run of 5 days, all of which have exceeded the performance of the attraction's first 28 days in operation. This does not appear to be a statistical anomaly - something definitely changed. Yes there have been down times, but despite those they have been able to maintain good throughput while the attraction is up.

Hopefully they can take whatever it is they've learned here and apply it to the other coast...We'll know they've really gotten things under control when both versions are showing consistent throughput.


----------



## wingednike

No spoilers, but hasn't it been mentioned that the ride seems to be in B mode?  Perhaps that is what is allowing the better performance.


----------



## dina444444

wingednike said:


> No spoilers, but hasn't it been mentioned that the ride seems to be in B mode?  Perhaps that is what is allowing the better performance.


B mode doesn’t affect ride performance. The ride is set up with the b mode so it can continue to take riders at the normal rate.


----------



## LilyJC

So I only have the experience of going on the ride Saturday of opening weekend (BG 92 called at 5:25pm) and then this past Friday (BG 19 called at 8:53am). Friday was definitely a different experience in that it felt as though they had packed more people into the ride which made me wonder if they increased the number of people in each boarding group. Our first time it was eerily empty.


----------



## dina444444

LilyJC said:


> So I only have the experience of going on the ride Saturday of opening weekend (BG 92 called at 5:25pm) and then this past Friday (BG 19 called at 8:53am). Friday was definitely a different experience in that it felt as though they had packed more people into the ride which made me wonder if they increased the number of people in each boarding group. Our first time it was eerily empty.


I’m wondering if you road right after downtime the first time through. They are also definitely taking in more riders per an hour now than opening weekend.


----------



## Theok029

wingednike said:


> No spoilers, but hasn't it been mentioned that the ride seems to be in B mode?  Perhaps that is what is allowing the better performance.





dina444444 said:


> B mode doesn’t affect ride performance. The ride is set up with the b mode so it can continue to take riders at the normal rate.



Just wanted to add that elements of the ride can operate in B mode, but unless every element is like that, it is mischaracterizing the ride to say it operates in B mode. Some things may not work (first time rider wouldn’t even know) or other things will be replaced with a different effect. They designed this ride with so many elements with a contingency for nearly every one, every rider will have a 90% minimum enjoyment. (Unless Disneyland has been walking riders thru a pre show like they do at wdw, but I haven’t heard.) To me, Disneyland has a higher standard in that so long as all major elements of the ride are working, they let people on. If not, the people wait until a minimum operational standard is achieved..


----------



## dina444444

The chart:


----------



## Mark_E

No B mode for us this afternoon. Everything seemed to be working perfectly


----------



## LilyJC

dina444444 said:


> I’m wondering if you road right after downtime the first time through. They are also definitely taking in more riders per an hour now than opening weekend.



It’s possible, but the interesting thing is that our actual queue time was much longer the first time as opposed to the second time. Our second time we had a decent amount of wait time between checking in with our pass and then actually having it scanned, but the rest of the line moved steadily after that point. Everything else felt crammed the second time without going into spoilers....


----------



## Lewdannie

tried to link to the excellent article on theme park tourist.com on why BGs are the best solution from a bad bunch of alternatives
Will try again on a desktop later


----------



## theluckyrabbit

Susie63 said:


> Group 20!!!!!! Thanks for all your help everyone


Congratulations! All your research here paid off! Did your family enjoy the ride?



Tennor said:


> BOARDING GROUP 8!!


Great! How did your family like it? Did you use DAS for your daughter or the regular line?



DLgal said:


> I tried to do that [i.e. show a screen shot] when getting a return time and the CM made me show it to her from my app.


Good to know! Thanks for posting this.



NorthernCalMom said:


> ... As you mention above, it wouldn’t help to place a test mobile order, since you can do this even when not scanned in (though that would at least show me if I’m signed into my account in the app—I noticed that the app sometimes signs me out, seemingly without any good reason)...


The app also signs us out (most often DH), and it is super annoying! Usually happens most often right before the app updates.



Ciyra said:


> We're heading into the parks next week. How long is it taking everyone to get through security??? We're going next Tues-Thurs and we have magic mornings on Tuesday plus a pre-opening breakfast reservation on Wednesday. I'm wondering how much time I should allot for getting through security since clearly it's not business as usual at the moment. We will be entering at Harbor.





jouster said:


> So what time does security open to get in to the main lines on a morning with no early hour like tomorrow?


If you've been reading the daily posts from people as they arrive at the gates in the morning, the earlier they arrive, the faster they clear security. Arriving between 6:30-7 am for an 8 am opening gets people through security in about 5-10 minutes. Arriving even 15-20 minutes later increases that time exponentially.
According to the DLR website (https://disneyparksmomspanel.disney...ntown-disney-security-checkpoint-open-419225/), Security opens about 30 minutes before the earliest park opening -- but posters here have noted that the stations are open earlier than that now.



JWelch62 said:


> ... This, IMO, is one of the biggest flaws with the virtual queue.  Not everyone has the flexibility, or patience, to wait all day.


Or the physical health to wait all day. Which is one reason the virtual queue is such a challenge for DAS users. Things will get better -- we'll just have to wait.



ironband74 said:


> ... It does beg the question (which we'll never learn the answer to) of what they changed last Thursday that has given us this amazing run of 5 days, all of which have exceeded the performance of the attraction's first 28 days in operation...


Maybe they finally fired R3X and put R2 back in position?? (You just know R3X has been dying to get in there and "help" whenever Oga's not looking...)


----------



## theluckyrabbit

dina444444 said:


> The chart:
> 
> View attachment 474895
> View attachment 474894


Thank you for doing this. Is there someone in line to take over for you?


----------



## dina444444

theluckyrabbit said:


> Thank you for doing this. Is there someone in line to take over for you?


Yes


----------



## ironband74

dina444444 said:


> Yes


----------



## theluckyrabbit

ironband74 said:


>


I thought I felt a surge in the Force...


----------



## Tennor

theluckyrabbit said:


> Great! How did your family like it? Did you use DAS for your daughter or the regular line


We did not use DAS. We wanted to experience the entire queue.  My 9yo daughter was scared and cried during parts of the attraction.


----------



## theluckyrabbit

Tennor said:


> We did not use DAS. We wanted to experience the entire queue.  My 9yo daughter was scared and cried during parts of the attraction.


Did her fear surprise you or did you expect it (especially when/where it happened)? (Hope that makes sense -- I'm trying to ask without giving any spoilers or asking you to give any either!) I know someone  else posted earlier that her SN son was fearful and anxious about the intensity of the action and about the weapons, so they watched YouTube ride through videos to prepare before riding.


----------



## midnight star

Tennor said:


> We did not use DAS. We wanted to experience the entire queue.  My 9yo daughter was scared and cried during parts of the attraction.





theluckyrabbit said:


> Did her fear surprise you or did you expect it (especially when/where it happened)? (Hope that makes sense -- I'm trying to ask without giving any spoilers or asking you to give any either!) I know someone  else posted earlier that her SN son was fearful and anxious about the intensity of the action and about the weapons, so they watched YouTube ride through videos to prepare before riding.


There are for sure some parts that can scare kids. When we rode a little boy was crying when we were getting off...


----------



## theluckyrabbit

midnight star said:


> There are for sure some parts that can scare kids. When we rode a little boy was crying when we were getting off...


It's so hard to prepare parents without any spoilers! For parents who don't mind spoilers, you can go to the ride spoiler thread to find out/ask about the scary parts: Rise of the Resistance experience *Ride Spoilers* (Photos on Pg. 5). We have a friend (young adult) who is very sensitive to scary things -- she couldn't even make it through the queue for IJA -- so I'm not sure she'll be able to do this ride, even though she's been asking.


----------



## jacandjan

No bag security line less than a minute. Esplanad at 6:50


----------



## midnight star

theluckyrabbit said:


> It's so hard to prepare parents without any spoilers! For parents who don't mind spoilers, you can go to the ride spoiler thread to find out/ask about the scary parts: Rise of the Resistance experience *Ride Spoilers* (Photos on Pg. 5). We have a friend (young adult) who is very sensitive to scary things -- she couldn't even make it through the queue for IJA -- so I'm not sure she'll be able to do this ride, even though she's been asking.


Have her watch youtube. That's what my friend and I did. My friend gets nervous on the "kid" rides, so there was no way she was going to do a Star Wars ride without seeing it first lol.


----------



## jacandjan

Through the gate by 7:17


----------



## montreid

So they opened early again even on a Wednesday.  Personally I think that's smart on several levels.  crowd control in the esplanade, experience from the beginning, and once in main Street waiting for 45minutes, people will buy stuff!


----------



## BigOHawk

Regular BG's lasted maybe 75 seconds, playing from home could've got in multiple times. I do think on my Galaxy S8, waiting until about 1 to 2 seconds after park open before clicking "Find Out More" is better, otherwise it seems to lock/cache the app and then I have to go to My Status then > Join BG.


----------



## dina444444

Backups now gone. Last regular group is 77. Going to guess first group is going to be either 7 or 8.


----------



## hiroMYhero

Backup BGs available until 8:20a.


----------



## jacandjan

BG 13


----------



## njchris

I got group 9 today.  Got up late and parked in Pixar lot. Asked for electric car charging so I got first row. . Security at downtown Disney was semi long. I wish they would always have a no bag line. Unfortunately not today. Got to lines at 7:40 so I was a little nervous. Got in at 7:56. Walked up Main Street and stopped about halfway to castle.  Yadda yadda yadda group 9.


----------



## Susie63

Ciyra said:


> We're heading into the parks next week. How long is it taking everyone to get through security??? We're going next Tues-Thurs and we have magic mornings on Tuesday plus a pre-opening breakfast reservation on Wednesday. I'm wondering how much time I should allot for getting through security since clearly it's not business as usual at the moment. We will be entering at Harbor.





theluckyrabbit said:


> Congratulations! All your research here paid off! Did your family enjoy the ride?
> 
> 
> Great! How did your family like it? Did you use DAS for your daughter or the regular line?
> 
> 
> Good to know! Thanks for posting this.
> 
> 
> The app also signs us out (most often DH), and it is super annoying! Usually happens most often right before the app updates.
> 
> 
> 
> If you've been reading the daily posts from people as they arrive at the gates in the morning, the earlier they arrive, the faster they clear security. Arriving between 6:30-7 am for an 8 am opening gets people through security in about 5-10 minutes. Arriving even 15-20 minutes later increases that time exponentially.
> According to the DLR website (https://disneyparksmomspanel.disney...ntown-disney-security-checkpoint-open-419225/), Security opens about 30 minutes before the earliest park opening -- but posters here have noted that the stations are open earlier than that now.
> 
> 
> Or the physical health to wait all day. Which is one reason the virtual queue is such a challenge for DAS users. Things will get better -- we'll just have to wait.
> 
> 
> Maybe they finally fired R3X and put R2 back in position?? (You just know R3X has been dying to get in there and "help" whenever Oga's not looking...)


It was amazing!!!!  We got a DAS and rode as soon as we arrived in SWGE. I was done by 7 last night. We will not attempt to ride again this trip even though we have 4 more days. I helped a lot of people throughout the day yesterday, who didn't get a bg. I hope they all get to ride today. 
Just for data. I was on a cheapo Moto g 7 with T-Mobile. BG 20. Daughter on iPhone 6 and dh on iPhone xr. Cheapo phones RULE!!!!!


----------



## jacandjan

Boarding 7 to 9 at 9:03


----------



## JWelch62

jacandjan said:


> Boarding 7 to 9 at 9:03



The previous Wednesday high for BGs called is 111. To beat that they must call BG 118. I hope Mando keeps an eye on all the Jawas.


----------



## gometros

midnight star said:


> Have her watch youtube. That's what my friend and I did. My friend gets nervous on the "kid" rides, so there was no way she was going to do a Star Wars ride without seeing it first lol.



Wanting to avoid spoilers, but need to know if my wife can ride. Since this is a trackless system, how does it rate on the "doesn't handle motion rides well" scale? That is the most she'll ever do is Splash Mountain and no roller coasters.


----------



## JWelch62

gometros said:


> Wanting to avoid spoilers, but need to know if my wife can ride. Since this is a trackless system, how does it rate on the "doesn't handle motion rides well" scale? That is the most she'll ever do is Splash Mountain and no roller coasters.


Splash is much worse (in terms of drops). The ride vehicle is not rough at all, IMO. I would think your wife will be fine.


----------



## smercerdiemont

gometros said:


> Wanting to avoid spoilers, but need to know if my wife can ride. Since this is a trackless system, how does it rate on the "doesn't handle motion rides well" scale? That is the most she'll ever do is Splash Mountain and no roller coasters.



I liked it much more than Star Tours and handled the motion 100% better. That one makes me really sick. Same with Space Mountain.


----------



## gometros

JWelch62 said:


> Splash is much worse (in terms of drops). The ride vehicle is not rough at all, IMO. I would think your wife will be fine.



Thank you!


----------



## JWelch62

smercerdiemont said:


> I liked it much more than Star Tours and handled the motion 100% better. That one makes me really sick. Same with Space Mountain.


Have you done the latest Star Tours? It feels much less "jerky" to me with the new scenes.


----------



## smercerdiemont

JWelch62 said:


> Have you done the latest Star Tours? It feels much less "jerky" to me with the new scenes.





JWelch62 said:


> Have you done the latest Star Tours? It feels much less "jerky" to me with the new scenes.



Yes  At the end of January. It's more of a motion sickness thing with the scenes.


----------



## ZCarroll

gometros said:


> Wanting to avoid spoilers, but need to know if my wife can ride. Since this is a trackless system, how does it rate on the "doesn't handle motion rides well" scale? That is the most she'll ever do is Splash Mountain and no roller coasters.



On the spoiler thread I mentioned after riding this myself (and after others had reassured me of pretty much the same thing when I was worried about it before riding) I can't imagine anyone having any problems at all with motion sickness on this ride... my husband can't ride Luigi's or Star Tours for example and he had no issues at all with this ride.  Elevators, car rides, and even swing dancing make me feel queasy, once I got violently ill staring at a jewelry display in a window (turned out the case was hanging on chains from the ceiling and the whole thing was just ever so slightly swaying, heh) and I had no issues either... the very few parts that might be the slightest bit concerning are so minimal and short I don't think there's any reason not to experience it at least once, the worry over it is worse than the actual experience of it, if that makes sense.


----------



## Chenalex

What's the crowd like at the Starbucks in downtown Disney at 8am? I feel like the wifi there would be superior to the data signal inside the park. I have T-Mobile so they're pretty bad everywhere.


----------



## ImDMous

Chenalex said:


> What's the crowd like at the Starbucks in downtown Disney at 8am? I feel like the wifi there would be superior to the data signal inside the park. I have T-Mobile so they're pretty bad everywhere.



Pretty packed.
I left my group in line and went to pick up our mobile order and it took about 20 minutes at about 7:15, they were running really behind and the place was pretty crazy.
I also have T-Mobile and was able to get a BG on a Saturday morning which was pretty crowded but not as crowded as the past holiday weekend.


----------



## sunflare

Chenalex said:


> What's the crowd like at the Starbucks in downtown Disney at 8am? I feel like the wifi there would be superior to the data signal inside the park. I have T-Mobile so they're pretty bad everywhere.



I have t-mobile, and didn't have any issues in the parks over Christmas. I think it really does have to do with your phone (newer vs older). I think a lot of the posts in this thread also say that t-mobile is one of the most consistently successful connections, as well.


----------



## Epicnemesis

Chenalex said:


> What's the crowd like at the Starbucks in downtown Disney at 8am? I feel like the wifi there would be superior to the data signal inside the park. I have T-Mobile so they're pretty bad everywhere.


Can’t speak to the Starbucks WiFi, but it looked pretty quiet population wise. I ended up setting up shop by the fountain outside of the bowling alley, there were 3 other people trying for a BG around me. ATT was lightening there. 150mbps and <30 ping so I didn’t even bother with WiFi.


----------



## Chenalex

Got it. Thanks for all your replies!


----------



## Varty Yo

Train station platform worked like a charm using data i didnt wanna chance the WIFI. Im also from canada so used roaming data which is AT&T they use for the US. 
Ive stopped trying to play from home really no point i did for 1st few weeks after going and getting BG 30. Cant wait to go back to DL in a year or so.


----------



## astephen2

The number of guaranteed boarding groups has been going down the last couple days. Earlier this week, boarding groups above 81 were not guaranteed. Today, it’s 78. 

Any ideas why? The ride seems to be improving this week.


----------



## Skyegirl1999

astephen2 said:


> The number of guaranteed boarding groups has been going down the last couple days. Earlier this week, boarding groups above 81 were not guaranteed. Today, it’s 78.
> 
> Any ideas why? The ride seems to be improving this week.


They start with a different number each day, so the number you’re looking at is deceiving.  For instance, if 81 is the last “guaranteed” group, they likely started with group 10 or something, so there were only actually 71 groups.  

If you check “the chart,” you can see how many actual groups were in the “guaranteed” category each day.


----------



## cm123

What's the maximum size when it comes to how many people can be in your group for a BG?


----------



## JWelch62

cm123 said:


> What's the maximum size when it comes to how many people can be in your group for a BG?


EDIT: I misread this, I thought it said "minimum". I am not aware of any maximum. I suppose there is a practical limit in the app, I just don't know that anyone here has posted anything about that.


----------



## hiroMYhero

cm123 said:


> What's the maximum size when it comes to how many people can be in your group for a BG?


Are you asking about an extremely large group like a band or sports team?

Family reunion groups consisting of 16 or more linked Profiles haven’t had any problems booking BGs at WDW. The BG system slots the total group into an open BG.

DL uses the same BG system.


----------



## DLgal

Chenalex said:


> What's the crowd like at the Starbucks in downtown Disney at 8am? I feel like the wifi there would be superior to the data signal inside the park. I have T-Mobile so they're pretty bad everywhere.



The wifi signal there isn't the fastest. That is where I got my boarding pass, but I used mobile data after speed testing both options. The wifi has a lag.


----------



## madmadhatter

I had a harrowing (but ultimately thrilling) experience attempting to ride Rise my first time last Wednesday, Feb. 12. I ended up being fortunate enough to ride it twice in one day. I was going to DL as a party of four: two couples arriving separately. We made it to the parking garage by 7 a.m. and were inside the park by about 7:30 a.m. I had studied this thread and prepared for this moment. The tickets were linked. The data speeds were tested. Practice rounds were, ummm, practiced. However, I didn't account for the other couple arriving late. (I warned them not to come after 7 a.m. and definitely not after 7:30 a.m.)

I panicked and tried to remove them from our group, so it wouldn't delay us when the clock struck 8 a.m. If they weren't present, we'd forgo them and book a boarding group for just the two of us. I couldn't figure out how to remove them from the DL app. I started freaking out. I went to City Hall and learned that linked tickets must be manually removed by a CM. I swear I thought you could do this on the app? With my friends still nowhere in sight, we booked it out of the park. The plan was to head to Starbucks in Downtown Disney for optimal speeds and no anxiety-inducing crowds, but it was already 7:58 a.m. by the time we reached La Brea Bakery. We stopped in front and got boarding group 26. Woohoo!

Of course, a few minutes later, our friends  showed up. By that point, the lines at the gates were extremely short, so we all breezed right into the park. We linked our tickets back together, but our friends were not part of our boarding group, so they tapped on their app and received boarding group 80. I think it was about 8:05 a.m. We went to City Hall to attempt to be grouped together, but we were told that the formal policy is groups will only be reassigned to the LATER boarding group. I said: Sorry, suckers. I know this thang breaks down all the time, so I ain't gonna give up my precious boarding group 26.

Our group was called with a window of around 11 a.m. to 12:45 p.m. We had an 11:30 a.m. reservation for Oga's (which I thought was underwhelming, TBH). We decided to get space drunk before going on the ride. (A Fuzzy Tauntaun does help with the immersion.) By the time we got back to Rise, it'd broken down. Thankfully, it was back up about 15 minutes later, and we successfully convinced the CMs to allow our friends to join us. It probably helped that one of them was celebrating a birthday. We experienced the full attraction — no B modes for us!

How did I ride it twice? Well, my unpunctual friends left the park before us, while we stayed and played all day and night. I had forgotten about their boarding group until I noticed they were up past boarding group 100, and it wasn't close to park closing. We booked it back to Batu and used their boarding group passes that were still linked on our DL app. Apparently, it didn't matter the window for 80 was over. The CMs scanning the boarding groups don't see your mugshots, so it also didn't matter  we were pretending to be our friends. Ultimately, it was all worth it — and I think the Force Ghosts rewarded our punctuality and commitment with the opportunity to experience both the day and evening versions of the attraction.


----------



## ironband74

Looks like a rough day for the resistance.  Anyone seen Mando?


----------



## montreid

Jawas really did get into the machinery this afternoon and evening


----------



## dina444444

What was the last group called? 103?


----------



## ironband74

dina444444 said:


> What was the last group called? 103?


It looks that way - it seems the Jawas took it down completely this time around.


----------



## ironband74

Though at one point I did see the BGs go from 102-103 back to 94-103, so hopefully that means the folks in the queue got to ride before they decided to call it.

Rough day - now we get to see if the last 5 days were a fluke or if today is the new outlier.  Tomorrow will be very telling.


----------



## EyeOnDisnsey

I don’t think I’ve seen this question asked as I’ve been following the thread pretty regularly (less over the past few days so sorry if I’m repeating) 

When you have some folks “play from home” to double your chances when you’re in the park and those guys get the BG does the Disneyland App update so that every person logged in to the account can see the BG that has been obtained or does the BG only show on the person’s phone screen who actually got the BG?

I dunno if my question is clear haha...


----------



## ZCarroll

madmadhatter said:


> I panicked and tried to remove them from our group, so it wouldn't delay us when the clock struck 8 a.m. If there weren't present, we'd forgo them and book a boarding group for just the two of us. I couldn't figure out how to remove them from the DL app. I started freaking out. I went to City Hall and learned that linked tickets must be manually removed by a CM. I swear I thought you could do this on the app?



Apparently it really depends, in my case even the CMs there were unable to manually remove and I have to call in to do so, which I still haven't bothered with.  I'm so sorry you panicked about this, just in case anyone else is stressing about this I really want to reassure everyone it really doesn't seem to be that big of an issue!  When I went I had to deselect my group and then select myself and husband and I got confused by our extra After Dark tickets which also show up, the first time I also stopped bothering because I saw my husband got in before me already but then a few seconds later I realized he still hadn't hit the next button to get the final confirmation so while I was in a panic trying to get him to finish I went back through mine and got us BG 47 (first group was 12).  The next day I had both him and my daughter back at home trying and they both had app issues so I was still the one to get the BG even with having to deselect and then select... this time I didn't have the After Dark tickets to confuse me, but I still somehow managed to finger twitch and immediately unselect after selecting my ticket, 2 times in a row and I still ended up with BG 32 (first group was 10) and I am not fast to begin with and it seemed super packed that day (valentine's) and I was in the middle of a big crowd and both times I heard lots of cheering well before I got my group.  So really I would not stress about this, as long as your app works having to adjust your group isn't going to make that big of a difference from my experience.


----------



## ironband74

EyeOnDisnsey said:


> I don’t think I’ve seen this question asked as I’ve been following the thread pretty regularly (less over the past few days so sorry if I’m repeating)
> 
> When you have some folks “play from home” to double your chances when you’re in the park and those guys get the BG does the Disneyland App update so that every person logged in to the account can see the BG that has been obtained or does the BG only show on the person’s phone screen who actually got the BG?
> 
> I dunno if my question is clear haha...



It works the same as though you were hanging with multiple people in the park all trying at the same time - the first person will get the message of the boarding group assignment, everyone else will get an error of "You are already in a boarding group."  

But then when you go to "My Status", you'll be able to see your boarding group, no matter who actually made the grab.


----------



## ZCarroll

EyeOnDisnsey said:


> I don’t think I’ve seen this question asked as I’ve been following the thread pretty regularly (less over the past few days so sorry if I’m repeating)
> 
> When you have some folks “play from home” to double your chances when you’re in the park and those guys get the BG does the Disneyland App update so that every person logged in to the account can see the BG that has been obtained or does the BG only show on the person’s phone screen who actually got the BG?
> 
> I dunno if my question is clear haha...



When my daughter was trying from home, logged into her own account, she was able to see we already had a BG when I got one, also, my husband saw our BG on his account in the park.  I guess I can't say for certain if she had managed to get the BG if we would have seen it immediately but since she saw it come up almost immediately at home when I got it in the park I'm assuming it should be the same the other way around...?


----------



## Aurora0427

So we went today. We didn’t mess with any of the ROTR shenanigans. However, we went to dinner before driving home, and I started talking to this family. I asked if they had ridden ROTR, because they were all wearing Star Wars clothing. They said no, because they didn’t arrive until 8am and the boarding groups were gone. So I explained to them that tomorrow they really want to be at security by 7, I explained how I was able to score a BG on a prior day using a second phone with a clock with seconds, and went through the exact steps. They looked at me like I was nuts. They were completely clueless, and that’s what I think is my biggest issue with this ride- it’s a difficult system for people who don’t obsessively research to figure out. Hopefully they pay attention to what i said, and have better luck tomorrow!

EDITED TO ADD: Not my intention to start a debate about the BG system or to criticize people who don’t research. Just hoping the info i used here and implemented successfully can help these people!


----------



## StarGirl11

Kind of on-topic enough it should probably be mentioned. Disneyland's confirmed the ride won't be available during Star War Nite in August. No clue if anyone else was considering it for that reason alone but yeah no ROTR due to nightly maintenance. 

I might still get a ticket for it since that lines up with when I usually travel to CA anyway. And I'm almost never in town for this stuff.


----------



## dina444444

StarGirl11 said:


> Kind of on-topic enough it should probably be mentioned. Disneyland's confirmed the ride won't be available during Star War Nite in August. No clue if anyone else was considering it for that reason alone but yeah no ROTR due to nightly maintenance.
> 
> I might still get a ticket for it since that lines up with when I usually travel to CA anyway. And I'm almost never in town for this stuff.


If you want to go better buy your ticket now. I don’t expect them to last more than 24 hours.


----------



## SirBill

dina444444 said:


> If you want to go better buy your ticket now. I don’t expect them to last more than 24 hours.



Well they seem to have lasted at least ten minutes which is pretty good for a hot Star Wars event these days!  Will be interesting to see if they last even until the morning.


----------



## dina444444

The chart:


----------



## theluckyrabbit

midnight star said:


> Have her watch youtube. That's what my friend and I did. My friend gets nervous on the "kid" rides, so there was no way she was going to do a Star Wars ride without seeing it first lol.


This sounds like the best option. Given the choice between spoilers now or freaking out in line or on the ride, I think she'll go with the spoilers!



Susie63 said:


> It was amazing!!!!  We got a DAS and rode as soon as we arrived in SWGE. I was done by 7 last night. We will not attempt to ride again this trip even though we have 4 more days. I helped a lot of people throughout the day yesterday, who didn't get a bg. I hope they all get to ride today.
> Just for data. I was on a cheapo Moto g 7 with T-Mobile. BG 20. Daughter on iPhone 6 and dh on iPhone xr. Cheapo phones RULE!!!!!


Your experience is encouraging and should give hope to everyone following who might be worried about not having a fancy, expensive phone. 



gometros said:


> Wanting to avoid spoilers, but need to know if my wife can ride. Since this is a trackless system, how does it rate on the "doesn't handle motion rides well" scale? That is the most she'll ever do is Splash Mountain and no roller coasters.


Has she ridden MFSR? Friends tell me that the Falcon is a much rougher ride than ROTR, especially if one has the pilot or gunner position. Hoping that your wife will be fine! Please report back if she notices anything that might help others here.



Chenalex said:


> What's the crowd like at the Starbucks in downtown Disney at 8am? I feel like the wifi there would be superior to the data signal inside the park. I have T-Mobile so they're pretty bad everywhere.


We've had many people post getting BGs with T-Mobile -- you should be fine!



sunflare said:


> I have t-mobile, and didn't have any issues in the parks over Christmas. I think it really does have to do with your phone (newer vs older)...


We've had posters with old phones be very successful in getting BGs. I think our oldest reported phone so far was an iPhone 5.



cm123 said:


> What's the maximum size when it comes to how many people can be in your group for a BG?


Someone had 12 in their BG -- is your group larger than that?


----------



## theluckyrabbit

Aurora0427 said:


> So we went today. We didn’t mess with any of the ROTR shenanigans. However, we went to dinner before driving home, and I started talking to this family. I asked if they had ridden ROTR, because they were all wearing Star Wars clothing. They said no, because they didn’t arrive until 8am and the boarding groups were gone. So I explained to them that tomorrow they really want to be at security by 7, I explained how I was able to score a BG on a prior day using a second phone with a clock with seconds, and went through the exact steps. They looked at me like I was nuts. They were completely clueless, and that’s what I think is my biggest issue with this ride- it’s a difficult system for people who don’t obsessively research to figure out. Hopefully they pay attention to what i said, and have better luck tomorrow!


It's not just ROTR cluelessness -- it's Disneyland obliviousness in general. It is absolutely unbelievable how ignorant people are about the basics of going to DL, forget SWGE and ROTR. For all the money that it costs to spend one day in one park now, plus parking, plus food, plus souvenirs, etc., you would think people would do just a little research (not crazy, detailed "getting a degree in DLR" research like we do here!) before forking over their credit card. We have friends who go to DL every Christmas Eve -- and until last year, they never thought to arrive before 2 or 3 pm and never, ever made a reservation anywhere -- they would just stand in line at the booths for hours, maybe get turned away (that happened at least twice), stand in line forever for food, never eat at BB ("How do you get in there??"), and maybe ride 3 or 4 rides, tops ("What's FP??"). Every year. Aaaaargh! SO, I made them promise that last year they would use the app to get tickets ahead of time and make a reservation at BB and arrive for RD -- just ONCE -- and they thought I was crazy. Laughed in my face. But their daughter convinced them to try it, and they reported back that it was the best trip they've ever had. And, wow, how did I know how to do all that????? Sigh... so it isn't surprising that the whole BG process is such a mystery to so many people.


----------



## ironband74

theluckyrabbit said:


> It's not just ROTR cluelessness -- it's Disneyland obliviousness in general. It is absolutely unbelievable how ignorant people are about the basics of going to DL, forget SWGE and ROTR. For all the money that it costs to spend one day in one park now, plus parking, plus food, plus souvenirs, etc., you would think people would do just a little research (not crazy, detailed "getting a degree in DLR" research like we do here!) before forking over their credit card. We have friends who go to DL every Christmas Eve -- and until last year, they never thought to arrive before 2 or 3 pm and never, ever made a reservation anywhere -- they would just stand in line at the booths for hours, maybe get turned away (that happened at least twice), stand in line forever for food, never eat at BB ("How do you get in there??"), and maybe ride 3 or 4 rides, tops ("What's FP??"). Every year. Aaaaargh! SO, I made them promise that last year they would use the app to get tickets ahead of time and make a reservation at BB and arrive for RD -- just ONCE -- and they thought I was crazy. Laughed in my face. But their daughter convinced them to try it, and they reported back that it was the best trip they've ever had. And, wow, how did I know how to do all that????? Sigh... so it isn't surprising that the whole BG process is such a mystery to so many people.


I was once one of those people.  Then that fateful December 27 when Disney sucked for the first time slapped me in the face.  I became a researcher (See that look on dad's face?  He's thinking about his Disney strategy...) and never looked back.

My family has no idea what's in store if we do make it in April, but they know that I know what I'm doing and will follow my lead.  I can't wait to see how they take it when three days before the trip I gather them around the table for a practice run at a BG.


----------



## bethwc101

Aurora0427 said:


> So we went today. We didn’t mess with any of the ROTR shenanigans. However, we went to dinner before driving home, and I started talking to this family. I asked if they had ridden ROTR, because they were all wearing Star Wars clothing. They said no, because they didn’t arrive until 8am and the boarding groups were gone. So I explained to them that tomorrow they really want to be at security by 7, I explained how I was able to score a BG on a prior day using a second phone with a clock with seconds, and went through the exact steps. They looked at me like I was nuts. They were completely clueless, and that’s what I think is my biggest issue with this ride- it’s a difficult system for people who don’t obsessively research to figure out. Hopefully they pay attention to what i said, and have better luck tomorrow!





theluckyrabbit said:


> It's not just ROTR cluelessness -- it's Disneyland obliviousness in general. It is absolutely unbelievable how ignorant people are about the basics of going to DL, forget SWGE and ROTR. For all the money that it costs to spend one day in one park now, plus parking, plus food, plus souvenirs, etc., you would think people would do just a little research (not crazy, detailed "getting a degree in DLR" research like we do here!) before forking over their credit card. We have friends who go to DL every Christmas Eve -- and until last year, they never thought to arrive before 2 or 3 pm and never, ever made a reservation anywhere -- they would just stand in line at the booths for hours, maybe get turned away (that happened at least twice), stand in line forever for food, never eat at BB ("How do you get in there??"), and maybe ride 3 or 4 rides, tops ("What's FP??"). Every year. Aaaaargh! SO, I made them promise that last year they would use the app to get tickets ahead of time and make a reservation at BB and arrive for RD -- just ONCE -- and they thought I was crazy. Laughed in my face. But their daughter convinced them to try it, and they reported back that it was the best trip they've ever had. And, wow, how did I know how to do all that????? Sigh... so it isn't surprising that the whole BG process is such a mystery to so many people.


But I think it's 100% on the people for not doing their research. If you are that interested in something, wouldn't you look into it a little bit and see if there's anything you should learn. I agree that it also extends out to Disneyland. We have done trips with people who didn't do FPs because they didn't want to pay for it, after adamantly explaining it was free (pre maxpass time). And didn't book reservations because they would just get one that day. (for Blue Bayou!) So at the end of day 1 they were confused how my family had done so much and eaten at blue bayou while they hardly accomplished anything.

But even more, it expands to outside Disney. Our family was travelling to Europe and had one day in Paris. What did I do for our trip? RESEARCH. One thing I really wanted to do was tour the notre dame. And in my reading I found there can be times (especially summer when we were going) that the line can be hours long to go up. But I researched, and found tours that include a skip the line pass for the notre dame. Since it was high on my prioroity list and time was a factor, DH and I booked spots on the tour. And I told my family about what I found and that DH and I were doing the tour. They said I was being ridiculous and it couldn't be that long. Well the day came, and the line was easily 2-3 hrs long. Family's jaw dropped. They asked our guide if there were any open spots left. Nope fully booked. Family left and DH and I went up and around the notre dame. Family didn't because they didn't want to wait in line.

DH and i did the same thing for the colosseum, and while we were up on the notre dame, my family got online and booked spots for them for the colosseum because they didn't want it to happen again.

It has nothing to do with Disney and ROTR being unfair to those who don't plan. It's just those in life who tend to be planners tend to have an advantage over those who are just going to show up and "wing it"
And that's something that's fine to do, but if you are adamant about seeing or doing something, you better do some research.


----------



## AmyJamer

Here this morning and am nervous  line past monorails this morning as of now


----------



## Aurora0427

theluckyrabbit said:


> It's not just ROTR cluelessness -- it's Disneyland obliviousness in general. It is absolutely unbelievable how ignorant people are about the basics of going to DL, forget SWGE and ROTR. For all the money that it costs to spend one day in one park now, plus parking, plus food, plus souvenirs, etc., you would think people would do just a little research (not crazy, detailed "getting a degree in DLR" research like we do here!) before forking over their credit card. We have friends who go to DL every Christmas Eve -- and until last year, they never thought to arrive before 2 or 3 pm and never, ever made a reservation anywhere -- they would just stand in line at the booths for hours, maybe get turned away (that happened at least twice), stand in line forever for food, never eat at BB ("How do you get in there??"), and maybe ride 3 or 4 rides, tops ("What's FP??"). Every year. Aaaaargh! SO, I made them promise that last year they would use the app to get tickets ahead of time and make a reservation at BB and arrive for RD -- just ONCE -- and they thought I was crazy. Laughed in my face. But their daughter convinced them to try it, and they reported back that it was the best trip they've ever had. And, wow, how did I know how to do all that????? Sigh... so it isn't surprising that the whole BG process is such a mystery to so many people.



Yeah I get this, and I’m the first one here to face palm emoji and comment sarcastically about some of the stories I read on here about people who show up completely clueless. 

 Hopefully they take what I said seriously and have better luck today.


----------



## Aurora0427

AmyJamer said:


> Here this morning and am nervous  line past monorails this morning as of now



GEEZ. It’s not even 6:30. They’ll have to start letting people in by 7:15 or the lines are going to be back to the 5.


----------



## AmyJamer

Aurora0427 said:


> GEEZ. It’s not even 6:30. They’ll have to start letting people in by 7:15 or the lines are going to be back to the 5.


 Seriously  halfway to California adventure


----------



## Laur0406

bethwc101 said:


> But I think it's 100% on the people for not doing their research. If you are that interested in something, wouldn't you look into it a little bit and see if there's anything you should learn. I agree that it also extends out to Disneyland. We have done trips with people who didn't do FPs because they didn't want to pay for it, after adamantly explaining it was free (pre maxpass time). And didn't book reservations because they would just get one that day. (for Blue Bayou!) So at the end of day 1 they were confused how my family had done so much and eaten at blue bayou while they hardly accomplished anything.
> 
> But even more, it expands to outside Disney. Our family was travelling to Europe and had one day in Paris. What did I do for our trip? RESEARCH. One thing I really wanted to do was tour the notre dame. And in my reading I found there can be times (especially summer when we were going) that the line can be hours long to go up. But I researched, and found tours that include a skip the line pass for the notre dame. Since it was high on my prioroity list and time was a factor, DH and I booked spots on the tour. And I told my family about what I found and that DH and I were doing the tour. They said I was being ridiculous and it couldn't be that long. Well the day came, and the line was easily 2-3 hrs long. Family's jaw dropped. They asked our guide if there were any open spots left. Nope fully booked. Family left and DH and I went up and around the notre dame. Family didn't because they didn't want to wait in line.
> 
> DH and i did the same thing for the colosseum, and while we were up on the notre dame, my family got online and booked spots for them for the colosseum because they didn't want it to happen again.
> 
> It has nothing to do with Disney and ROTR being unfair to those who don't plan. It's just those in life who tend to be planners tend to have an advantage over those who are just going to show up and "wing it"
> And that's something that's fine to do, but if you are adamant about seeing or doing something, you better do some research.


Some people just don't think about, they think it's a ride like all other amusement park rides.

Even my husband, in anticipation for our trip in a couple of weeks was like "we are going on ROTR", and I was like "well...". He goes "no, you don't understand, we're going" and I was like "no, *you* don't understand" and explained it and he was like "oh, I had no idea".


----------



## Aurora0427

bethwc101 said:


> But I think it's 100% on the people for not doing their research. If you are that interested in something, wouldn't you look into it a little bit and see if there's anything you should learn. I agree that it also extends out to Disneyland. We have done trips with people who didn't do FPs because they didn't want to pay for it, after adamantly explaining it was free (pre maxpass time). And didn't book reservations because they would just get one that day. (for Blue Bayou!) So at the end of day 1 they were confused how my family had done so much and eaten at blue bayou while they hardly accomplished anything.
> 
> But even more, it expands to outside Disney. Our family was travelling to Europe and had one day in Paris. What did I do for our trip? RESEARCH. One thing I really wanted to do was tour the notre dame. And in my reading I found there can be times (especially summer when we were going) that the line can be hours long to go up. But I researched, and found tours that include a skip the line pass for the notre dame. Since it was high on my prioroity list and time was a factor, DH and I booked spots on the tour. And I told my family about what I found and that DH and I were doing the tour. They said I was being ridiculous and it couldn't be that long. Well the day came, and the line was easily 2-3 hrs long. Family's jaw dropped. They asked our guide if there were any open spots left. Nope fully booked. Family left and DH and I went up and around the notre dame. Family didn't because they didn't want to wait in line.
> 
> DH and i did the same thing for the colosseum, and while we were up on the notre dame, my family got online and booked spots for them for the colosseum because they didn't want it to happen again.
> 
> It has nothing to do with Disney and ROTR being unfair to those who don't plan. It's just those in life who tend to be planners tend to have an advantage over those who are just going to show up and "wing it"
> And that's something that's fine to do, but if you are adamant about seeing or doing something, you better do some research.



I never used the words unfair. That wasn’t really my point. I think what everyone has to go through to hopefully get a BG is ridiculous. But I was really posting to give an example of how the information on this thread that I passed on will hopefully help these people. I don’t want to derail the thread by getting into conversations about the goofballs who don’t research and fair vs. unfair.


----------



## Aurora0427

AmyJamer said:


> Seriously  halfway to California adventure



Ok, you have to let me know what time it gets to DCA. It got to that point by 7:15 when we were there in January and it was the craziest thing.... I’d never seen it that crowded that early.
MTFBWY today! You’ve got this. You’re there early and you’re prepared with the DIS plan.


----------



## Mark_E

Going solo today and just hoping my app will not glitch out like it did Tuesday.


----------



## HydroGuy

Aurora0427 said:


> Yeah I get this, and I’m the first one here to face palm emoji and comment sarcastically about some of the stories I read on here about people who show up completely clueless, *but honestly getting a boarding group takes it all to the next level. I mean, in reality you shouldn’t need a five point post from the DIS Boards to give you your best chances of getting a boarding group to ride a ride.*
> 
> Although thinking you’d show up at 8am breeze right through security and score a boarding group by 8:01 is a total . Hopefully they take what I said seriously and have better luck today.


I do not really agree that it is as hard as you are making it out to be.

Earlier in this thread I posted an experience with a friend who was at DLR last weekend to ride ROTR with his DS13 and DW and knew nothing about BGs or really DLR. He was successful. Basically this was the minimalist advice I gave and he followed:

Show up at 6:45 at security for an 8AM opening (I emphasized this)
Before you arrive, have the latest DLR app downloaded on your phone and as many people in your family as you can manage - with everyone on your account
Have your park tickets linked in the app beforehand
Read/scan a strategy blog ahead of time so you know what the screen will look like for BGs beforehand (this is optional - I sent him one from DisneyTouristBlog)
Have everyone start trying for a BG at 8AM sharp
He got BG28 that day.


----------



## Aurora0427

HydroGuy said:


> I do not really agree that it is as hard as you are making it out to be.
> 
> Earlier in this thread I posted an experience with a friend who was at DLR last weekend to ride ROTR with his DS13 and DW and knew nothing about BGs or really DLR. He was successful. Basically this was the minimalist advice I gave and he followed:
> 
> Show up at 6:45 at security for an 8AM opening (I emphasized this)
> Before you arrive, have the latest DLR app downloaded on your phone and as many people in your family as you can manage - with everyone on your account
> Have your park tickets linked in the app beforehand
> Read/scan a strategy blog ahead of time so you know what the screen will look like for BGs beforehand (this is optional - I sent him one from DisneyTouristBlog)
> Have everyone start trying for a BG at 8AM sharp
> He got BG28 that day.



I’ve already successfully gotten a boarding group thanks to the tips on these boards. It was easy once it was done, and actually using the app
Once the clock hits 7:59:59 is relatively simple, but very stressful getting two small children and two grandparents to the parks early enough to get in line. I won’t rehash my experience again, everyone here has already read it. Needless to say, I’m glad it’s done and we don’t feel the need to ride again anytime soon!

I think trying to convince people who already don’t research of your point #4 is the sticking point.  But yes, in theory it’s a simple process

Anyway, this is derailing the thread a bit. Which is why I updated my initial response and deleted the part that you put in bold.


----------



## midnight star

theluckyrabbit said:


> It's not just ROTR cluelessness -- it's Disneyland obliviousness in general. It is absolutely unbelievable how ignorant people are about the basics of going to DL, forget SWGE and ROTR. For all the money that it costs to spend one day in one park now, plus parking, plus food, plus souvenirs, etc., you would think people would do just a little research (not crazy, detailed "getting a degree in DLR" research like we do here!) before forking over their credit card. We have friends who go to DL every Christmas Eve -- and until last year, they never thought to arrive before 2 or 3 pm and never, ever made a reservation anywhere -- they would just stand in line at the booths for hours, maybe get turned away (that happened at least twice), stand in line forever for food, never eat at BB ("How do you get in there??"), and maybe ride 3 or 4 rides, tops ("What's FP??"). Every year. Aaaaargh! SO, I made them promise that last year they would use the app to get tickets ahead of time and make a reservation at BB and arrive for RD -- just ONCE -- and they thought I was crazy. Laughed in my face. But their daughter convinced them to try it, and they reported back that it was the best trip they've ever had. And, wow, how did I know how to do all that????? Sigh... so it isn't surprising that the whole BG process is such a mystery to so many people.


Very true. I’m on a few ap groups on Facebook and you won’t believe how many long time passholders have no idea how to use the fastpass system, mobile ordering,.etc. even though as a passholder I can go frequently and take my time, I pay way too much for a pass to not know tips and tricks on how to navigate the parks.


----------



## Mark_E

I’m gonna try and get to the splash mountain kiosks this morning to get a paper boarding pass. If I don’t get to the very front will also try the app!


----------



## ironband74

May the Force be with you.


----------



## Aurora59

BG 39!! Thanks everyone!


----------



## ironband74

Regular groups gone at 8:01:00


----------



## gerilyne

Playing from home (well work technically) and it looks like backups were gone within a minute.  I am starting to think I feel prepared to do this in a couple of weeks.


----------



## ironband74

Backups gone by 8:02


----------



## ironband74

81 is the first backup today.  Good luck everyone!


----------



## gerilyne

ironband74 said:


> Backups gone by 8:02


Wow that was fast today.


----------



## Mark_E

I got group 19 from the kiosks at splash. Was the 4th pass in the machine.
But wow, you gotta take a jolly little jog to get there early enough


----------



## dina444444

First group of the day is likely going to be 10 or 11


----------



## gillep

BG 36!!!


----------



## JadeDarkstar

8days away so 9days and we will be tying for ROTR we have 4 days to try and hope we will get to ride twice once our first try sat 29th and again Monday or Tuesday if we can.  I just can not wait to get there.


----------



## AmyJamer

Group 15! At and T on IPhone 11 Pro Main Street train tracks


----------



## ironband74

gerilyne said:


> Wow that was fast today.


I suspect that after yesterday's performance they may have identified an issue that will keep things from firing on all cylinders today and issued fewer backups as a result.   We'll see how it goes, but we aren't loading yet...


----------



## Aurora0427

AmyJamer said:


> Group 15! At and T on IPhone 11 Pro Main Street train tracks



That’s awesome!!! What time did they open the gates and start letting people in?


----------



## ironband74

I stand corrected...BG 10 now called!


----------



## AmyJamer

Aurora0427 said:


> That’s awesome!!! What time did they open the gates and start letting people in?


 we had magic morning and got in about 6:55


----------



## sherilaine

WOW this is a super long thread and I apologize for not digging through it to find my answer but I am hoping it's a quick question.

My question is - you have to go through the Disneyland gates with your ticket before you are able to join a boarding group once they are released at official park opening time for the day?  You cannot be in DCA and do this?

Thanks!


----------



## Aurora59

Aurora0427 said:


> That’s awesome!!! What time did they open the gates and start letting people in?


For us regulars it was 7:15am!


----------



## pharmama

sherilaine said:


> WOW this is a super long thread and I apologize for not digging through it to find my answer but I am hoping it's a quick question.
> 
> My question is - you have to go through the Disneyland gates with your ticket before you are able to join a boarding group once they are released at official park opening time for the day?  You cannot be in DCA and do this?
> 
> Thanks!



Yes, you must have scanned into Disneyland Park to get a BG.  You can physically be in DCA or DTD or wherever as long as you have scanned into Disneyland prior to that.


----------



## sherilaine

pharmama said:


> Yes, you must have scanned into Disneyland Park to get a BG.  You can physically be in DCA or DTD or wherever as long as you have scanned into Disneyland prior to that.



Thank you.  So given how fast they book, if you scan into DL, turn around and leave immediately and say head over to DCA, once the clock hits 9 say, if that is the official time Disneyland Park opens that day, you can join a BG?


----------



## Mark_E

I saw they had begun calling groups when I was stood in the hub, and by the time I got over to the ride they were up to group 20. Very straight forward!


----------



## JWelch62

sherilaine said:


> Thank you.  So given how fast they book, if you scan into DL, turn around and leave immediately and say head over to DCA, once the clock hits 9 say, if that is the official time Disneyland Park opens that day, you can join a BG?


Yes, once you scan into DL you could leave and get a BG from anywhere. Including DCA.


----------



## SensitiveDragon

In line, ride is currently down! (Boo)


----------



## ironband74

sherilaine said:


> WOW this is a super long thread and I apologize for not digging through it to find my answer but I am hoping it's a quick question.
> 
> My question is - you have to go through the Disneyland gates with your ticket before you are able to join a boarding group once they are released at official park opening time for the day?  You cannot be in DCA and do this?
> 
> Thanks!


No need to dig, see the first three posts for the information you seek.


----------



## Skyegirl1999

ironband74 said:


> No need to dig, see the first three posts for the information you seek.


It’s too bad the title of the thread doesn’t have an all-caps request to read the first three posts...

Oh, wait...


----------



## sherilaine

Skyegirl1999 said:


> It’s too bad the title of the thread doesn’t have an all-caps request to read the first three posts...
> 
> Oh, wait...




I did read the first three posts but it didn't specifically say if you scan your ticket only into DCA you are out of luck so that is why I wanted to make double sure.  Sorry to have bother anyone with my question.


----------



## Skyegirl1999

sherilaine said:


> I did read the first three posts but it didn't specifically say if you scan your ticket only into DCA you are out of luck so that is why I wanted to make double sure.  Sorry to have bother anyone with my question.


It’s not a big deal, but it does say it in the first post after the OP.  People answered you - I would have answered you, too, if you haven’t already gotten responses!  We’re pretty much all just here to be helpful.  But I was having a little fun with @ironband74  since this comes up a lot.


----------



## Tattylou

SensitiveDragon said:


> In line, ride is currently down! (Boo)


 We are BG 32. Is it still down? It's been on 29 for a while.


----------



## AmyJamer

Tattylou said:


> We are BG 32. Is it still down? It's been on 29 for a while.



Yes. Waiting in the line for an hour now


----------



## madmadhatter

ZCarroll said:


> I'm so sorry you panicked about this, just in case anyone else is stressing about this I really want to reassure everyone it really doesn't seem to be that big of an issue!  When I went I had to deselect my group and then select myself and husband and I got confused by our extra After Dark tickets which also show up, the first time I also stopped bothering because I saw my husband got in before me already but then a few seconds later I realized he still hadn't hit the next button to get the final confirmation so while I was in a panic trying to get him to finish I went back through mine and got us BG 47 (first group was 12).



That's good to know. I hadn't prepared for that scenario, and I'd seen a few YouTube videos where it seemed like deselecting folks held them up, so I panicked and booked it to City Hall. (We needed to pick up a birthday button for my friend, anyway.) However, I did get BG 26 and you got BG 47, so I think it's slightly better to not have to deal with deselecting party members.  Honestly, it's ridiculous that functionality isn't in the app.


----------



## KAT4DISNEY

Just seeing if I'm understanding correctly as there have been numerous posts about removing tickets and AP's from your account prior to attempting to get in the virtual line but that is really not positively necessary and is just what some people have done or recommended in order to speed up their ability to select the guests that are in the park?  The app will select everyone you're linked to that has tickets even if they have not entered the park and you then have to deselect and select the ones who are in?


----------



## JWelch62

KAT4DISNEY said:


> Just seeing if I'm understanding correctly as there have been numerous posts about removing tickets and AP's from your account prior to attempting to get in the virtual line but that is really not positively necessary and is just what some people have done or recommended in order to speed up their ability to select the guests that are in the park?  The app will select everyone you're linked to that has tickets even if they have not entered the park and you then have to deselect and select the ones who are in?


Yes, the app will automatically select every linked ticket. If they are not in the park you will have to deselect them before you confirm. If you don't deselect them you will get a message that not all members are in the park. This will delay you and may cause you to not get a BG. Best practice is to remove any linked tickets for people who will will not be with you. But you can do it as mentioned.


----------



## sunflare

KAT4DISNEY said:


> Just seeing if I'm understanding correctly as there have been numerous posts about removing tickets and AP's from your account prior to attempting to get in the virtual line but that is really not positively necessary and is just what some people have done or recommended in order to speed up their ability to select the guests that are in the park?  The app will select everyone you're linked to that has tickets even if they have not entered the park and you then have to deselect and select the ones who are in?



Yes, the app automatically "selects all" people who are on the account. If they're not there, they will still be selected. I just realized that this is different from the WDW version, where the only person who is selected by default is the account holder, so if you're used to WDW, that's probably why there's a confusion.


----------



## gometros

ZCarroll said:


> On the spoiler thread I mentioned after riding this myself (and after others had reassured me of pretty much the same thing when I was worried about it before riding) I can't imagine anyone having any problems at all with motion sickness on this ride... my husband can't ride Luigi's or Star Tours for example and he had no issues at all with this ride.  Elevators, car rides, and even swing dancing make me feel queasy, once I got violently ill staring at a jewelry display in a window (turned out the case was hanging on chains from the ceiling and the whole thing was just ever so slightly swaying, heh) and I had no issues either... the very few parts that might be the slightest bit concerning are so minimal and short I don't think there's any reason not to experience it at least once, the worry over it is worse than the actual experience of it, if that makes sense.



Thank you for the nicely detailed and spoiler free description. That helps immensely. I'm copying your description to send to my wife, since she never takes me at my word.


----------



## JWelch62

ironband74 said:


> I suspect that after yesterday's performance they may have identified an issue that will keep things from firing on all cylinders today and issued fewer backups as a result.   We'll see how it goes, but we aren't loading yet...


Looking over at DHS it seems that they are running at 10 or above BG/hr (when it's running) the past few days. Perhaps they have chased out whatever gremlin or Jawa that had camped out there for a few days.


----------



## StarGirl11

So question I don’t think I’ve seen addressed here. Is the no bag line usually open on Harbor in the morning? Trying to decide whether or not to take my rollator with me tomorrow morning. And if it’s been open then I might leave it at the hotel


----------



## Aurora0427

Aurora59 said:


> For us regulars it was 7:15am!



That’s great. Part of what made our day so stressful is they didn’t open the gates until 7:34. People were freaking out! Myself included. Letting people in at 7:15 is very helpful!


----------



## Sarahelizabeth

When we were there Thursday through Monday of last week it was open every day.


----------



## gillep

StarGirl11 said:


> So question I don’t think I’ve seen addressed here. Is the no bag line usually open on Harbor in the morning? Trying to decide whether or not to take my rollator with me tomorrow morning. And if it’s been open then I might leave it at the hotel



It was open this morning we utilized it.


----------



## KAT4DISNEY

JWelch62 said:


> Yes, the app will automatically select every linked ticket. If they are not in the park you will have to deselect them before you confirm. If you don't deselect them you will get a message that not all members are in the park. This will delay you and may cause you to not get a BG. Best practice is to remove any linked tickets for people who will will not be with you. But you can do it as mentioned.





sunflare said:


> Yes, the app automatically "selects all" people who are on the account. If they're not there, they will still be selected. I just realized that this is different from the WDW version, where the only person who is selected by default is the account holder, so if you're used to WDW, that's probably why there's a confusion.



Thank you both!  Yes, at WDW only the account holder is pre-selected so it is different even though the rest of the processes seems to be the same.   We only have 3 people linked and 1 that probably won't ride so deselecting them will not be too difficult.


----------



## ZCarroll

madmadhatter said:


> That's good to know. I hadn't prepared for that scenario, and I'd seen a few YouTube videos where it seemed like deselecting folks held them up, so I panicked and booked it to City Hall. (We needed to pick up a birthday button for my friend, anyway.) However, I did get BG 26 and you got BG 47, so I think it's slightly better to not have to deal with deselecting party members.  Honestly, it's ridiculous that functionality isn't in the app.



Keep in mind though that you got 26 on a day that BGs lasted 7 minutes!  BGs were gone in less than a minute the day I got 47 and also BGs started 2 later that day, it was also an MM day, compared to a nonMM day for you... also I had paused for several seconds or more going over it with my husband that I thought had already gotten us a BG and I had 3 each tickets (because of After Dark tickets, not sure why the one from the day before showed up which also threw me for a bit) with our names for me to try to choose and differentiate from in addition to other members not at the park, even with that I definitely would've gotten in much sooner if I had just ignored what my husband was doing.   Even the next day which was an insanely busy day I had misclicked a few times and I still got 32 which was only 6 BGs later, I'm pretty sure if I had better phone skills and hadn't been wearing gloves I could've gotten an earlier one that day as well, but even if not there were more than 6 BGs that got called just while I was standing in line getting back into DL that day so seriously I consider this a major nonissue that people are unnecessarily stressing about.


----------



## JWelch62

KAT4DISNEY said:


> Thank you both!  Yes, at WDW only the account holder is pre-selected so it is different even though the rest of the processes seems to be the same.   We only have 3 people linked and 1 that probably won't ride so deselecting them will not be too difficult.



You're entirely welcome!

I will only comment that time spent deselecting = a higher BG. If you have the opportunity to remove the linke ticket ahead of time, I would recommend that you remove it.

MTFBW!


----------



## pharmama

KAT4DISNEY said:


> Thank you both!  Yes, at WDW only the account holder is pre-selected so it is different even though the rest of the processes seems to be the same.   We only have 3 people linked and 1 that probably won't ride so deselecting them will not be too difficult.



If the person who won't be riding will be scanned into the park with everyone else but just doesn't want to ride, I don't know if I'd bother trying to remove or deselect them. Then they could decide up until the last minute if they want to ride (or one person could go twice...)


----------



## ZCarroll

gometros said:


> Thank you for the nicely detailed and spoiler free description. That helps immensely. I'm copying your description to send to my wife, since she never takes me at my word.



I'd love to hear back if she goes and what she thought!  I was so worried when I was reading the spoiler thread but the fact that I couldn't find anyone that actually was bothered on the ride and my husband *really* wanted to go I went ahead and tried it... I was actually already feeling off the first day I went for some reason and honestly I think I just zigzagging through the line was more challenging than the ride itself for me, so hopefully it won't be an issue for your wife either, but let us know!


----------



## HydroGuy

Deleted


----------



## gillep

Being evacuated from the ride now.


----------



## ZCarroll

JWelch62 said:


> You're entirely welcome!
> 
> I will only comment that time spent deselecting = a higher BG. If you have the opportunity to remove the linke ticket ahead of time, I would recommend that you remove it.
> 
> MTFBW!



Definitely only having the people that will be there in your party linked in the app is the best plan, but I'm still thinking the difference is mostly insignificant... I had one other person one day and two others the next day that didn't have to worry about deselecting and I was still the one that got our BG and even though I was nervous for some reason about the whole process I was still taking my time actually because I just assumed with having to select my group I would be slower and the others would get the BGs first so I wasn't really rushing as much as if I'd truly thought I'd be the "winner" of my group, heh (I will definitely be prepared to stay focused and zip through next time if I go knowing this now)... where I do think it's more of an issue is in trying to get fastpasses with maxpass, it was a real pain having to unselect several tickets every single time I wanted to look for FPs, I really wish there was a way to just pick your group once for the day and have it set to that until/unless you change it, soooo agree with madmadhatter that it's ridiculous that isn't an option in the app!


----------



## Malroy

gillep said:


> Being evacuated from the ride now.


Us too! Had JUST gotten into the ride vehicle


----------



## JWelch62

ZCarroll said:


> Definitely only having the people that will be there in your party linked in the app is the best plan, but I'm still thinking the difference is mostly insignificant... I had one other person one day and two others the next day that didn't have to worry about deselecting and I was still the one that got our BG and even though I was nervous for some reason about the whole process I was still taking my time actually because I just assumed with having to select my group I would be slower and the others would get the BGs first so I wasn't really rushing as much as if I'd truly thought I'd be the "winner" of my group, heh (I will definitely be prepared to stay focused and zip through next time if I go knowing this now)... where I do think it's more of an issue is in trying to get fastpasses with maxpass, it was a real pain having to unselect several tickets every single time I wanted to look for FPs, I really wish there was a way to just pick your group once for the day and have it set to that until/unless you change it, soooo agree with madmadhatter that it's ridiculous that isn't an option in the app!


That's a good data point.

I really do think people are getting overly stressed out about the BG process. I tend to be a tad "detail oriented" (my wife would say "pain in the ***") so I'm all about the "best" way. But in the end, it's probably not a significant delta.


----------



## Aurora59

We got maybe 1/2 way through & it broke down. They gave us fast passes.


----------



## socaldisneylover

I think I'm going to experience this ride a couple more times, and then be done with it for awhile.  Too much effort involved to be there at park opening each time, and then even if you get a lower group #, there's the somewhat significant chance that it will suddenly break down for hours at a time while you're in the queue or even on the ride itself.  Thankfully that hasn't happened to me yet.


----------



## gillep

Malroy said:


> Us too! Had JUST gotten into the ride vehicle



That’s where we were evacuated from too.


----------



## pokee99

Aurora0427 said:


> So we went today. We didn’t mess with any of the ROTR shenanigans. However, we went to dinner before driving home, and I started talking to this family. I asked if they had ridden ROTR, because they were all wearing Star Wars clothing. They said no, because they didn’t arrive until 8am and the boarding groups were gone. So I explained to them that tomorrow they really want to be at security by 7, I explained how I was able to score a BG on a prior day using a second phone with a clock with seconds, and went through the exact steps. They looked at me like I was nuts. They were completely clueless, and that’s what I think is my biggest issue with this ride- it’s a difficult system for people who don’t obsessively research to figure out. Hopefully they pay attention to what i said, and have better luck tomorrow!
> 
> EDITED TO ADD: Not my intention to start a debate about the BG system or to criticize people who don’t research. Just hoping the info i used here and implemented successfully can help these people!



...and it's not just about people who can't/ won't research... it's about people that are not good with technology.  

I appreciate this post because it shows a real-world example of how ridiculous this all is!!!!


----------



## nutshell

Jawas were early today. Is it back up and running?


----------



## nutshell

pokee99 said:


> ...and it's not just about people who can't/ won't research... it's about people that are not good with technology.
> 
> I appreciate this post because it shows a real-world example of how ridiculous this all is!!!!


What exactly is ridiculous about this? Thousands of people ride ROTR everyday and are thrilled. What am I missing?


----------



## pokee99

Mark_E said:


> Going solo today and just hoping my app will not glitch out like it did Tuesday.



How'd it go going solo? I may do that on day 1 of our trip and let my kids sleep in. I feel like getting one boarding group trial out of my system will induce confidence in our collective day 2 trial...lol


----------



## sarahjanet

So since the ride went down, boarding groups moved all the way up to 46-50, then went back down to 36-50, which I took as a hopeful sign that maybe it was back up and they were clearing the backlog, and now it's back to 44-50. Is this still just clearing the backlog and the ride is back up, or is it still down and the boarding groups are behaving oddly?


----------



## pokee99

nutshell said:


> What exactly is ridiculous about this? Thousands of people ride ROTR everyday and are thrilled. What am I missing?



Really? You're asking how this process could possibly be considered ridiculous when people are freaking out, stressed out, and anxious with the prospect? Obsessed with researching a single ride distribution system and a 6000 post forum topic? And then the possibility to ride a ride at Disneyland comes and goes within 60 seconds? OF COURSE it's ridiculous! Some people following this thread reported that this whole process wrecked their day!

Whether or not people choose to participate in the ridiculousness all depends on their tolerance for all that comes with it, and their level of desire to ride the ride.

I plan to participate in the ridiculousness. Wouldn't be the first time... won't be the last, I'm sure!


----------



## Aurora59

sarahjanet said:


> So since the ride went down, boarding groups moved all the way up to 46-50, then went back down to 36-50, which I took as a hopeful sign that maybe it was back up and they were clearing the backlog, and now it's back to 44-50. Is this still just clearing the backlog and the ride is back up, or is it still down and the boarding groups are behaving oddly?


No it’s still down at 2:30pm. Chewy just came over & tried to fix it. We’re just hanging out here now because we’re too tired to walk anywhere else.


----------



## Aurora0427

pokee99 said:


> ...and it's not just about people who can't/ won't research... it's about people that are not good with technology.
> 
> I appreciate this post because it shows a real-world example of how ridiculous this all is!!!!



Thank you.... my parents told me a million times that if it weren’t for me, they never would’ve been able to ride. My mom is a huge researcher.... when we went to WDW in 2000, she did tons of research and we had a fabulous vacation. So her struggle to get a BG on her own wouldn’t have anything to do with lack of research. She’s terrible with technology and quite frankly my dad thought the entire thing was ridiculous. He was losing patience and he wasn’t even responsible for anything.  

Anyway.... the tips on this board helped immensely and when my mom started jumping up and down and cheering when I scored a BG, it made it all worthwhile! I’ve been thinking about that family I spoke with last night wondering if they got a BG today!


----------



## Aurora0427

nutshell said:


> What exactly is ridiculous about this? Thousands of people ride ROTR everyday and are thrilled. What am I missing?



Oh it’s kind of ridiculous... doesn’t mean that the ridiculousness isn’t worth it when you're successful and get to ride!


----------



## jacandjan

Still down, been on 50 for about 2 hours


----------



## Aurora0427

pokee99 said:


> Really? You're asking how this process could possibly be considered ridiculous when people are freaking out, stressed out, and anxious with the prospect? Obsessed with researching a single ride distribution system and a 6000 post forum topic? And then the possibility to ride a ride at Disneyland comes and goes within 60 seconds? OF COURSE it's ridiculous! Some people following this thread reported that this whole process wrecked their day!
> 
> Whether or not people choose to participate in the ridiculousness all depends on their tolerance for all that comes with it, and their level of desire to ride the ride.
> 
> I plan to participate in the ridiculousness. Wouldn't be the fitst time... won't be the last, I'm sure!



Don’t forget about the hours they’ve made people wait in line once they’ve scanned their boarding groups when they ride goes down! And the fact that half the time when it is running parts of it are missing. Ridiculous. 

But we’ll sure do it again once the little one grows an inch!!!! It’s an awesome ride. Hope it comes back up soon today!!!


----------



## sarahjanet

Groups look to be moving again! I hope you get on soon, @Aurora59!


----------



## ironband74

If we're honest, theme parks are ridiculous altogether.   But they're fun. 

This process is ridiculous, but the attraction it's apparently amazing enough that thousands of people embrace the madness.

Have I spent way more time and effort than I probably should have?

Yes.  Research is part of my religion. 

This is the way.


----------



## jacandjan

I think the lower BG number changes as the 2 hour window expires. Wish they had a push notification for when the ride goes down. We hurried back from lunch a Trader Sam's to make our time only to find it had been down for 30 minutes.


----------



## Aurora59

sarahjanet said:


> Groups look to be moving again! I hope you get on soon, @Aurora59!


Thanks, we’re in the Fast Pass line!


----------



## sarahjanet

jacandjan said:


> I think the lower BG number changes as the 2 hour window expires. Wish they had a push notification for when the ride goes down. We hurried back from lunch a Trader Sam's to make our time only to find it had been down for 30 minutes.


The lower number moving up made total sense but it was when it went back down again and then starting ticking up again (all while the ride was still down) that confused me!


----------



## montreid

ironband74 said:


> If we're honest, theme parks are ridiculous altogether.   But they're fun.
> 
> This process is ridiculous, but the attraction it's apparently amazing enough that thousands of people embrace the madness.
> 
> Have I spent way more time and effort than I probably should have?
> 
> Yes.  Research is part of my religion.
> 
> This is the way.


He has spoken


----------



## Aurora59

Spoke too soon. It’s broken again


----------



## gillep

Just got back to the ride and it is down again. Ice cream time for me!


----------



## jacandjan

sarahjanet said:


> The lower number moving up made total sense but it was when it went back down again and then starting ticking up again (all while the ride was still down) that confused me!


Yes that was odd !!


----------



## Aurora0427

ironband74 said:


> If we're honest, theme parks are ridiculous altogether.   But they're fun.
> 
> This process is ridiculous, but the attraction it's apparently amazing enough that thousands of people embrace the madness.
> 
> Have I spent way more time and effort than I probably should have?
> 
> Yes.  Research is part of my religion.
> 
> This is the way.



agree!


----------



## UrsulaTime

pokee99 said:


> *You're asking how this process could possibly be considered ridiculous when people are freaking out, stressed out, and anxious with the prospect?* Obsessed with researching a single ride distribution system and a 6000 post forum topic?


^Haha this describes me planning trips to WDW. But I sorta love it.
Wasn't expecting to do much planning for DLR but like I said - it's fun for me, and at this point following this thread has more to do with fascination than anxiety!



Aurora59 said:


> Spoke too soon. It’s broken again ☹


Good luck!


----------



## Mark_E

pokee99 said:


> How'd it go going solo? I may do that on day 1 of our trip and let my kids sleep in. I feel like getting one boarding group trial out of my system will induce confidence in our collective day 2 trial...lol



I actually did the splash mountain booths. The youngsters beat me there so I was second in line, or the 4th ticket scanned in total. It was quick! Got BG19.


----------



## Aurora59

Just started up again. Fingers crossed!!


----------



## Aurora59

Success! It was awesome!!


----------



## gillep

Success at last!!


----------



## whistlinmickey

KAT4DISNEY said:


> Thank you both!  Yes, at WDW only the account holder is pre-selected so it is different even though the rest of the processes seems to be the same.   We only have 3 people linked and 1 that probably won't ride so deselecting them will not be too difficult.



You may also want to try using the account of someone else in your party. Your tickets can be linked to as many accounts as you like. If you use a "clean" account that only has tickets of those attending the park or riding that day linked, then you can simply proceed through the process of joining a Boarding Group without worrying about de-selecting any of the tickets.


----------



## surfca

I'm still angry about our experience yesterday. They have got to fix this! It's so annoying and frustrating. 

We got boarding group 77 (78 was the cutoff) at 8:00:45 in the morning. Cool. 

Around 3:30pm our BG was called so we made the trek from Cars Land all the way to SWGE just to find out that the ride is broken. Ugh. They said we could come back anytime that evening to ride it when it's working again and our BG will be honored. 

Go back to DL around 6:00pm and decide to ask the CM at the time board if the ride was currently working vs. trekking all the way back to SWGE again to find out. He said that it just broke down again! Ugh. I asked him if he thought we should go have dinner and then try again and he said, "Yes, that should be enough time for it to get to working again." I also asked him how long the ride would be open tonight and he said, "Until 9pm." That was a lie. 

So, we go have dinner at the Grand Californian restaurant that's by the pool. It ended up taking almost two hours just to have salads and sliders! Ugh. Luckily the DL app said that the ride was still open so we headed straight to the ride after dinner. By the time we got there, they said it was closed! Unbelievable! This was around 8:15pm.

I spoke with the manager who was actually very apologetic about it and even genuine. I told her that a CM at the time board told us the ride would be open until 9:00pm. She said other guests had said the same thing and that he was giving us incorrect information (she was happy to know where this false information was coming from though). She gave us FastPasses for something else and said unfortunately that was all she could do. She said I could file a complaint with City Hall. 

So, as we're exiting the park, I stop by City Hall to file my complaint. What a waste of time this was! The guy was condescending, had such attitude, and should not be working in Guest Relations. He scratched down some "notes" on a piece of paper and really did not care at all what I had to say. I told him everything and asked him why the ride wasn't open until 11:00pm when the park closed. He said it takes...and I am quoting him here..."3 hours to reboot the ride." What?! I said that Disney should not have even designed a ride that takes three hours to reboot much less open one that's going to continue to break down. He gave the whole BS spiel about it being all kinds of new "state of the art" technologies using wifi sensors that all must work in sync and that the reason it breaks down most of the time is because of guests! He actually blamed the guests for causing the ride to break!! I couldn't believe it. 

I then told him about our dining experience and how that caused us to miss even having a chance to get on the ride that night. I asked him if he could comp our meal that we had at the Grand Californian for all of the issues we had today and for that being the reason we didn't get in line for the ride in time. He said that he has nothing to do with that restaurant and it would be up to that manager to do that. I said, "Aren't you all a part of the Disneyland Resort?" He said, that he can't do anything for issues I had elsewhere. I call BS on that. 

At this point, I was just wasting my breath because this guy was not going to do anything to make me feel better about the day...in fact he made me even angrier about the experience. So, I just left and told him I'd write a letter to someone in Disneyland senior management...not that it will matter. Ugh.

Sorry to rant but it really pissed me off. 

*I do have some questions after this whole experience that maybe you guys can answer...*

- Does it really take three hours for the Rise of the Resistance to reboot?

- Are guests causing the ride to break? 

- Did it matter that I went to City Hall to complain? (my guess is no)

- To whom can I write a letter to share my frustration and also let them know that they should have the app tell you if the ride is broken/closed vs. having to walk all the way back there? 

- Why don't they have return boarding group passes for another day if something like this happens? 

- I don't think it's _that_ technologically advanced so why doesn't it work after all of these months of testing it out?!

- Will this ride ever work?

- Does Disney really care that I had a bad experience? (probably not)


----------



## nutshell

pokee99 said:


> Really? You're asking how this process could possibly be considered ridiculous when people are freaking out, stressed out, and anxious with the prospect? Obsessed with researching a single ride distribution system and a 6000 post forum topic? And then the possibility to ride a ride at Disneyland comes and goes within 60 seconds? OF COURSE it's ridiculous! Some people following this thread reported that this whole process wrecked their day!
> 
> Whether or not people choose to participate in the ridiculousness all depends on their tolerance for all that comes with it, and their level of desire to ride the ride.
> 
> I plan to participate in the ridiculousness. Wouldn't be the first time... won't be the last, I'm sure!


Yep. I’m really asking. After all, what is ridiculous to one person may not be ridiculous to another and vice versa. For example, I would find a standby line for this attraction to be ridiculous, but I’ve seen others advocate for this very thing. 

I also think your post is exaggerating. While this thread may have 6,000 posts, everything a person needs to know to be successful is found in the first two or three posts. It’s not rocket science.


----------



## CaliforniaGirl09

surfca said:


> I'm still angry about our experience yesterday. They have got to fix this! It's so annoying and frustrating.
> 
> We got boarding group 77 (78 was the cutoff) at 8:00:45 in the morning. Cool.
> 
> Around 3:30pm our BG was called so we made the trek from Cars Land all the way to SWGE just to find out that the ride is broken. Ugh. They said we could come back anytime that evening to ride it when it's working again and our BG will be honored.
> 
> Go back to DL around 6:00pm and decide to ask the CM at the time board if the ride was currently working vs. trekking all the way back to SWGE again to find out. He said that it just broke down again! Ugh. I asked him if he thought we should go have dinner and then try again and he said, "Yes, that should be enough time for it to get to working again." I also asked him how long the ride would be open tonight and he said, "Until 9pm." That was a lie.
> 
> So, we go have dinner at the Grand Californian restaurant that's by the pool. It ended up taking almost two hours just to have salads and sliders! Ugh. Luckily the DL app said that the ride was still open so we headed straight to the ride after dinner. By the time we got there, they said it was closed! Unbelievable! This was around 8:15pm.
> 
> I spoke with the manager who was actually very apologetic about it and even genuine. I told her that a CM at the time board told us the ride would be open until 9:00pm. She said other guests had said the same thing and that he was giving us incorrect information (she was happy to know where this false information was coming from though). She gave us FastPasses for something else and said unfortunately that was all she could do. She said I could file a complaint with City Hall.
> 
> So, as we're exiting the park, I stop by City Hall to file my complaint. What a waste of time this was! The guy was condescending, had such attitude, and should not be working in Guest Relations. He scratched down some "notes" on a piece of paper and really did not care at all what I had to say. I told him everything and asked him why the ride wasn't open until 11:00pm when the park closed. He said it takes...and I am quoting him here..."3 hours to reboot the ride." What?! I said that Disney should not have even designed a ride that takes three hours to reboot much less open one that's going to continue to break down. He gave the whole BS spiel about it being all kinds of new "state of the art" technologies using wifi sensors that all must work in sync and that the reason it breaks down most of the time is because of guests! He actually blamed the guests for causing the ride to break!! I couldn't believe it.
> 
> I then told him about our dining experience and how that caused us to miss even having a chance to get on the ride that night. I asked him if he could comp our meal that we had at the Grand Californian for all of the issues we had today and for that being the reason we didn't get in line for the ride in time. He said that he has nothing to do with that restaurant and it would be up to that manager to do that. I said, "Aren't you all a part of the Disneyland Resort?" He said, that he can't do anything for issues I had elsewhere. I call BS on that.
> 
> At this point, I was just wasting my breath because this guy was not going to do anything to make me feel better about the day...in fact he made me even angrier about the experience. So, I just left and told him I'd write a letter to someone in Disneyland senior management...not that it will matter. Ugh.
> 
> Sorry to rant but it really pissed me off.
> 
> *I do have some questions after this whole experience that maybe you guys can answer...*
> 
> - Does it really take three hours for the Rise of the Resistance to reboot?
> 
> - Are guests causing the ride to break?
> 
> - Did it matter that I went to City Hall to complain? (my guess is no)
> 
> - To whom can I write a letter to share my frustration and also let them know that they should have the app tell you if the ride is broken/closed vs. having to walk all the way back there?
> 
> - Why don't they have return boarding group passes for another day if something like this happens?
> 
> - I don't think it's _that_ technologically advanced so why doesn't it work after all of these months of testing it out?!
> 
> - Will this ride ever work?
> 
> - Does Disney really care that I had a bad experience? (probably not)


I would be irate, too! I don't have answers to your questions, but just wanted to let you know that I commiserate with your unhappiness. I would also write an email to Disney Guest Relations with what you just said, and if you can provide names (especially of the CM at City Hall) even better. They should be better trained to deal with situations like this since clearly they are going to keep happening until they can get this ride on track (irony of trackless ride intended, LOL). It seems as if WDW has been much better with customer service than DL in situations like this (free tickets, etc.).


----------



## brightlined

surfca said:


> I'm still angry about our experience yesterday. They have got to fix this! It's so annoying and frustrating.
> 
> We got boarding group 77 (78 was the cutoff) at 8:00:45 in the morning. Cool.
> 
> Around 3:30pm our BG was called so we made the trek from Cars Land all the way to SWGE just to find out that the ride is broken. Ugh. They said we could come back anytime that evening to ride it when it's working again and our BG will be honored.
> 
> Go back to DL around 6:00pm and decide to ask the CM at the time board if the ride was currently working vs. trekking all the way back to SWGE again to find out. He said that it just broke down again! Ugh. I asked him if he thought we should go have dinner and then try again and he said, "Yes, that should be enough time for it to get to working again." I also asked him how long the ride would be open tonight and he said, "Until 9pm." That was a lie.
> 
> So, we go have dinner at the Grand Californian restaurant that's by the pool. It ended up taking almost two hours just to have salads and sliders! Ugh. Luckily the DL app said that the ride was still open so we headed straight to the ride after dinner. By the time we got there, they said it was closed! Unbelievable! This was around 8:15pm.
> 
> I spoke with the manager who was actually very apologetic about it and even genuine. I told her that a CM at the time board told us the ride would be open until 9:00pm. She said other guests had said the same thing and that he was giving us incorrect information (she was happy to know where this false information was coming from though). She gave us FastPasses for something else and said unfortunately that was all she could do. She said I could file a complaint with City Hall.
> 
> So, as we're exiting the park, I stop by City Hall to file my complaint. What a waste of time this was! The guy was condescending, had such attitude, and should not be working in Guest Relations. He scratched down some "notes" on a piece of paper and really did not care at all what I had to say. I told him everything and asked him why the ride wasn't open until 11:00pm when the park closed. He said it takes...and I am quoting him here..."3 hours to reboot the ride." What?! I said that Disney should not have even designed a ride that takes three hours to reboot much less open one that's going to continue to break down. He gave the whole BS spiel about it being all kinds of new "state of the art" technologies using wifi sensors that all must work in sync and that the reason it breaks down most of the time is because of guests! He actually blamed the guests for causing the ride to break!! I couldn't believe it.
> 
> I then told him about our dining experience and how that caused us to miss even having a chance to get on the ride that night. I asked him if he could comp our meal that we had at the Grand Californian for all of the issues we had today and for that being the reason we didn't get in line for the ride in time. He said that he has nothing to do with that restaurant and it would be up to that manager to do that. I said, "Aren't you all a part of the Disneyland Resort?" He said, that he can't do anything for issues I had elsewhere. I call BS on that.
> 
> At this point, I was just wasting my breath because this guy was not going to do anything to make me feel better about the day...in fact he made me even angrier about the experience. So, I just left and told him I'd write a letter to someone in Disneyland senior management...not that it will matter. Ugh.
> 
> Sorry to rant but it really pissed me off.
> 
> *I do have some questions after this whole experience that maybe you guys can answer...*
> 
> - Does it really take three hours for the Rise of the Resistance to reboot?
> 
> - Are guests causing the ride to break?
> 
> - Did it matter that I went to City Hall to complain? (my guess is no)
> 
> - To whom can I write a letter to share my frustration and also let them know that they should have the app tell you if the ride is broken/closed vs. having to walk all the way back there?
> 
> - Why don't they have return boarding group passes for another day if something like this happens?
> 
> - I don't think it's _that_ technologically advanced so why doesn't it work after all of these months of testing it out?!
> 
> - Will this ride ever work?
> 
> - Does Disney really care that I had a bad experience? (probably not)


1) It's not open until 11pm because it takes them hours to do the regular maintenance for it to open the next morning. It has closed at 9pm (if not earlier) nearly every day it's been open. (It's not going to be open for Star Wars Nite, either.) But that's standard reset maintenance. A reboot during the day apparently takes 60 to 90 minutes.

2) There have been stories so far, including people dropping phones onto the floor and getting run over by the vehicles (which they're not designed to handle). No idea what happened yesterday.

3) The problem is that the ride was running at the time you were called, and I don't think there's a ride in any of the Disney parks that sends a notification if it's down. (With the possible exception of FP holders getting the multi-experience replacement.) If you knew your time was close, why be over at DCA, anyway?

6) Have you actually ridden it? It's not a "normal" ride by any stretch.

7) We're barely a month into operations. Earlier this week, they had several days that it looked like they'd figured everything out and were running very, very well. Something unusual happened yesterday, worse than most of the days that the ride has been open. You just got caught in that. That unfortunate, but it happens.


----------



## sarahjanet

After a buggy day yesterday and today do you think they're likely to cut it off at the regular boarding groups and not let in any backups? My friend is in the very first backup group, we're three away from that, and it's 7:15PM. I am refreshing like a fool and crossing my fingers!


----------



## greeneyedchick

surfca said:


> *I do have some questions after this whole experience that maybe you guys can answer...*
> 
> - Does it really take three hours for the Rise of the Resistance to reboot?
> 
> - Are guests causing the ride to break?
> 
> - Did it matter that I went to City Hall to complain? (my guess is no)
> 
> - To whom can I write a letter to share my frustration and also let them know that they should have the app tell you if the ride is broken/closed vs. having to walk all the way back there?


First, I'm so sorry to hear about your awful experience. I'm angry and frustrated for you!   It angers me that Disney disappointed your family like that and didn't even care to make it up to you. They should have given you a FP for a BG the next day and paid for your dinner. 

For what it's worth, I had dinner with an Imagineer at WDW a few months ago. He emphasized that the best way to file a complaint with Disney was writing a physical letter or email to corporate. Unfortunately, I don't remember exactly who he said to email but I think it was on the app or website. He said that those letters are taken seriously and are a better way than complaining to Guest Relations. I know that that won't erase your negative experience but it may worthwhile for you to write a letter.

On a side note, I specifically asked him why the new rides seem to have a lot less capacity and whether they consider wait times when designing new rides. His reply infuriated me! He said that he and his fellow imagineers love lines because they have the opportunity to add all kinds of little details. It gives the guests time to appreciate those details. I do appreciate entertaining lines, but I personally like a fast-moving one more.


----------



## ironband74

sarahjanet said:


> The lower number moving up made total sense but it was when it went back down again and then starting ticking up again (all while the ride was still down) that confused me!


Sometimes it does go down again when it comes back up - I believe this is to call back groups that were called shortly prior to a breakdown, but it does seem to happen inconsistently.


----------



## DLRExpert

Going to head over there tomorrow morning with the hope of getting a late BG.
What is your best guess at the time I should try and get the BG at.

Normally I book it right away, this time I figure give it 45 seconds, but wondering what someone else may recommend.


----------



## dina444444

sarahjanet said:


> After a buggy day yesterday and today do you think they're likely to cut it off at the regular boarding groups and not let in any backups? My friend is in the very first backup group, we're three away from that, and it's 7:15PM. I am refreshing like a fool and crossing my fingers!


They just called 81 which is the first backup group.


----------



## sarahjanet

dina444444 said:


> They just called 81 which is the first backup group.


Yes, she is on her way over!!


----------



## StarGirl11

Something I learned today. I had to go by Guest Relations anyway to get my DAS so I decided to do it at DCAs version of City Hall. And I asked about it removing my old pass I’ve long lost the physical copy of. So I wouldn’t lose time tomorrow accidentally selecting the lost pass. They were able to remove it from the account. So if anyone else needs to remove an old ticket/pass from their account for BG and have time to do it before they try for ROTR this is something you can do.


----------



## KAT4DISNEY

whistlinmickey said:


> You may also want to try using the account of someone else in your party. Your tickets can be linked to as many accounts as you like. If you use a "clean" account that only has tickets of those attending the park or riding that day linked, then you can simply proceed through the process of joining a Boarding Group without worrying about de-selecting any of the tickets.



Thanks for that recommendation.  As it happens on our last trip we finally linked everyone up to everyone's accounts!   Had done a few trips where I was the only one that had everyone.  What timing.


----------



## brightlined

DLRExpert said:


> Going to head over there tomorrow morning with the hope of getting a late BG.
> What is your best guess at the time I should try and get the BG at.
> 
> Normally I book it right away, this time I figure give it 45 seconds, but wondering what someone else may recommend.


surfca up above said he got BG77 yesterday at 45 seconds, so that's probably a pretty good guess.


----------



## ZCarroll

KAT4DISNEY said:


> Thanks for that recommendation.  As it happens on our last trip we finally linked everyone up to everyone's accounts!   Had done a few trips where I was the only one that had everyone.  What timing.



Are the others not able to unlink people?  With us since I purchased and linked the tickets initially I was the only person unable to delete tickets, everyone else had the option to delete tickets including their own.  But I definitely second pharmama not to bother trying to unlink people in your group that are actually in the park even if they don't want to go in the ride, really this is only something you need to worry about (if at all)  if you have linked tickets for people that won't be in the parks


----------



## UrsulaTime

DLRExpert said:


> Going to head over there tomorrow morning with the hope of getting a late BG.
> What is your best guess at the time I should try and get the BG at.
> 
> Normally I book it right away, this time I figure give it 45 seconds, but wondering what someone else may recommend.


Another data point for you.


montreid said:


> *Data point.  Did 7 second wait from the conference room in GCH today.  Grp 80.*


----------



## Aurora0427

surfca said:


> I'm still angry about our experience yesterday. They have got to fix this! It's so annoying and frustrating.
> 
> We got boarding group 77 (78 was the cutoff) at 8:00:45 in the morning. Cool.
> 
> Around 3:30pm our BG was called so we made the trek from Cars Land all the way to SWGE just to find out that the ride is broken. Ugh. They said we could come back anytime that evening to ride it when it's working again and our BG will be honored.
> 
> Go back to DL around 6:00pm and decide to ask the CM at the time board if the ride was currently working vs. trekking all the way back to SWGE again to find out. He said that it just broke down again! Ugh. I asked him if he thought we should go have dinner and then try again and he said, "Yes, that should be enough time for it to get to working again." I also asked him how long the ride would be open tonight and he said, "Until 9pm." That was a lie.
> 
> So, we go have dinner at the Grand Californian restaurant that's by the pool. It ended up taking almost two hours just to have salads and sliders! Ugh. Luckily the DL app said that the ride was still open so we headed straight to the ride after dinner. By the time we got there, they said it was closed! Unbelievable! This was around 8:15pm.
> 
> I spoke with the manager who was actually very apologetic about it and even genuine. I told her that a CM at the time board told us the ride would be open until 9:00pm. She said other guests had said the same thing and that he was giving us incorrect information (she was happy to know where this false information was coming from though). She gave us FastPasses for something else and said unfortunately that was all she could do. She said I could file a complaint with City Hall.
> 
> So, as we're exiting the park, I stop by City Hall to file my complaint. What a waste of time this was! The guy was condescending, had such attitude, and should not be working in Guest Relations. He scratched down some "notes" on a piece of paper and really did not care at all what I had to say. I told him everything and asked him why the ride wasn't open until 11:00pm when the park closed. He said it takes...and I am quoting him here..."3 hours to reboot the ride." What?! I said that Disney should not have even designed a ride that takes three hours to reboot much less open one that's going to continue to break down. He gave the whole BS spiel about it being all kinds of new "state of the art" technologies using wifi sensors that all must work in sync and that the reason it breaks down most of the time is because of guests! He actually blamed the guests for causing the ride to break!! I couldn't believe it.
> 
> I then told him about our dining experience and how that caused us to miss even having a chance to get on the ride that night. I asked him if he could comp our meal that we had at the Grand Californian for all of the issues we had today and for that being the reason we didn't get in line for the ride in time. He said that he has nothing to do with that restaurant and it would be up to that manager to do that. I said, "Aren't you all a part of the Disneyland Resort?" He said, that he can't do anything for issues I had elsewhere. I call BS on that.
> 
> At this point, I was just wasting my breath because this guy was not going to do anything to make me feel better about the day...in fact he made me even angrier about the experience. So, I just left and told him I'd write a letter to someone in Disneyland senior management...not that it will matter. Ugh.
> 
> Sorry to rant but it really pissed me off.
> 
> *I do have some questions after this whole experience that maybe you guys can answer...*
> 
> - Does it really take three hours for the Rise of the Resistance to reboot?
> 
> - Are guests causing the ride to break?
> 
> - Did it matter that I went to City Hall to complain? (my guess is no)
> 
> - To whom can I write a letter to share my frustration and also let them know that they should have the app tell you if the ride is broken/closed vs. having to walk all the way back there?
> 
> - Why don't they have return boarding group passes for another day if something like this happens?
> 
> - I don't think it's _that_ technologically advanced so why doesn't it work after all of these months of testing it out?!
> 
> - Will this ride ever work?
> 
> - Does Disney really care that I had a bad experience? (probably not)



I’m sorry you had such a terrible experience, I’d be mad too. Yesterday was not a good day for this ride.


----------



## StarGirl11

@surfca In the future if you run into a CM at GR whose being rude ask to elevate it to a lead/supervisor. Even if the lead can’t do anything about the meal they should be aware that someone working at City Hall was behaving in that manner. Just my two cents. 

As for the length of break down. It seems like other rides it varies depending on whatever the cause behind it probably is. 

I talked with a CM this evening explaining my situation and why I might not get back to ride due to elements completely out of control. CM gave me the impression that they’ll probably make an exception due to it being doctors related if I miss the window. Will see how well this actually goes tomorrow morning.


----------



## surfca

brightlined said:


> 1) It's not open until 11pm because it takes them hours to do the regular maintenance for it to open the next morning. It has closed at 9pm (if not earlier) nearly every day it's been open. (It's not going to be open for Star Wars Nite, either.) But that's standard reset maintenance. A reboot during the day apparently takes 60 to 90 minutes.
> 
> 2) There have been stories so far, including people dropping phones onto the floor and getting run over by the vehicles (which they're not designed to handle). No idea what happened yesterday.
> 
> 3) The problem is that the ride was running at the time you were called, and I don't think there's a ride in any of the Disney parks that sends a notification if it's down. (With the possible exception of FP holders getting the multi-experience replacement.) If you knew your time was close, why be over at DCA, anyway?
> 
> 6) Have you actually ridden it? It's not a "normal" ride by any stretch.
> 
> 7) We're barely a month into operations. Earlier this week, they had several days that it looked like they'd figured everything out and were running very, very well. Something unusual happened yesterday, worse than most of the days that the ride has been open. You just got caught in that. That unfortunate, but it happens.




1) Why would you design a ride that needs that much overnight maintenance in a theme park that can be open from 7am to midnight? Doesn't make sense. 

2) Something else Imagineers should have thought about when designing this ride. They should have known that people would want to take pics while on the ride...or they could not allow phones on the ride like Magic Mountain does. 

3) It doesn't matter that there aren't any rides that send a notification if the ride is down. There aren't any rides that have boarding groups either. It's definitely something that could be added to the app especially since they have the technology to send you a multi-experience FP replacement when a ride goes down. 

We had a FP for Radiator Springs Racers and knew we would have at least an hour to get back to the ride. That's another flaw with the boarding groups...what happens if you have FastPasses for other rides when your boarding group gets called? 

Not sure what happened to 4) and 5)

6) Yes, I have ridden it. Everyone else in my family hadn't...with some coming from out of town. It is a pretty normal ride...basically a couple of pre-shows plus similar ride vehicles to what have been at Tokyo Disneyland for years.

7) When something "unusual" happens like yesterday, they should do something to make it up to the guests who have a horrible experience. Give them a return anytime boarding group or something to make us feel like they care. 

It makes me sad that Disney is forgetting about quality guest service. Unfortunately, in a few years it won't matter since 80% of the jobs will be done by robots...if they can get them to work.


----------



## otten

surfca said:


> I'm still angry about our experience yesterday. They have got to fix this! It's so annoying and frustrating.
> 
> We got boarding group 77 (78 was the cutoff) at 8:00:45 in the morning. Cool.
> 
> Around 3:30pm our BG was called so we made the trek from Cars Land all the way to SWGE just to find out that the ride is broken. Ugh. They said we could come back anytime that evening to ride it when it's working again and our BG will be honored.
> 
> Go back to DL around 6:00pm and decide to ask the CM at the time board if the ride was currently working vs. trekking all the way back to SWGE again to find out. He said that it just broke down again! Ugh. I asked him if he thought we should go have dinner and then try again and he said, "Yes, that should be enough time for it to get to working again." I also asked him how long the ride would be open tonight and he said, "Until 9pm." That was a lie.
> 
> So, we go have dinner at the Grand Californian restaurant that's by the pool. It ended up taking almost two hours just to have salads and sliders! Ugh. Luckily the DL app said that the ride was still open so we headed straight to the ride after dinner. By the time we got there, they said it was closed! Unbelievable! This was around 8:15pm.
> 
> I spoke with the manager who was actually very apologetic about it and even genuine. I told her that a CM at the time board told us the ride would be open until 9:00pm. She said other guests had said the same thing and that he was giving us incorrect information (she was happy to know where this false information was coming from though). She gave us FastPasses for something else and said unfortunately that was all she could do. She said I could file a complaint with City Hall.
> 
> So, as we're exiting the park, I stop by City Hall to file my complaint. What a waste of time this was! The guy was condescending, had such attitude, and should not be working in Guest Relations. He scratched down some "notes" on a piece of paper and really did not care at all what I had to say. I told him everything and asked him why the ride wasn't open until 11:00pm when the park closed. He said it takes...and I am quoting him here..."3 hours to reboot the ride." What?! I said that Disney should not have even designed a ride that takes three hours to reboot much less open one that's going to continue to break down. He gave the whole BS spiel about it being all kinds of new "state of the art" technologies using wifi sensors that all must work in sync and that the reason it breaks down most of the time is because of guests! He actually blamed the guests for causing the ride to break!! I couldn't believe it.
> 
> I then told him about our dining experience and how that caused us to miss even having a chance to get on the ride that night. I asked him if he could comp our meal that we had at the Grand Californian for all of the issues we had today and for that being the reason we didn't get in line for the ride in time. He said that he has nothing to do with that restaurant and it would be up to that manager to do that. I said, "Aren't you all a part of the Disneyland Resort?" He said, that he can't do anything for issues I had elsewhere. I call BS on that.
> 
> At this point, I was just wasting my breath because this guy was not going to do anything to make me feel better about the day...in fact he made me even angrier about the experience. So, I just left and told him I'd write a letter to someone in Disneyland senior management...not that it will matter. Ugh.
> 
> Sorry to rant but it really pissed me off.
> 
> *I do have some questions after this whole experience that maybe you guys can answer...*
> 
> - Does it really take three hours for the Rise of the Resistance to reboot?
> 
> - Are guests causing the ride to break?
> 
> - Did it matter that I went to City Hall to complain? (my guess is no)
> 
> - To whom can I write a letter to share my frustration and also let them know that they should have the app tell you if the ride is broken/closed vs. having to walk all the way back there?
> 
> - Why don't they have return boarding group passes for another day if something like this happens?
> 
> - I don't think it's _that_ technologically advanced so why doesn't it work after all of these months of testing it out?!
> 
> - Will this ride ever work?
> 
> - Does Disney really care that I had a bad experience? (probably not)



I cannot speak to ROTR experience but I will say that when we had a bad experience at WDW and I contacted the guest relations email after we returned home they were responsive. I wasn’t looking for compensation but they gave us one day park hoppers for each member of our party.


----------



## socaldisneylover

surfca said:


> It makes me sad that Disney is forgetting about quality guest service. Unfortunately, in a few years it won't matter since 80% of the jobs will be done by robots...if they can get them to work.


And the robots will shut down for 60-90 minutes every 4-6 hours, and have to be turned off at 9:00 PM each night for regular maintenance.  So at any one time, up to half the rides in the park could be down.


----------



## theluckyrabbit

HydroGuy said:


> I do not really agree that it is as hard as you are making it out to be.
> 
> Earlier in this thread I posted an experience with a friend who was at DLR last weekend to ride ROTR with his DS13 and DW and knew nothing about BGs or really DLR. He was successful. Basically this was the minimalist advice I gave and he followed:
> 
> Show up at 6:45 at security for an 8AM opening (I emphasized this)
> Before you arrive, have the latest DLR app downloaded on your phone and as many people in your family as you can manage - with everyone on your account
> Have your park tickets linked in the app beforehand
> Read/scan a strategy blog ahead of time so you know what the screen will look like for BGs beforehand (this is optional - I sent him one from DisneyTouristBlog)
> Have everyone start trying for a BG at 8AM sharp
> He got BG28 that day.


If the hardware and software all work, the stars align, and the person doesn't panic, then I agree that getting a BG shouldn't be too difficult. Stressful, yes. Difficult? Not overly. But... we've had reports of people "doing everything right," and still coming up against glitches that they didn't foresee, e.g. frozen apps, greyed out buttons, tickets that couldn't be deleted, etc. -- and when these things happen unexpectedly, people can panic. And that can make getting a BG very difficult when the seconds are ticking away. 
Example: a friend and her son went last Sunday, got up at 5:30 am to be in line at the gates by 6:30 am, ready to go on Main Street by opening. Followed all your points -- and at 8 am got a pop-up saying that her ticket showed she wasn't in the park. Ugh. All that time and prep for nothing. Never occurred to her to test earlier by using MP to get FPs. So in a situation like this, getting a BG looks like a very difficult process. (If the time pressure weren't so great, I think this whole process would be much easier for people -- even having 5 minutes instead of 1 would be a help -- with a few minutes, she could have gone to a plaid and maybe gotten a Backup Group.) 



Aurora59 said:


> BG 39!! Thanks everyone!


Yay!



Mark_E said:


> I got group 19 from the kiosks at splash. Was the 4th pass in the machine.
> But wow, you gotta take a jolly little jog to get there early enough


Thanks for reporting back on using the kiosk and congratulations!



AmyJamer said:


> Group 15! At and T on IPhone 11 Pro Main Street train tracks


WooHoo!



sherilaine said:


> WOW this is a super long thread and I apologize for not digging through it to find my answer but I am hoping it's a quick question.
> 
> My question is - you have to go through the Disneyland gates with your ticket before you are able to join a boarding group once they are released at official park opening time for the day?  You cannot be in DCA and do this?
> 
> Thanks!





sherilaine said:


> I did read the first three posts but it didn't specifically say if you scan your ticket only into DCA you are out of luck so that is why I wanted to make double sure.  Sorry to have bother anyone with my question.


It does say that you have to scan into DL first. The first three posts get updated regularly, so the info can change (especially if the BG process changes) -- keep checking those first posts for the latest info! And be aware that CMs may tell you that it won't work to scan into DCA after first scanning into DL to get a BG; but they are incorrect. 



KAT4DISNEY said:


> Just seeing if I'm understanding correctly as there have been numerous posts about removing tickets and AP's from your account prior to attempting to get in the virtual line but that is really not positively necessary and is just what some people have done or recommended in order to speed up their ability to select the guests that are in the park?  The app will select everyone you're linked to that has tickets even if they have not entered the park and you then have to deselect and select the ones who are in?


Be careful about special event tickets and pre-paid parking, too -- If you've bought them, those will show up in your app and will need to be deselected!



JWelch62 said:


> ... I really do think people are getting overly stressed out about the BG process. I tend to be a tad "detail oriented" (my wife would say "pain in the ***") so I'm all about the "best" way. But in the end, it's probably not a significant delta.


At this point, the "best" way is the way that works best for each person. We've shown in this thread that there are "better" ways that work for Android, for iPhone, for data, for free wifi, on days with MM, on days without MM, etc. People just need to figure out what works for them and go with that. 
They don't need to know EVERYTHING, only what will work for them and some basic prep. 



ironband74 said:


> If we're honest, theme parks are ridiculous altogether.   But they're fun.
> 
> This process is ridiculous, but the attraction it's apparently amazing enough that thousands of people embrace the madness.
> 
> Have I spent way more time and effort than I probably should have?
> 
> Yes.  Research is part of my religion.
> 
> This is the way.


And in the process of all this ridiculousness, I like to think that we've all made some friends here, 'embracing the madness' together! Because who wants to embrace the madness alone? You point the way... and we will follow. 



StarGirl11 said:


> Something I learned today. I had to go by Guest Relations anyway to get my DAS so I decided to do it at DCAs version of City Hall. And I asked about it removing my old pass I’ve long lost the physical copy of. So I wouldn’t lose time tomorrow accidentally selecting the lost pass. They were able to remove it from the account. So if anyone else needs to remove an old ticket/pass from their account for BG and have time to do it before they try for ROTR this is something you can do.


I've updated the first page (FAQs) with this information. Thanks for posting! (And DCA's City Hall is Chamber of Commerce!)


----------



## Mark_E

One final attempt for me this trip. I have to leave by around 2pm today, but going to try the app again and just hope it works this time!


----------



## durantigger

Today is my day!!!! 

Took two minutes thru Harbor security at 6:25am. 6:34am now and lines are just reaching monorail.


----------



## StarGirl11

@theluckyrabbit Thanks! I was tired yesterday from the travel and could not recall the name for the life of me what the Chamber of Commerces Name is!

No line at Harbor security when I went through a couple of minutes after @durantigger . Glad I decided to go ahead and bring my walker this morning. Now just wishing I had brought some actual bags or breakfast.


----------



## Aurora59

Back & in line for Round 2 today. Already explained to a few people semi-clueless around me how to join a BG.


----------



## StarGirl11

Gates are open! 7:08


----------



## woody74

Have they ever opened the gates this early before?


----------



## StarGirl11

And the app isn’t letting me get a FP. Doesn’t think I’m in the park. To City Hall I go!


----------



## Mark_E

It seems a lot quieter this morning at Harbour security compared to Tuesday especially.


----------



## montreid

sometimes takes a minute to recognize in park.  quit app and reload before that city hall line.   Also order mobile food and grab your fast pass too while your waiting!


----------



## disneyholic family

Mark_E said:


> I got group 19 from the kiosks at splash. Was the 4th pass in the machine.
> But wow, you gotta take a jolly little jog to get there early enough



i'm surprised they're letting people race over there..
i saw a video of people running for those kiosks...
i thought the CMs don't allow rope drop running anymore..


----------



## BigOHawk

SIAP...how soon can you get/test MaxPass in order to see if your RoTR strategy is going to work? Let's say official park open is 8 a.m. local time and I scan into park at say, 7:15...do I have to wait until 8 am. to test grap a FP?


----------



## StarGirl11

30 minutes later I’ve got my pass working. Now the waiting game commencew


----------



## DLRExpert

This morning I noticed that they play the ROTS BGP spiel in the esplanade. With no mention of having to be inside of Disneyland.

Just that the Virtual Queue opens at 8am and to use the Disneyland App.

Why is Disney making this so hard. They cannot be this clueless.


----------



## Aurora59

BG20!


----------



## StarGirl11

So the app must hate me because it would not load the red button until it was to backup

94 but between this and the ticket I’m not happy


----------



## Mark_E

Group 33 using the app today! Glad that it seems the other day was a one off


----------



## durantigger

I want to cry. We are backup group 111.

Used two phones, both Pixel 3a, one T-Mobile, one Google Fi. 

We left our hotel, Grand Legacy, at 6:20am, got to security at 6:25am. In line at Line 13 at 6:27am, line was almost to monorail.

7:03am line was almost at DCA.

7:06am gates open, 7:09am they started letting in, 7:11am we were in! 

I don't know what happened, we both kept getting a red bar that it was full. Finally my husband got the back up. 

Cheers everywhere made it so much worse. 

I'm super worried since yesterday only got to low 90s. 

FYI, Gates 13-16 didn't split before we got in.


----------



## dina444444

What time did backups run out at?


----------



## coaches24

We pulled BG 44 this morning. Anyone have a guess what time that # usually gets called around? I’m worried because our group’s Itinerary is set and I can’t change it. So if it happens between 11 and 12:30 we are screwed.


----------



## Aurora59

durantigger said:


> I want to cry. We are backup group 111.
> 
> Used two phones, both Pixel 3a, one T-Mobile, one Google Fi.
> 
> We left our hotel, Grand Legacy, at 6:20am, got to security at 6:25am. In line at Line 13 at 6:27am, line was almost to monorail.
> 
> 7:03am line was almost at DCA.
> 
> 7:06am gates open, 7:09am they started letting in, 7:11am we were in!
> 
> I don't know what happened, we both kept getting a red bar that it was full. Finally my husband got the back up.
> 
> Cheers everywhere made it so much worse.
> 
> I'm super worried since yesterday only got to low 90s.
> 
> FYI, Gates 13-16 didn't split before we got in.


So sorry! Hopefully it will be a good ride day & more groups will be called today.


----------



## DLRExpert

DLRExpert said:


> Going to head over there tomorrow morning with the hope of getting a late BG.
> What is your best guess at the time I should try and get the BG at.
> 
> Normally I book it right away, this time I figure give it 45 seconds, but wondering what someone else may recommend.


118 hopefully they have a good day. It was pulled at 8:01 mark


----------



## Katniss Mellark

I was playing from home today, and I received a different error message for the first time.  It’s a red message saying “not admitting new guests.  The experience is currently closed to guests not already in a boarding group.” This was a few seconds after 8 before backup groups even started.  I had already gone through the whole process once with no issue, and then this message came up.  Do you guys sometimes get this message too? I don’t remember this one before.


----------



## Aurora0427

brightlined said:


> I want to cry. We are backup group 111.
> 
> Used two phones, both Pixel 3a, one T-Mobile, one Google Fi.
> 
> We left our hotel, Grand Legacy, at 6:20am, got to security at 6:25am. In line at Line 13 at 6:27am, line was almost to monorail.
> 
> 7:03am line was almost at DCA.
> 
> 7:06am gates open, 7:09am they started letting in, 7:11am we were in!
> 
> I don't know what happened, we both kept getting a red bar that it was full. Finally my husband got the back up.
> 
> Cheers everywhere made it so much worse.
> 
> I'm super worried since yesterday only got to low 90s.
> 
> FYI, Gates 13-16 didn't split before we got in.



I’m so sorry. Hoping the ride is on its  best behavior for you today.


----------



## brightlined

coaches24 said:


> We pulled BG 44 this morning. Anyone have a guess what time that # usually gets called around? I’m worried because our group’s Itinerary is set and I can’t change it. So if it happens between 11 and 12:30 we are screwed.


If things are running optimally, you'll probably be called during that period, if not a little before. (But that's if things are running optimally.)

But, even in that case, I think you'll be fine. As long as you can plan to do it at 12:30, your 2-hour window should be good to go. And even if you're a little late getting back, I don't think they're turning people away, especially if you explain what happened.


----------



## Aurora59

BigOHawk said:


> SIAP...how soon can you get/test MaxPass in order to see if your RoTR strategy is going to work? Let's say official park open is 8 a.m. local time and I scan into park at say, 7:15...do I have to wait until 8 am. to test grap a FP?


You can get a Fast Pass immediately after you/your group has scanned in. No need to wait till park opens.


----------



## durantigger

Katniss Mellark said:


> I was playing from home today, and I received a different error message for the first time.  It’s a red message saying “not admitting new guests.  The experience is currently closed to guests not already in a boarding group.” This was a few seconds after 8 before backup groups even started.  I had already gone through the whole process once with no issue, and then this message came up.  Do you guys sometimes get this message too? I don’t remember this one before.



 That's what we were getting before finally getting a backup. Got it immediately.


----------



## brightlined

Katniss Mellark said:


> I was playing from home today, and I received a different error message for the first time.  It’s a red message saying “not admitting new guests.  The experience is currently closed to guests not already in a boarding group.” This was a few seconds after 8 before backup groups even started.  I had already gone through the whole process once with no issue, and then this message came up.  Do you guys sometimes get this message too? I don’t remember this one before.


Did you hit the ROTR page (click on Find Out More) at all before 8am? I'm suspicious that this is a new error display, but that it's getting triggered by that page getting cached (with "closed" information).


----------



## StarGirl11

@durantigger Ugh so sorry to hear about your guys problems.

Only bright side of a late BG means it takes away the stress of the doctors to Disney probably


----------



## durantigger

brightlined said:


> Did you hit the ROTR page (click on Find Out More) at all before 8am? I'm suspicious that this is a new error display, but that it's getting triggered by that page getting cached (with "closed" information).



 Nope. And did atomic clock countdown. I seriously think I did everything "right."


----------



## baozi

I did pretty well before but had problems today.
The lower cutoff number for backup group, and the fact that they haven't called for any groups may indicate that there are some known issues...



durantigger said:


> Nope. And did atomic clock countdown. I seriously think I did everything "right."


----------



## StarGirl11

baozi said:


> I did pretty well before but had problems today.
> The lower cutoff number for backup group, and the fact that they haven't called for any groups may indicate that there are some known issues...



I wouldn’t call it a lower BG until we know for sure what they’re starting at. DL does start at 1 or 2 occasionally so it could still be the usual 70 regular


----------



## Skyegirl1999

brightlined said:


> Did you hit the ROTR page (click on Find Out More) at all before 8am? I'm suspicious that this is a new error display, but that it's getting triggered by that page getting cached (with "closed" information).


People are posting screenshots of it on social media.  Seems to be new.  I wonder if the addition of that message messed up the app a bit and led to some issues?

It sounds like we have several reports of unfortunate glitches and errors this morning. Just a reminder that *these are not necessarily user error, and even if you do everything “right,” this can still happen*.  As I’ve said before, it’s great that most people on this thread have gotten good BGs by following the strategies here... but keeping the unpredictability in mind can help with both managing expectations and assigning “blame” for people who missed out on a good BG.  I really don’t think that’s fair to them. 

I hope ROTR has a great day today and that everyone gets to ride.


----------



## StarGirl11

disneyholic family said:


> i'm surprised they're letting people race over there..i saw a video of people running for those kiosks...i thought the CMs don't allow rope drop running anymore..



They’e not supposed to. That didn’t stop a bunch of people taking off around the hub towards FL right after them announcing don’t run over the messages after they dropped the rope 5 minutes before official park opening


----------



## coaches24

our BG story is this. We got to harbor side security at 7:30. Through security and gate 29 into park by 7:50. At 8 we were in line outside SM. I opened app at 7:59 and at exactly 8 I hit the join boarding group button and got nothing. So then I quickly hit my status and join boarding group and got BG 44. Lady and her DD right in front of me got 29 1 second before me.


----------



## Katniss Mellark

brightlined said:


> Did you hit the ROTR page (click on Find Out More) at all before 8am? I'm suspicious that this is a new error display, but that it's getting triggered by that page getting cached (with "closed" information).


 
Today yes. I have been having issues with my Find Out More button turning red. So I experimented today by being in the Find Out More page first, then clicking My Status at 8. This worked the first time, no problem. When I backed out to try again, I got the red error message.


----------



## handyl03

BG 28 today! Have they even started boarding yet? My app doesn’t show any boarding groups.


----------



## brightlined

Skyegirl1999 said:


> People are posting screenshots of it on social media.  Seems to be new.  I wonder if the addition of that message messed up the app a bit and led to some issues?


As a software developer, I can't imagine having to launch a change like this, knowing that it would be nearly impossible to test real-world conditions - and that a missed error would mean ruining people's day.

I'm trying to figure out the situation that this error message was trying to accommodate, because it doesn't really seem like it helps anything. Given that they haven't opened the ride yet, I'm wondering if they initially set a very low number of BGs for today, and the cap got hit immediately, throwing this error. That would leave the possibility that this error gets thrown when backups run out, which would explain why we wouldn't have seen it before - normally we don't know that backups are done until a while afterward.


----------



## StarGirl11

Still not boarding


----------



## Mappyland

durantigger said:


> Nope. And did atomic clock countdown. I seriously think I did everything "right."



I have played from home a few times too, I got this yesterday, had to relaunch the app.

Today I had no issue.


----------



## baozi

StarGirl11 said:


> Still not boarding


Started 11-12


----------



## Aurora0427

durantigger said:


> Nope. And did atomic clock countdown. I seriously think I did everything "right."



You probably did do everything right, and that’s why this system can be extremely frustrating. People who haven’t been in your situation just don’t get it, and the Disneyland apologists tend to blame the person, not the system. The system, when it works for you, is great. When it doesn’t, it’s an entirely different matter.


----------



## socaldisneylover

Since this ride will never be reliable, I think the boarding group system is permanent.


----------



## HydroGuy

socaldisneylover said:


> Since this ride will never be reliable, I think the boarding group system is permanent.


Wow. Such a prediction based on such limited data. Never?


----------



## Skyegirl1999

HydroGuy said:


> Wow. Such a prediction based on such limited data. Never?


But it’s been a WHOLE MONTH! 

I’ve gone on record here saying I actually do NOT expect the ride to become terribly more reliable anytime in the near future (Hopeful? Yes Expecting? No.) But I don’t think that means the ride is a failure, nor do I think that necessarily means BGs will stick around forever.

I am sure Disney is constantly assessing what will lead to the best balance of logistical operations and guest satisfaction.  If they decide something else is viable, they’ll do it.

I was reminded while watching The Imagineering Story on Disney+ that Disneyland opened without drinking fountains.  In July, in brutal heat.  Splash Mountain advertised an opening date, with promotional tie-ins, and they delayed it for months... back in the day when people didn’t find that out until they got to the park!  I mean, pre-social media hysteria, all sorts of nonsense happened.  People survived.  Disneyland survived.  I don’t get the doom and gloom.


----------



## JJ2017

Can someone help me to visualize something?  Our plan is to scan into DL and then exit right away and line up at DCA (there will be EMH there and we do not qualify).  If we are running behind with everything, and still outside the DCA turnstiles and it turns 8:00 am, can we try for a BG there?  Will this be more stressful since DCA opens at 8 - and what if we are being scanned into the park at this time?  I'm just confused with this potential strategy.  Thanks!


----------



## Skyegirl1999

JJ2017 said:


> Can someone help me to visualize something?  Our plan is to scan into DL and then exit right away and line up at DCA (there will be EMH there and we do not qualify).  If we are running behind with everything, and still outside the DCA turnstiles and it turns 8:00 am, can we try for a BG there?  Will this be more stressful since DCA opens at 8 - and what if we are being scanned into the park at this time?  I'm just confused with this potential strategy.  Thanks!


You can try for a BG anywhere as long as the tickets you're trying with have been scanned into Disneyland.  People even "help out" from home to get BGs for people linked to their accounts.  As long as the ticket has been scanned into DL, you can book a BG from absolutely anywhere.  So you won't have any problem with where you are, but you will want to make sure you're not busy when park opening rolls around, so if you're worried about your timing happening while you're precisely at the DCA turnstiles, you'd want to step off to the side or something... that's a call you'd have to make based on how the lines go that day.


----------



## ImDMous

JJ2017 said:


> Can someone help me to visualize something?  Our plan is to scan into DL and then exit right away and line up at DCA (there will be EMH there and we do not qualify).  If we are running behind with everything, and still outside the DCA turnstiles and it turns 8:00 am, can we try for a BG there?  Will this be more stressful since DCA opens at 8 - and what if we are being scanned into the park at this time?  I'm just confused with this potential strategy.  Thanks!



I would just stay in the esplanade to get your BG if there are lines.  Getting into DCA at 8:00 or 8:02 will not make any difference.  If you can get right in after scanning into DL, that's fine too.  But right at 8:00:00, you need to be getting your BG, not scanning through the turnstiles.  8:01 will be too late.


----------



## SeaDis

Skyegirl1999 said:


> But it’s been a WHOLE MONTH!
> 
> I’ve gone on record here saying I actually do NOT expect the ride to become terribly more reliable anytime in the near future (Hopeful? Yes Expecting? No.) But I don’t think that means the ride is a failure, nor do I think that necessarily means BGs will stick around forever.
> 
> I am sure Disney is constantly assessing what will lead to the best balance of logistical operations and guest satisfaction.  If they decide something else is viable, they’ll do it.
> 
> I was reminded while watching The Imagineering Story on Disney+ that Disneyland opened without drinking fountains.  In July, in brutal heat.  Splash Mountain advertised an opening date, with promotional tie-ins, and they delayed it for months... back in the day when people didn’t find that out until they got to the park!  I mean, pre-social media hysteria, all sorts of nonsense happened.  People survived.  Disneyland survived.  I don’t get the doom and gloom.



Just build a second ROTR.  Maybe a third.  Fixed!


----------



## KPeterso

JJ2017 said:


> Can someone help me to visualize something?  Our plan is to scan into DL and then exit right away and line up at DCA (there will be EMH there and we do not qualify).  If we are running behind with everything, and still outside the DCA turnstiles and it turns 8:00 am, can we try for a BG there?  Will this be more stressful since DCA opens at 8 - and what if we are being scanned into the park at this time?  I'm just confused with this potential strategy.  Thanks!



Definitely try from the Esplanade. I have scanned into Disneyland twice and then gone to the Esplanade and got the boarding group before continuing into DCA.


----------



## socaldisneylover

SeaDis said:


> Just build a second ROTR.  Maybe a third.  Fixed!


I suggested that.  Then when the one of them inevitably breaks, the other one is ready to go.


----------



## StarGirl11

On another note the mess this morning reminded me why I avoid City Hall unless it’s absolutely necessary. Took me telling them three times I had wheels so I can’t do the outside line since I’m solo. And this wasn’t helped by not having anyone manning the line when I first got there If it hadn’t been for Early Morning Magic I would probably have gone to DCA again.

Wish they had a couple of roaming CMs like they do at DHS to help with problems with ROTR or other problems


----------



## socaldisneylover

KPeterso said:


> Definitely try from the Esplanade. I have scanned into Disneyland twice and then gone to the Esplanade and got the boarding group before continuing into DCA.


I intend to do this tomorrow.  I try to avoid the park with Magic Morning, and on Saturdays that’s DL.


----------



## hockey000

Gates opened at 7:08 this morning they dropped the rope few minutes early. I got boarding group 28. Speed test at Alice super fast. Called bg only gave us 45 mins to get there. Now it's broke down standing in que.


----------



## Mark_E

Ride is down. I’m two groups away from being called. Blessing in disguise I guess since I’m not stuck in the queue


----------



## hockey000

Yeah like me lol


----------



## Skyegirl1999

hockey000 said:


> Gates opened at 7:08 this morning they dropped the rope few minutes early. I got boarding group 28. Speed test at Alice super fast. Called bg only gave us 45 mins to get there. Now it's broke down standing in que.


Do you mean your notification told you to report back within 45 minutes???

That would be new, and I assume unenforceable...


----------



## surfca

otten said:


> I cannot speak to ROTR experience but I will say that when we had a bad experience at WDW and I contacted the guest relations email after we returned home they were responsive. I wasn’t looking for compensation but they gave us one day park hoppers for each member of our party.



I just sent a letter via the Disneyland website. Will be interesting to see what their response is.


----------



## Elflord

First time post and I’ve read the first few pages of this thread but not everything so apologies if this is buried somewhere in the middle! Taking the family to Disneyland on Sunday and I have a few specific questions. I do understand the general process and rules.

We have iPhones, probably six in total. We definitely plan to be in the park before opening.

Questions:

1 - Is it OK for all six of us to share my account with a link to the tickets? Nobody else has an account and we could make them but it seems like a hassle to have six accounts and link the tickets six times. Is there any problem with us all sharing my account and whoever gets the option first goes for it?

2 - To that end, if someone does get a boarding  option and goes for it, if someone else in my party gets an option should they go for it also or will that somehow lead to an error?

3 - Been practicing from home, and it seems that if I open the app fresh about five seconds before opening time the join boarding group button lights right up. Done it from home the last three days running and it looks like I’m getting an offer every time. Do others have advice around the timing here?

4 - In addition to fresh app boots, I’m wondering about having one phone logged in prior to opening time and just doing the manual pull down refresh to see what comes up faster. Again, advice?

5 - Last question, we have reservations at Savi’s workshop, so if those somehow conflict I assume cast members will help us work it out? With a two hour return window I’m not worried about it, but if that’s changed to 45 minutes it could conflict.

Thanks in advance!  8


----------



## hockey000

Yes I had to report in 45 minutes


----------



## ironband74

Another rough day for the Resistance here in Batuu West.  Meanwhile Batuu East looks to be in great form today.


----------



## brightlined

Aurora0427 said:


> You probably did do everything right, and that’s why this system can be extremely frustrating. People who haven’t been in your situation just don’t get it, and *the Disneyland apologists tend to blame the person*, not the system. The system, when it works for you, is great. When it doesn’t, it’s an entirely different matter.


You had me until this. Does anyone here actually think Disney is blameless? I don't think I've seen anyone say that, and I certainly don't feel that way.

It's something that's bothered me in this thread. I don't think anyone here is denying that there are problems. We're mostly just here to help everyone get through those problems to have the best opportunity they can to ride the ride.

The app is faulty. The ride has issues. We've drawn up what we think are the best ways to avoid those problems.

But I don't think DL staff, the Imagineers, or anyone else at Disney is an idiot, or somehow willfully trying to ruin people's experience. Are they doing everything they can or should? Probably not. But they're not idiots for not having conceived of every possible situation and worked around it. They're learning, they're making changes, I hope more changes are in store.

As people keep pointing out, Indy and RSR still go down on almost a daily basis. That doesn't mean they shouldn't have built either of those rides, or that they're idiots for having done so. Stuff happens, and it's not like DL staff secretly wants stuff to fail.

In my lifetime, I've had the great luxury of spending a lot of time at Disney parks. Have things always gone perfectly? Not even close. Have I been angry at a Disney park? You better believe it. Have I been upset at a CM? Absolutely. But I always try to keep in mind that (most of) the people involved are doing their best - no one wants me to be upset. In a perfect world, everyone would be able to ride ROTR and love the hell out of it. But we're not there yet.

And all I can do in this situation is hope that they'll eventually get it right.


----------



## LizzyS

Katniss Mellark said:


> Today yes. I have been having issues with my Find Out More button turning red. So I experimented today by being in the Find Out More page first, then clicking My Status at 8. This worked the first time, no problem. When I backed out to try again, I got the red error message.



I am so doing this on Sunday.


----------



## ironband74

socaldisneylover said:


> Since this ride will never be reliable, I think the boarding group system is permanent.


----------



## whacked

So for everyone thinking this ride will never be reliable, we were in Disney World when Test Track was first having soft openings.  The park would not notify anyone when it was running. It would start up, we would run to the ride, They would load a few people, and you might or might not get all the way through the ride.  It was unusual to see the ride run for more than 20-30 minutes with passengers before it would go down again.  The tires on the cars could not stand up to the demands of the ride, the software was VERY buggy and crashed frequently, and this was after long delays to get to a soft opening.  That was a hot mess of a ride opening.  

RotR is actually running very well compared to the early days of test track.   It appears that most days they are getting a lot of people through the ride.  I understand that everyone wants to ride it, but there have been much worse openings, and test track eventually became reasonably reliable.


----------



## Skyegirl1999

brightlined said:


> You had me until this. Does anyone here actually think Disney is blameless? I don't think I've seen anyone say that, and I certainly don't feel that way.
> 
> It's something that's bothered me in this thread. I don't think anyone here is denying that there are problems. We're mostly just here to help everyone get through those problems to have the best opportunity they can to ride the ride.
> 
> The app is faulty. The ride has issues. We've drawn up what we think are the best ways to avoid those problems.
> 
> But I don't think DL staff, the Imagineers, or anyone else at Disney is an idiot, or somehow willfully trying to ruin people's experience. Are they doing everything they can or should? Probably not. But they're not idiots for not having conceived of every possible situation and worked around it. They're learning, they're making changes, I hope more changes are in store.
> 
> As people keep pointing out, Indy and RSR still go down on almost a daily basis. That doesn't mean they shouldn't have built either of those rides, or that they're idiots for having done so. Stuff happens, and it's not like DL staff secretly wants stuff to fail.
> 
> In my lifetime, I've had the great luxury of spending a lot of time at Disney parks. Have things always gone perfectly? Not even close. Have I been angry at a Disney park? You better believe it. Have I been upset at a CM? Absolutely. But I always try to keep in mind that (most of) the people involved are doing their best - no one wants me to be upset. In a perfect world, everyone would be able to ride ROTR and love the hell out of it. But we're not there yet.
> 
> And all I can do in this situation is hope that they'll eventually get it right.


Nicely said, and I had an issue with the “Disney apologists” line you responded to as well.  Thanks for articulating these points.


----------



## Mark_E

Ride is back up. Queue moving very slowly though.


----------



## woody74

I rode Splash Mountain during its first summer open, I guess 1989?  Anyway,  we were getting in and out of line all day trying to ride it.  I think we spent a combined total of 3 hours in line that day, and there was never any guarantee that it would reopen.  Finally got to ride it very late, just before closing, and it was one of the most magical experiences I've ever had in a Disney park.  Totally worth the trouble.


----------



## coaches24

we are on line now. on a good day how long does it take to get through the line and on the ride?


----------



## dina444444

coaches24 said:


> we are on line now. on a good day how long does it take to get through the line and on the ride?


Once you reach the first pre show it’s about 18-20 min from that point till you are off the ride.


----------



## Mark_E

coaches24 said:


> we are on line now. on a good day how long does it take to get through the line and on the ride?


It just took me around 45 mins just there from the indoor part of the line. Definitely loading slower than it has been. I’m guessing some of that was fastpasses from the breakdown though


----------



## AmyJamer

2nd day trying for a boarding group and got #20 today. (17 yesterday) Outside of the plaza inn. Today’s return time was only an hour which was tight since we were in line for smugglers run when we were notified and it was a loooong wait. They hadn’t even started boarding groups when we got in line so we had no way of knowing.


----------



## Aurora0427

brightlined said:


> You had me until this. Does anyone here actually think Disney is blameless? I don't think I've seen anyone say that, and I certainly don't feel that way.
> 
> It's something that's bothered me in this thread. I don't think anyone here is denying that there are problems. We're mostly just here to help everyone get through those problems to have the best opportunity they can to ride the ride.
> 
> The app is faulty. The ride has issues. We've drawn up what we think are the best ways to avoid those problems.
> 
> But I don't think DL staff, the Imagineers, or anyone else at Disney is an idiot, or somehow willfully trying to ruin people's experience. Are they doing everything they can or should? Probably not. But they're not idiots for not having conceived of every possible situation and worked around it. They're learning, they're making changes, I hope more changes are in store.
> 
> As people keep pointing out, Indy and RSR still go down on almost a daily basis. That doesn't mean they shouldn't have built either of those rides, or that they're idiots for having done so. Stuff happens, and it's not like DL staff secretly wants stuff to fail.
> 
> In my lifetime, I've had the great luxury of spending a lot of time at Disney parks. Have things always gone perfectly? Not even close. Have I been angry at a Disney park? You better believe it. Have I been upset at a CM? Absolutely. But I always try to keep in mind that (most of) the people involved are doing their best - no one wants me to be upset. In a perfect world, everyone would be able to ride ROTR and love the hell out of it. But we're not there yet.
> 
> And all I can do in this situation is hope that they'll eventually get it right.



I’m not sure where you’re going with all of this in regards to what I said. Several people on these boards tend to blame the poster when things go sideways at Disneyland, and not just this thread. That’s the angle from where I was coming. MOST people on this thread are amazing and sympathetic when things go wrong. I could go into more detail with specific examples of when this isn’t the case, but it’s not worth the confrontation.


I truly think the system in place is probably the best they can do at this time, and I’m sure Disney is working behind the scenes to make it better. I never implied the people at Disney were idiots, or  that they don’t care about guest satisfaction. So I’m not really sure where all of that is coming from.

I was mostly just trying to be empathetic to the original poster. They didn’t get a regular BG today and it wasn’t because they did anything wrong.


----------



## HydroGuy

Aurora0427 said:


> I’m not sure where you’re going with all of this in regards to what I said. Several people on these boards tend to blame the poster when things go sideways at Disneyland, and not just this thread. That’s the angle from where I was coming. MOST people on this thread are amazing and sympathetic when things go wrong. I could go into more detail with specific examples of when this isn’t the case, but it’s not worth the confrontation.
> 
> 
> I truly think the system in place is probably the best they can do at this time, and I’m sure Disney is working behind the scenes to make it better. I never implied the people at Disney were idiots, or  that they don’t care about guest satisfaction. So I’m not really sure where all of that is coming from.
> 
> I was mostly just trying to be empathetic to the original poster. They didn’t get a regular BG today and it wasn’t because they did anything wrong.



I took the PP's response differently than you did. I think she/he was referring to your post about "Disneyland apologists".



Aurora0427 said:


> You probably did do everything right, and that’s why this system can be extremely frustrating. People who haven’t been in your situation just don’t get it, and *the Disneyland apologists tend to blame the person*, not the system. The system, when it works for you, is great. When it doesn’t, it’s an entirely different matter.


I am not going to go back and parse the words on every post you or the PP made so I very well may be mis-remembering. But going from my sometimes faulty memory, I found that an odd description. It seemed to imply (to me) that you have an issue with people here who have pointed out (ad nausuem in this lengthy thread) that new, complicated, groundbreaking rides always seem to have similar reliability issues early on. They are saying that some who seem to be saying that the sky is falling with ROTR are exhibiting a very select and short memory. To me that has nothing to do with being a Disney apologist. It is just being realistic. And IMO objective.

A parallel sentiment is the whole idea of Boarding Groups and how BGs are being used at this time to manage the ROTR process. And whether these are fair, confusing, deficient, or in some ways a poor choice by Disney. That is subjective while the previous point was objective IMO.

I am going to be at DLR in 2 weeks for the main reason of riding ROTR. If the technology messes up and I can't ride over our two days there, I will be upset. And even if I know intellectually that the BG process is imperfect, etc., yet maybe the best of all worlds,  I will still be upset.

I get why others may be upset. But if the reason others fail is that they are not paying attention (e.g., preparing), then I will not care as much. If they made a good faith attempt to prepare and the process went sideways, then I am right there with them in being upset. Same thing would happen if Disney was using standby lines for ROTR and someone showed up early and waited in line for 4-8 hours and were not able ride. That would suck.

Going back to the PP, I have not gotten a sense that the alternative opinions represent Disney apologists. I think it represents Disney realists.


----------



## durantigger

Well that's that. I am pretty devastated. I researched this whole process heavily. This is really disappointing.


----------



## StarGirl11

@durantigger -hugs- I’m so sorry.

Came here to say it looks like it’s down again.They havent give the notice that they won’t reach me yet so it looks like they might be thinking they’ll cap off around 100 since I’m 94


----------



## brightlined

Aurora0427 said:


> I’m not sure where you’re going with all of this in regards to what I said. Several people on these boards tend to blame the poster when things go sideways at Disneyland, and not just this thread. That’s the angle from where I was coming. MOST people on this thread are amazing and sympathetic when things go wrong. I could go into more detail with specific examples of when this isn’t the case, but it’s not worth the confrontation.


Even if that's the case, I don't know that it's entirely fair to describe it that way. I think in most cases I've seen here, it's less about "blaming" the person, and more just saying, "hey, you probably shouldn't have done that, _this_ might have worked better". That goes for most of the "tricks" at Disney in general. "How was I supposed to know that?" Answer: you weren't, but now you've got more info for the next time. And it's okay to be disappointed that you didn't know.

In part, I was responding to the variety of posts that came out of surfca's screed about their situation on Wednesday. Surfca indirectly called a bunch of people idiots, including Imagineers ("who makes a ride that needs three hours of maintenance a night?") and front-line CMs. If I point out surfca's questionable decision to use an RSR FP in the vicinity of their BG being called, I'm not trying to be a "Disney apologist" - I'm pointing out that half of their anger about the situation could have been avoided if they'd weighed the decision differently. Most of their anger was misdirected - they had every reason to be angry about the situation, but it wasn't Disney staff's fault that the ride was down - it was just an unfortunate night to try to ride. By chance, if they'd gone the day before, they wouldn't have had a problem.

Take my experience. First try, Group 1. I was shocked and elated. I also thought I was now an expert and got cocky. Second day, gray button. While I did manage to snag a late BG, the biggest luck I had that day was that, about an hour after I rode it, the ride died and was down most of the rest of the day. I was "unlucky" that morning, and then was very, _very _lucky that afternoon, with a lot of very disappointed people later that day. Nobody can predict how it's going to work out. (I might not get anywhere near that lucky next time.)

I would add that, at this point, history should signal that anyone who has a BG after 2:30pm is probably going to face some difficulties, and they should be prepared for that.

(The correct answer to surfca's question about using an FP like that is to wait for the BG and try to use the FP afterward, explaining to the CM at the FP ride what happened - high likelihood that they'll let you pass through. But I personally cancelled a Guardians FP three weeks ago when I had BG 51 because it was looking likely I was going to be called and I didn't want to walk over to DCA to have to walk all the way back. If the point of your visit is to ride ROTR, that should be your priority - the other rides will still be there for another visit.)

I was also reacting to several of the "regulars" who have been pointedly trashing DL over the course of this thread. As I said before, there are a LOT of legitimate complaints about what's going on. But it's not worth people constantly harping on DL's incompetence. It doesn't help things, it doesn't change things, it just makes everyone miserable for no useful reason.

Even if there are "Disney apologists" out there, nobody needs to try to shame them out of it.

Again, it's fine to be angry or disappointed. People will inevitably feel that way until they can get everything straightened out (and probably after that).

Hopefully, a few years from now, we'll be talking about ROTR the way that people talk about RSR.


----------



## Aurora0427

HydroGuy said:


> I took the PP's response differently than you did. I think she/he was referring to your post about "Disneyland apologists".
> 
> 
> I am not going to go back and parse the words on every post you or the PP made so I very well may be mis-remembering. But going from my sometimes faulty memory, I found that an odd description. It seemed to imply (to me) that you have an issue with people here who have pointed out (ad nausuem in this lengthy thread) that new, complicated, groundbreaking rides always seem to have similar reliability issues early on. They are saying that some who seem to be saying that the sky is falling with ROTR are exhibiting a very select and short memory. To me that has nothing to do with being a Disney apologist. It is just being realistic. And IMO objective.
> 
> A parellel sentiment is the whole idea of Boarding Groups and how BGs are being used at this time to manage the ROTR process. And whether these are fair, confusing, deficient, or in some ways a poor choice by Disney. That is subjective while the previous point was objective IMO.
> 
> I am going to be at DLR in 2 weeks for the main reason of riding ROTR. If the technology messes up and I can't ride over our two days there, I will be upset. And even if I know intellectually that the BG process is imperfect, etc., yet maybe the best of all worlds,  I will still be upset.
> 
> I get why others may be upset. But if the reason others fail is that they are not paying attention (e.g., preparing), then I will not care as much. If they made a good faith attempt to prepare and the process went sideways, then I am right there with them in being upset. Same thing would happen if Disney was using standby lines for ROTR and someone showed up early and waited in line for 4-8 hours and were not able ride. That would suck.
> 
> Going back to the PP, I have not gotten a sense that the alternative opinions represent Disey apologists. I think it represents Disney realists.



The PP was going on about Disney employees being idiots and Disney not caring. That’s not what I was talking about. I’m also not talking about people on here who talk ad nauseam about reliability issues and how it’s normal.... everyone should expect those issues. There are several specific posts that I was thinking of when I used the term Disney apologists that really rubbed me the wrong way and seemed to blame the poster. Maybe the term Disney apologist is the wrong term.  I am intentionally not being more specific, because I don’t want to get in trouble with Mods and I don’t want to start a confrontation with anyone. But I wasn’t referring to anything you just wrote, or anything the previous poster said.

I think I need a break from this thread.


----------



## Michele

Hi! Just read through this last page....  lol

How about some explanation for a newbie, just found out I will be in DL this coming Thurs 27th and Fri 28th and don't know anything about riding Rise of the Resistance.  What do I need to do?


----------



## midnight star

Michele said:


> Hi! Just read through this last page....  lol
> 
> How about some explanation for a newbie, just found out I will be in DL this coming Thurs 27th and Fri 28th and don't know anything about riding Rise of the Resistance.  What do I need to do?


read the first 3 posts at the beginning it gives all the info!  Have fun! Good luck!


----------



## BecAus

>>>>>>   Hi! Just read through this last page....  lol

How about some explanation for a newbie, just found out I will be in DL this coming Thurs 27th and Fri 28th and don't know anything about riding Rise of the Resistance. What do I need to do?   <<<<<<

It's not the last page you need to read - as it says in the thread title, read the first page - first 3 posts - the info there is all current.
If you then have any questions feel free to come and post them and someone will help you out.
Good luck - MTFBWY!


----------



## StarGirl11

And I just got the notification I won’t get on either. I know it’s stupid to be upset as I feel at the moment. But I’ve had a really long day. I still don’t know what’s wrong with me and I just wanted this to go right. And the app wouldn’t let me


----------



## StarGirl11

GOT PIXIE DUSTED.

Will update with a longer explanation momentarily


----------



## Gajic

Lurker here just wanting to say thanks for all the tips in this thread. 

We arrived last week. First Disney day was Sunday Feb 16 but we didn't get to security until 7:25 and it was 8:15 before we scanned into the park so there was no shot at a boarding group. 

On Tuesday February 18 we had magic morning. We were sitting outside of Red Rose Tavern on af&t phones iphone 8 and iPhone X and were able to get BG 41. The Join Boarding Group didn't light up right at 8 but I hit My Status and it lit up there. 

On Thursday February 20 we arrived at Harbor security at 7:10.  The security was a huge mess but they opened another lane and we were able to get scanned into Disneyland at 7:46. Based on some tips here we went into the Lincoln waiting area. Lots of other ppl were waiting and the CMs there were very helpful. There was even another guest counting down the seconds. Again I couldn't get Join Boarding Group to light up right at 8 but I got it after hitting My Status and we got boarding group 31. 

I won't say anything about the ride other than its amazing and I'm so glad we got to experience it twice. Some nice ladies were waiting behind us for WOC Dessert Party and had no idea how any of this works so I passed on the knowledge. Hopefully they made it!


----------



## HydroGuy

Double post


----------



## HydroGuy

All, there have been so many posts here lately by folks overwhelmed by almost 6,000 posts in this thread over a month. Posts 1-3 here have some great advice. But there are so many nuggets in these 6,000 posts. I have been bookmarking them!

I just created a new thread which summarizes all of the key nuggets of advice on how to get a BG. Thanks to everyone's input here!

"How To" Guide For Riding Rise of the Resistance at DL - No Spoilers - Please Read Post #1!!!
https://www.disboards.com/threads/h...ers-please-read-post-1.3793195/#post-61588092


ETA: Feb 25 - this info has been moved by a moderator into page 1, post #4 of this thread.


----------



## StarGirl11

Starting this from Smugglers queue since it was down when I got back to Galaxys Edge. Continued it from the FP queue for ROTR. And wrapping up after riding!

yes you read that right. *I rode. *

So before I get into the details something important to note. There can be a descrepency between who gets notified and what they’re cutting it off at. The cutoff at the time I talked with the CM was at 96 and mine was 94.

Now to be clear that’s not what’s at play right now. But I thought I should mention it.

Now on to what actually happened.

Three things before I get into the this:

1. I’ve had a really, crappy long day. The doctors appt I’ve mentioned on and off in this thread? My apt today was to find out genetic testing. Well that didn’t come back with any real answers. We’re now setting me up with another doctor and I’m looking at another 8-9 months between testing and new appointments for answers.

This isn’t presented as a sob story to be clear. I’m just trying to explain why I had an unusual meltdown in the Indiana Jones queue. The backup group not being called was the metaphorical last straw on the camel today for me. i was physically and mentally drained I am usually not this attached to a ride.

don’t get me wrong I love Rise but a meltdown is an overreaction for me and I know it.

2.* I was not looking for compensation. *
I had decided if I wasn’t going to ride Rise I was going to change my DAS to Space Mountain from Smugglers. Which requires going by a Guest Relations kiosk.

Which leads me to my final point.

3. I mainly complained because I had concerns after I had my ticket problem this morning. That trick with the FP is not going to be common knowledge even with researchers arguably. I wanted to point out why this was a problem and why they need to make clearer people need to check their tickets are scanned. Again wasn’t looking for a comp pass. And there was another issue I noticed with the notification system when I got the unfortunate message.

Also the hassle of City Hall I decided to just talk this out with a CM at the HUB. This is also important.

Mainly I was expecting convo to go like this.:

Me complain.
CM note complaint.
Get return time for Space and move on for a retry Sunday.

Instead what actually happens:

Me complain.
CM ask to see BG to verify.
CM ask me to pull up ticket.
CM attempts to override. System balks several times.
CM turns and verifies I am before cutoff they’ve set with other CM (that’s how I found out the first info).
More attempts to override.
Finally after I don’t know how many tries the override *goes through. *
Hug and thanks and head straight for Galaxys Edge. DAS change no longer required.

Ride was down by the time I made the entrance.Talked with plaid to verify how I get the DAS. Found out that they didn’t even know they could do this. So it was right time right place thing.

So what we learn here:

1. Cutoff might be best to be checked with a CM proper before you leave the park

2. Override can be done. But you have to encounter the correct CM for it to happen. And not just for sympathy. But they need to know they can even do the number change. So probably don’t expect this to happen 9 times out of 10. I suspect most think you either board or don’t board.

I also suspect that after a certain level they can’t change the BG based on the whole override conversation. But have no way to verify this.

Ride was fantastic. I’m off to find something to eat. I’ve got a 5k to do in the morning!


----------



## theluckyrabbit

StarGirl11 said:


> And the app isn’t letting me get a FP. Doesn’t think I’m in the park. To City Hall I go!


So glad you discovered this early and knew to test for it!



BigOHawk said:


> SIAP...how soon can you get/test MaxPass in order to see if your RoTR strategy is going to work? Let's say official park open is 8 a.m. local time and I scan into park at say, 7:15...do I have to wait until 8 am. to test grap a FP?


Answer found here: Maxpass/Fastpass Superthread: an overview and some strategy
MP begins working as soon as you activate your ticket/AP at the gate (which is why we recommend this test). Return times won't be until after park opening.



StarGirl11 said:


> 30 minutes later I’ve got my pass working. Now the waiting game commencew


Glad you were able to get this fixed.


----------



## theluckyrabbit

From the disABILITIES! board:



DisKitten said:


> Hi everyone, I wanted to comment on how my experience with Rise of the Resistance at Disneyland went this past weekend (President's Day weekend).
> 
> #1, as has been said before, to be able to ride, you do need to get a boarding group, and everyone in your group must be scanned into the park in order to be part of the boarding group. We were at the park at about 7:20 for an 8:00 am open. They began letting people in the gate at 7:30 am. A really good tip, have everyone's tickets linked to everyone's accounts (ex. Sally, Bob, and Joe are on Sally's account, Bob's account, AND Joe's account). This way, all of you can be trying for a boarding group. We were able to get boarding group 101. We were really lucky that day, as the ride was running really well. We rode around 4:00, and at around 8:00 pm the information board said they were on boarding group 156.
> 
> Regarding the DAS: When your boarding group is called, you go to the Plaid Shirt cast members near the ride entrance. They will issue you a 0 minute DAS return time for Rise of the Resistance. You will then go to the normal entrance where they will scan your boarding group barcode twice, once for the boarding group and once for the DAS. They will then direct you to the alternate queue instead of the line. We waited approximately 2-3 minutes in the alternate queue.
> 
> ***If you have an existing DAS return time when your boarding group is called, the cast member will convert that DAS return time to an open ended FastPass (for the same ride) so that they can issue the DAS return time for Rise of the Resistance.
> 
> Feel free to ask me any questions.


----------



## matthewthompson87

theluckyrabbit said:


> From the disABILITIES! board:



I’m glad they had that awesome experience.

However, that is inconsistent with what we experienced on 2/2. Maybe they have changed the process... but we were redirected from the RotR entrance over to the Guest Relations podium between Galaxy’s Edge and Frontierland to get a DAS return time after our boarding group was called. We then had a wait for the return time.

Perhaps there was a 0 minute wait when their boarding group was called?


----------



## ironband74

Well, it's been an interesting week so far.  

In DL, we had 5 really good days followed by 3 pretty bad ones.

In DHS, they had a pretty rough go over the 5 days we did well, shared a pretty bad day, and then had two really good days.

I have some different theories, all of them most likely wrong.

Theory 1: Disneyland doesn't like it when I'm out of the state and just can't run once they realize I'm gone. It takes a day for them to realize this, so everything went to heck on Wednesday. If this is true, then tomorrow will probably be rough, since I'm back but it will take a day for them to realize I'm back, and Sunday will be fantastic.

Theory 2:  There is a crack team of folks who go back and forth between Florida and California.  They spent last Friday through Tuesday in California, traveled on Wednesday, and spent Thursday and Friday ensuring that DHS ran well.

Theory 3:  Our 5 days of good run was due to them fixing some system finally, and it just took 5 days for another critical system to develop severe issues.  Florida is starting a lull of issues, but after a few days of good performance it will also take a dive.

Whatever the reason, we are seeing both more downtime and slower loading during uptime. If we're running on all cylinders when we are running, we still do ok even with lots of downtime because during uptime we process lots of folks. If we're running at low capacity, but have low downtime we do ok because we are processing slow and sure. If we can do both, we have amazing days. If we do neither...well, that's the last three days.

What I wouldn't give to be a fly on the wall at the daily stand-up for the dev-ops team responsible for getting the attraction running reliably.

Last thought before sleep to ensure I don't get too jet lagged: DHS appears to have operated steadily for 9.5 hours today after about a half hour downtime immediately after opening. So this is encouraging.

Here comes the weekend.  Best of luck to all of you attempting to RISE over the next couple of days.  May the Force be with you.


----------



## theluckyrabbit

matthewthompson87 said:


> I’m glad they had that awesome experience.
> 
> However, that is inconsistent with what we experienced on 2/2. Maybe they have changed the process... but we were redirected from the RotR entrance over to the Guest Relations podium between Galaxy’s Edge and Frontierland to get a DAS return time after our boarding group was called. We then had a wait for the return time.
> 
> Perhaps there was a 0 minute wait when their boarding group was called?


I wonder if there were Plaids posted there because of the expected high crowds for the holiday weekend when the OP visited.
If anyone has used DAS in the past few days, were there any Plaids near the ROTR entrance or were you directed to the podium by the Droid Depot/Frontierland entrance?


----------



## ironband74

Oh, one more thought.  This is the first time we've had three days in a row with less than 100 groups called.  So in a way we're at an all time low.  Nowhere to go but up?


----------



## dina444444

The Chart:


----------



## StarGirl11

theluckyrabbit said:


> I wonder if there were Plaids posted there because of the expected high crowds for the holiday weekend when the OP visited.
> If anyone has used DAS in the past few days, were there any Plaids near the ROTR entrance or were you directed to the podium by the Droid Depot/Frontierland entrance?



There was a plaid at ROTR but she told me I had to go the Frontierland entrance.Thankfully I was headed back that way anyway to ride Smugglers while I waited for it to come back up but the backtrack would have been annoying otherwise


----------



## theluckyrabbit

StarGirl11 said:


> There was a plaid at ROTR but she told me I had to go the Frontierland entrance.Thankfully I was headed back that way anyway to ride Smugglers while I waited for it to come back up but the backtrack would have been annoying otherwise


So it sounds like this is the usual DLR "YMMV" situation. Good to know. And at least the Frontierland/Droid Depot kiosk is closer than having to trek to HM or Dumbo.


----------



## coaches24

Well reading these posts makes me realize just how lucky we really got today. I am chaperoning a theater group and have a very impacted schedule. We were told when we got here we wouldn’t be able to go for BGs to ride but then I saw on the schedule a loop hole that allowed us to get in the park at opening so everyone in my room (4 kids including my own and three dads including me) all wanted to try and get on. I posted earlier about getting BG 44 from SM line just outside the building. Our schedule had us being somewhere from 11:30 to 12:30 and then the kids had a class they were taking from 4-6 but we had to meet up at 3:30 so they could walk to it (apparently the old espn zone is now being used as a dance studio at least part of it is). DD told me that’s where they had their dance class. Chaperones don’t go to the classes so I didn’t see inside. So back to the story. At around 2:15 or so they called our BG. One dad and son had just gotten off SR single rider and literally ran to meet us at ROTR. That put us near the back of the line of people that also had BG 44 and were sitting right outside the ride waiting. So we get in line and it moving but I have no clue how long the que is and know it’s going to take us at least 10 min to walk to the esplanade where we have to meet at 3:30 so I am worried we will have to find a way out of the que if it takes too long.   But luck was on our side! We got to the ride (don’t worry no spoilers) at close to 3:00 and I asked a CM how long from there and he said 15-20 min. So we stuck it out. We finish the ride and have just under 10 min to get across DL to the esplanade. We maneuver the crowds as fast as we can without running and were 3 min late. Our group leader didn’t look happy that we were late ( the kids ratted us out as it was not a well kept secret what we were doing). But she didn’t say anything since we didn’t miss what we were supposed to be there for. I could have done without the stress of it all but am SOOOOO glad we got to ride. It’s an amazing ride! I hope they find a way to get rid of BGs and have a line and FPs. I can see Single rider being possible with this ride as well.


----------



## midnight star

StarGirl11 said:


> There was a plaid at ROTR but she told me I had to go the Frontierland entrance.Thankfully I was headed back that way anyway to ride Smugglers while I waited for it to come back up but the backtrack would have been annoying otherwise


I think I may have confused myself. So you have a BG, then when you check in, you get a return time? You have to go all the way to the frontierland/SWGE entrance to get the return time for 0 minutes, then go back to the ride to use it?


----------



## matthewthompson87

midnight star said:


> I think I may have confused myself. So you have a BG, then when you check in, you get a return time? You have to go all the way to the frontierland/SWGE entrance to get the return time for 0 minutes, then go back to the ride to use it?



1) Get a BG. 
2) When BG is called, if you are using DAS, go to any Guest Relations location and obtain a DAS return time.
3) Return to ride entrance after DAS return time is up.
4) You’ll then be directed to the FastPass queue.
5) Advise CM inside the building if you need any further special assistance. 

There are reports of Guest Relations CMs at RotR entrance being able to issue Return Times there. (The GR CM that was there on 2/2 was not able to...)


----------



## theluckyrabbit

matthewthompson87 said:


> 1) Get a BG.
> 2) When BG is called, if you are using DAS, go to any Guest Relations location and obtain a DAS return time.
> 3) Return to ride entrance after DAS return time is up.
> 4) You’ll then be directed to the FastPass queue.
> 5) Advise CM inside the building if you need any further special assistance.
> 
> There are reports of Guest Relations CMs at RotR entrance being able to issue Return Times there. (The GR CM that was there on 2/2 was not able to...)


I'm going to add this to the FAQs!


----------



## leahlefler

We were up at 5am today,  in the park by 7:30 and near Buzz when we hit the join boarding group notification at 8am. Got backup group #81. They called groups 72-86 this evening with a sign stating BG 86 would be the last of the day. Very grateful to have had the opportunity to have ridden the ride (we are from NY and won't be back to Disney for a while).  Fantastic ride and on the way out now. Very successful and fun day!


----------



## theluckyrabbit

montreid said:


> sometimes takes a minute to recognize in park.  quit app and reload before that city hall line.   Also order mobile food and grab your fast pass too while your waiting!


Good to know -- another tip for people to try before heading to City Hall!



Katniss Mellark said:


> I was playing from home today, and I received a different error message for the first time.  It’s a red message saying “not admitting new guests.  The experience is currently closed to guests not already in a boarding group.”...


Weird. Don't like the look of this and how it is messing things up for people at opening.



StarGirl11 said:


> ... Wish they had a couple of roaming CMs like they do at DHS to help with problems with ROTR or other problems


Please send in a comment about this -- it's a valid observation.



Elflord said:


> First time post and I’ve read the first few pages of this thread but not everything so apologies if this is buried somewhere in the middle! Taking the family to Disneyland on Sunday and I have a few specific questions. I do understand the general process and rules.
> 
> We have iPhones, probably six in total. We definitely plan to be in the park before opening.
> 
> Questions:
> 
> 1 - Is it OK for all six of us to share my account with a link to the tickets? Nobody else has an account and we could make them but it seems like a hassle to have six accounts and link the tickets six times. Is there any problem with us all sharing my account and whoever gets the option first goes for it?
> 
> 2 - To that end, if someone does get a boarding  option and goes for it, if someone else in my party gets an option should they go for it also or will that somehow lead to an error?
> 
> 3 - Been practicing from home, and it seems that if I open the app fresh about five seconds before opening time the join boarding group button lights right up. Done it from home the last three days running and it looks like I’m getting an offer every time. Do others have advice around the timing here?
> 
> 4 - In addition to fresh app boots, I’m wondering about having one phone logged in prior to opening time and just doing the manual pull down refresh to see what comes up faster. Again, advice?
> 
> 5 - Last question, we have reservations at Savi’s workshop, so if those somehow conflict I assume cast members will help us work it out? With a two hour return window I’m not worried about it, but if that’s changed to 45 minutes it could conflict.
> 
> Thanks in advance!  8


1. It's not buried in the middle, it's right on the first page in post #2 (FAQs)! See point 3 under "How do I join a Boarding Group?"
2. After the first person in your group gets a BG, all other people will get a message that they are already in a BG. (Also found in the FAQs on page one!)
3. Everyone's phone is a little different -- which is why we recommend getting used to your phone's timing by playing along at home. You're already doing that, so now all you can do is see what happens when you "go live" in the park.
4. If you have multiple phones trying, this can't hurt to try on one. Report back on the results.
5. More than one person has posted that CMs have been very understanding with all kinds of reservations if they conflicted with a BG time. You might want to ask at Savi's before reporting to the ride, just to be safe.



brightlined said:


> ... I was also reacting to several of the "regulars" who have been pointedly trashing DL over the course of this thread. As I said before, there are a LOT of legitimate complaints about what's going on. But it's not worth people constantly harping on DL's incompetence. It doesn't help things, it doesn't change things, it just makes everyone miserable for no useful reason...


Bingo.



Michele said:


> Hi! Just read through this last page....  lol
> 
> How about some explanation for a newbie, just found out I will be in DL this coming Thurs 27th and Fri 28th and don't know anything about riding Rise of the Resistance.  What do I need to do?


Read the first page -- posts 1-4, especially post 4!



HydroGuy said:


> ... I just created a new thread which summarizes all of the key nuggets of advice on how to get a BG. Thanks to everyone's input here!
> 
> "How To" Guide For Riding Rise of the Resistance at DL - No Spoilers - Please Read Post #1!!!
> https://www.disboards.com/threads/h...ers-please-read-post-1.3793195/#post-61588092


Thank you! This new "How To" Guide is now post #4 on page one! Read up, everyone!



StarGirl11 said:


> ... So what we learn here:
> 
> 1. Cutoff might be best to be checked with a CM proper before you leave the park
> 
> 2. Override can be done. But you have to encounter the correct CM for it to happen. And not just for sympathy. But they need to know they can even do the number change. So probably don’t expect this to happen 9 times out of 10. I suspect most think you either board or don’t board.
> 
> I also suspect that after a certain level they can’t change the BG based on the whole override conversation. But have no way to verify this!...


Very interesting. Glad you finally got to ride. Sorry for all the hassle. If anyone else experiences something that can add to this, please post!


----------



## Mathmagicland

Couldn’t check in with this Thread for a week, come back and 49 pages have been added!  I think I will save time and check back to posts 1-4 for any changes and updates....thanks, @theluckyrabbit for keeping those posts current!


----------



## theluckyrabbit

Mathmagicland said:


> Couldn’t check in with this Thread for a week, come back and 49 pages have been added!  I think I will save time and check back to posts 1-4 for any changes and updates....thanks, @theluckyrabbit for keeping those posts current!


Cruise posts 1-4 (admire our new, shiny post 4!) and come back with any questions!


----------



## dina444444

Morning so far:
6:05 left my house
6:33 exited 5 freeway at Disneyland Dr. exit. Stayed to the right and went to Pixar Pals
6:37 Pixar Pals structure opened. I was 6th car in line
6:39 parked and heading to security
6:45 through security and on tram


----------



## dina444444

It’s a mess over here. All the middle gates for emh/mm right now so only the few side gates for regular. Hopefully they change those gates over soon. Emh/mm gates opened at 6:56 today.


----------



## Syndrome

dina444444 said:


> It’s a mess over here. All the middle gates for emh/mm right now so only the few side gates for regular. Hopefully they change those gates over soon. Emh/mm gates opened at 6:56 today.



Are the middle gates backed up with emh/mm peeps , or are they walk up ? Thanks !


----------



## dina444444

Syndrome said:


> Are the middle gates backed up with emh/mm peeps , or are they walk up ? Thanks !


They were more 3/4 back to dca when they opened them. Those lines are back to dca now. They may have flipped some of them over. And side gates are now open.


----------



## Syndrome

dina444444 said:


> They were more 3/4 back to dca when they opened them. Those lines are back to dca now. They may have flipped some of them over. And side gates are now open.



Thank you . Looks to be another insane Saturday for DL ! 
Good luck getting a BG !


----------



## dina444444

Syndrome said:


> Thank you . Looks to be another insane Saturday for DL !
> Good luck getting a BG !


Thanks. I should be in the park within the next 10 min. Almost to the gates.


----------



## ironband74

@dina444444 May the Force be with you this morning.  Some days you have to get your own data


----------



## dina444444

Through the gates!! They were not taking pictures for new tickets which made it faster.


----------



## hockey000

I understand some people's frustration with getting a boarding pass system and the ride set up  itself. Being new it's going to take some time for things to settle down but it's always going to be a high demand experience. In my opinion it's not a ride. At this time plan a few hours out of your day to put yourself in the position to experience it. With it your still not guaranteed. I think people need that mindset before going. The demand is just so high. Would I do it again? No way I would. Getting to the park way too early, finding a good reception spot, praying you get a boarding pass, or hoping it doesn't break down. All way too stressful for my vacation.


----------



## Katiebird

Far right gates are MM now and middle are regular. Not sure about far left. Regular not open yet. Harbor security is maybe 5 minutes.

They need CMs directing lines and traffic in the plaza, there are so many people just milling around - it’s hard to see what’s what and where to go. 

I think they just opened the gates for general admission.


----------



## dina444444

Katiebird said:


> Far right gates are MM now and middle are regular. Not sure about far left. Regular not open yet. Harbor security is maybe 5 minutes.
> 
> They need CMs directing lines and traffic in the plaza, there are so many people just milling around - it’s hard to see what’s what and where to go.
> 
> I think they just opened the gates for general admission.


Left gates are regular except far left is character breakfast. Those opened at 7:15. I was in line over there are in the park by just after 7:30.


----------



## dina444444

A little off topic. They are expecting it to be busy today. There are 3 showings of fantasmic tonight.


----------



## msteddom

I’m wondering if the threat of rain won’t keep some people away.  I’m at the train station and it doesn’t seem as crazy as it has the last few Saturdays.


----------



## Syndrome

The DL main website (also WDW) is glitching this morning . No acess to book hotel, buy tickets , see park hours , etc, etc .
Hope this wont effect the DL app this morning for peeps trying for BG's !
From what I can tell, the APP seems to be ok .


----------



## dina444444

7:55 rope dropped


----------



## dina444444

Group 33. In line for Indy now.


----------



## Briarrose1306

Group 77!


----------



## dina444444

Backups still available


----------



## Syndrome

Looks like back-ups started about 60 seconds in , from what I saw this morning ......possibly a little earlier even ?


----------



## ironband74

Yeah back ups are still available at 8:09 here.  Must be the threat of rain as PP suggested.


----------



## dina444444

ironband74 said:


> Yeah back ups are still available at 8:09 here.  Must be the threat of rain as PP suggested.


I’m also wondering how many got through the gates before 8am.


----------



## sunflare

So my play from home experience was odd today. Normally, I flip around all the screens until I start getting the backup message (Find out more, see Rd button, click, hit back, hit my status, click, click join boarding group off that page). Today, whenever I  hit my status, Join Boarding Group didn't "turn on" like it has in the past...until they went to backups. 

I started getting the backup message around 1:15 in or so. 8:11 now and still getting it. The rain must have scared people away.


----------



## msteddom

31 for me today!


----------



## Katiebird

Group 32! My app timed out but DD got in.


----------



## Syndrome

sunflare said:


> So my play from home experience was odd today. Normally, I flip around all the screens until I start getting the backup message (Find out more, see Rd button, click, hit back, hit my status, click, click join boarding group off that page). Today, whenever I  hit my status, Join Boarding Group didn't "turn on" like it has in the past...until they went to backups.



You might have been working with "cached" DL APP info . I ran into that last week as well .
It has never happened to me since , after I  started opening the DL APP about 30 seconds before opening , and did NOT hit the "find out more" button till just after opening .
In other words , do not leave the DL APP running in the backround for an extended time, right before the boarding group procedure. Open it just before the BG process is starting. I open mine 30 seconds before.


----------



## ironband74

I was trying new things on my phone to see if I could get the button to turn after going into the app a minute early.  As expected, I could not.  I also noticed that I started getting the pop up immediately upon my restart of the app and clicking in for a backup group.

So best practice still seems to be (at least on Android) to hold off on clicking "Find out More" until OPO.

Backups still available at 8:15.  Yesterday they went with only 61 regular groups.  Curious to see what they do today.  DHS is clicking along nicely so far.  Hopefully we can follow suit.


----------



## ironband74

Katiebird said:


> Group 32! My app timed out but DD got in.


The power of multiple devices...


----------



## sunflare

Syndrome said:


> You might have been working with "cached" DL APP info . I ran into that last week as well .
> It has never happened to me since , after I  started up the DL APP about 30 seconds before opening , and did NOT hit the "find out more" button till just after opening .
> In other words , do not leave the DL APP running in the backround for an extended time, right before the boarding group procedure.


I don't think so. I usually don't open the app until right at 8 (and sometimes later if I'm at work and lose track ) I crashed the app twice thinking that I might have a cache issue, but it still did it until I got the backup message.


----------



## montreid

ironband74 said:


> So best practice still seems to be (at least on Android) to hold off on clicking "Find out More" until OPO.


Agree.  Especially found this to be true if you sit on their WiFi.  I think they cache and don't refresh until forced.


----------



## ironband74

OK, backups are gone.  81 and up are backups.  Expect to start at group 10 or 11 today.  Now the waiting game begins.


----------



## Syndrome

sunflare said:


> I don't think so. I usually don't open the app until right at 8 (and sometimes later if I'm at work and lose track ) I crashed the app twice thinking that I might have a cache issue, but it still did it until I got the backup message.



O.K. , just a quick guess .


----------



## midnight star

dina444444 said:


> A little off topic. They are expecting it to be busy today. There are 3 showings of fantasmic tonight.
> 
> View attachment 475668


Oh goodness. I was planning on going tomorrow. I wonder if today and tomorrow are going to be slammed like last weekend. Is ski week still happening?


----------



## hiroMYhero

midnight star said:


> Is ski week still happening?


In San Diego, Ski Week ends tomorrow.

Backups lasted until 8:18a today but the weather should be better tomorrow.


----------



## dina444444

midnight star said:


> Oh goodness. I was planning on going tomorrow. I wonder if today and tomorrow are going to be slammed like last weekend. Is ski week still happening?


It’s the end of ski week so if people came for the whole week they may still be here.


----------



## Susie63

midnight star said:


> Oh goodness. I was planning on going tomorrow. I wonder if today and tomorrow are going to be slammed like last weekend. Is ski week still happening?


Yes The parks are very busy


----------



## dina444444

Group 10 just called


----------



## kucanhead

Ugh. Backup group 96. The button would not turn red for me no matter what I did until I restarted the app. By the time I got in, my wife trying at the same time in a different part of the park got a group. We flew in for the weekend for this, so I really hope we get in. We can try again tomorrow, but have to leave around 5 for the airport...


----------



## Skyegirl1999

kucanhead said:


> Ugh. Backup group 96. The button would not turn red for me no matter what I did until I restarted the app. By the time I got in, my wife trying at the same time in a different part of the park got a group. We flew in for the weekend for this, so I really hope we get in. We can try again tomorrow, but have to leave around 5 for the airport...


96 is pretty hopeful if they have a decent day.  Crossing all the fingers and toes for you!


----------



## montreid

Look for a 5pm call based on averages .  Earlier if crushing it.  Later if  the Jawas get into the machinery for any length of time


----------



## DLRExpert

Group #10 in line and now stopped and stuck in queue.


----------



## dina444444

DLRExpert said:


> Group #10 in line and now stopped and stuck in queue.


Was wondering it might be down. It’s been on 19 for the last 15 min.


----------



## MinnieInVA

I got 20 this morning, now patiently waiting while the ride is stuck on 19. Pretty quiet in Toon Town...


----------



## emchen

0915
In line now as group 14. Been standing still for 15 min now. Music playing but ride must be down. No announcements...

Addendum 0927
Moving now!

Addendum 0946


Spoiler: Possible spoiler information here!



On the “colors” when music stopped. Getting return passes...


----------



## montreid

emchen said:


> 0915
> In line now as group 14. Been standing still for 15 min now. Music playing but ride must be down. No announcements...
> 
> Addendum 0927
> Moving now!
> 
> Addendum 0946
> 
> 
> Spoiler: Possible spoiler information here!
> 
> 
> 
> On the “colors” when music stopped. Getting return passes...


Not your first ride right?   Jawas in action early.  Hopefully up soon


----------



## YayforMickey

sunflare said:


> So my play from home experience was odd today. Normally, I flip around all the screens until I start getting the backup message (Find out more, see Rd button, click, hit back, hit my status, click, click join boarding group off that page). Today, whenever I  hit my status, Join Boarding Group didn't "turn on" like it has in the past...until they went to backups.
> 
> I started getting the backup message around 1:15 in or so. 8:11 now and still getting it. The rain must have scared people away.


Same thing happened to me today when I was playing from home.


----------



## socaldisneylover

I was able to get to Toy Story Mania entrance at 7:59.  Ended up in group 43.  Still hanging at CA Adventure, but about to head over for Fast Pass on Matterhorn.  Little bit of rain, but it’s supposed to move through quick.  Have to leave park by 1:40, so hope I get to ride.


----------



## KAT4DISNEY

With 4 phones going we only had 1 open up for the boarding groups.   63.  Ugg.  Should be ok but still there was a family sitting by us who then asked me what their #37 meant.    All I ever got was the Crimson Red "not happening" message.


----------



## dina444444

For reference my join boarding group was not red when I clicked in at 8am. I got my group 33 after clicking on the join button in my status.


----------



## msteddom

We’ve been stuck at 24 for a while now!  Not a good morning!


----------



## midnight star

kucanhead said:


> Ugh. Backup group 96. The button would not turn red for me no matter what I did until I restarted the app. By the time I got in, my wife trying at the same time in a different part of the park got a group. We flew in for the weekend for this, so I really hope we get in. We can try again tomorrow, but have to leave around 5 for the airport...





KAT4DISNEY said:


> With 4 phones going we only had 1 open up for the boarding groups.   63.  Ugg.  Should be ok but still there was a family sitting by us who then asked me what their #37 meant.    All I ever got was the Crimson Red "not happening" message.


I’ve been seeing a lot of posts on Facebook of people having issues with the app not loading.


----------



## socaldisneylover

They also sold out of the balloon ears in 1 day.


----------



## dina444444

25 has been called. Hope we get to 33 soon. Would love to be out of the parks by 1pm.


----------



## Epek

My friend and his wife are there today, and after asking me a million questions and me doing my best to talk him through the process using all the tips from here they got.....
127
seems like a bad tech day on top of following 3 bad ride performance days, though. So I guess the deck was stacked against them. 
I really hope they can get on, as they are huge Star Wars fans and this is their first time to GE. But, we are locals and they got the 3 day pass, so it’s not their only chance.


----------



## msteddom

I’m in line now.  Things are backed up all the way to the scan point.  It looks like this is going to be a long wait!


----------



## midnight star

I’m in Redondo beach right now and heard thunder...not sure how it is in Anaheim.


----------



## dina444444

midnight star said:


> I’m in Redondo beach right now and heard thunder...not sure how it is in Anaheim.


It was raining earlier but stopped. Sun is sort of out. Not sure which direction the weather pattern is/was heading


----------



## dina444444

msteddom said:


> I’m in line now.  Things are backed up all the way to the scan point.  It looks like this is going to be a long wait!


Ugh. Would explain the long time gap between them calling groups.


----------



## midnight star

dina444444 said:


> It was raining earlier but stopped. Sun is sort of out. Not sure which direction the weather pattern is/was heading


It’s sort of cloudy and sunny here too but heard thunder in the distance. So weird.

Just heard some more in the distance. Maybe it’s rolling in


----------



## dina444444

One more group to go. In the single rider line for falcon and I have a btmr fp to use before getting in the ROTR line.


----------



## socaldisneylover

I have to be out of park by 1:30 and thought I had a good chance of riding with group 43, but I’m going to call it quits since the line looks really long, and they’re only on group 32.  Maybe next week.


----------



## dina444444

Group 33 called. 2 hours to return.


----------



## emchen

montreid said:


> Not your first ride right?   Jawas in action early.  Hopefully up soon


Stayed at VGC last night so got to ride matterhorn a couple times before ROTR BG was called.


----------



## dina444444

In line now. Queue is still outside close to the barcode scanning

Edit: cm estimated 35 min wait to another family that asked


----------



## Katiebird

We’re in line as well. Moving but slowly.


----------



## midnight star

Side note: the park doesn’t seem as packed as last week according to the app. Longest line is Matterhorn at 80 minutes. Falcon ride is only 35


----------



## msteddom

dina444444 said:


> In line now. Queue is still outside close to the barcode scanning
> 
> Edit: cm estimated 35 min wait to another family that asked


I would say more like 45 minutes based on what I’ve experienced so far.


----------



## sweethannah

Skyegirl1999 said:


> You can try for a BG anywhere as long as the tickets you're trying with have been scanned into Disneyland.  *People even "help out" from home to get BGs for people linked to their accounts.  *As long as the ticket has been scanned into DL, you can book a BG from absolutely anywhere.  So you won't have any problem with where you are, but you will want to make sure you're not busy when park opening rolls around, so if you're worried about your timing happening while you're precisely at the DCA turnstiles, you'd want to step off to the side or something... that's a call you'd have to make based on how the lines go that day.



I'm confused about the bolded part above I thought everyone's ticket had to be scanned into the park before you can book a boarding group or Fastpass how is somebody able to assist people from home? TIA.. if DH can avoid rushing in to the Parks every morning just to scan his ticket and head back to the hotel he'd be MUCH happier for it.


----------



## dina444444

Katiebird said:


> We’re in line as well. Moving but slowly.


I’m currently in the outdoor/indoor portion. But yes it’s slowly moving.


----------



## Skyegirl1999

sweethannah said:


> I'm confused about the bolded part above I thought everyone's ticket had to be scanned into the park before you can book a boarding group or Fastpass how is somebody able to assist people from home? TIA.. if DH can avoid rushing in to the Parks every morning just to scan his ticket and head back to the hotel he'd be MUCH happier for it.


If I’m at home and my husband scans into the park, I can try to get HIM a BG from home using his ticket on my account.  So I can “help from home.”

But you can only book BGs for tickets that have been used to enter the park, you are correct.  You cannot just sit at home and have someone book a BG for you; it’s the opposite that’s true.


----------



## msteddom

sweethannah said:


> I'm confused about the bolded part above I thought everyone's ticket had to be scanned into the park before you can book a boarding group or Fastpass how is somebody able to assist people from home? TIA.. if DH can avoid rushing in to the Parks every morning just to scan his ticket and head back to the hotel he'd be MUCH happier for it.



Everyone getting a BG must be scanned into Disneyland.  Someone can get a BG from home for people who are in the parks.


----------



## 4boysDisneymom

Thanks for all the tips, we’re BG 92 today. With where we’re at now what are our chances of riding? TIA!!


----------



## dina444444

Line has started to pick up a little more movement


----------



## dina444444

Made it to merge


----------



## hiroMYhero

4boysDisneymom said:


> Thanks for all the tips, we’re BG 92 today. With where we’re at now what are our chances of riding? TIA!!


If RotR doesn’t have downtime, you may be able to ride by 6p or a little before.


----------



## Katiebird

I think it took us around 40 minutes from the start of the line to off the ride, and everything seemed to be working.


----------



## dina444444

Finally off. Everything was working but they are not loading at full capacity right now


----------



## Elflord

Thanks for everyone’s help and advice, looking forward to a smooth process tomorrow morning!

One last question, are people finding that cast members can help resolve if there is conflict between calling your boarding group and other planned events? 

Example, we have dinner at Carthay Circle at 6 pm, and there’s a financial penalty if we don’t show up. I could see our boarding group being called to return between five and seven, and I worry going at five we’re not really going to be done by six(esp. with breakdowns). But going to dinner first is clearly not good either. Has anyone experienced this kind of conflict?

Thanks!


----------



## sherilaine

msteddom said:


> Everyone getting a BG must be scanned into Disneyland.  Someone can get a BG from home for people who are in the parks.



I just read this on Hydroguy's post and I am quite curious about this.  We will no doubt give this process a try on our first day and if it fails well then we might try to get more creative.  

As I have understood this, if OPO is at 8AM, which is 9AM in our home timezone.  I could get my husband, scratch that, son, to log into the Disneyland app using my credentials and using our wifi at home, which is very fast, try to get us a boarding group at OPO on the dot, even though he is remote and my daughter and I are in the park 2500 km away from him?

That's pretty interesting.


----------



## ironband74

Elflord said:


> Thanks for everyone’s help and advice, looking forward to a smooth process tomorrow morning!
> 
> One last question, are people finding that cast members can help resolve if there is conflict between calling your boarding group and other planned events?
> 
> Example, we have dinner at Carthay Circle at 6 pm, and there’s a financial penalty if we don’t show up. I could see our boarding group being called to return between five and seven, and I worry going at five we’re not really going to be done by six(esp. with breakdowns). But going to dinner first is clearly not good either. Has anyone experienced this kind of conflict?
> 
> Thanks!


They have been very accommodating with dining reservations conflicting with ROTR boarding groups.  In many cases, just showing up late and indicating that you were in line for ROTR or honoring an ROTR boarding group will be enough.  I'm paranoid, however, so if it were me and I thought there might be a conflict I'd probably swing by and let a CM at the restaurant know that we might be late due to the ROTR BG call.


----------



## HydroGuy

sherilaine said:


> I just read this on Hydroguy's post and I am quite curious about this.  We will no doubt give this process a try on our first day and if it fails well then we might try to get more creative.
> 
> As I have understood this, if OPO is at 8AM, which is 9AM in our home timezone.  I could get my husband, scratch that, son, to log into the Disneyland app using my credentials and using our wifi at home, which is very fast, try to get us a boarding group at OPO on the dot, even though he is remote and my daughter and I are in the park 2500 km away from him?
> 
> That's pretty interesting.


Yep! Although I am confirming my own post lol.

Understand that Disney is not using location data to verify you are there. This was discussed early on in this thread, and it is not practical. So they are just looking for someone who has a valid park ticket, scanned in to DL that day (they can verify both of those things) to push a button in their app (the red "join BG" button). So anyone can do this from anywhere, as long as they are logged into your account or really any account where your scanned park ticket has been linked.


----------



## sherilaine

We will be there in two months - I am hoping things might settle down by then - especially after this entire process has been put through the test of Spring Break crowds!  It will be interesting to see how that plays out.  

I have to say though - being included in this forum and having all of this advice at our fingertips is wonderful.  I cannot imagine a person entering the park for the first time and not having any of this information ahead of time - I am sure they still manage to have a great visit but it certainly is very valuable!


----------



## KAT4DISNEY

Our boarding group 63 was called at 4PM.  Came back from the hotel and entered the queue which was outside around 4:45pm.


----------



## ironband74

Finally seeing some acceleration with 14 groups called in the last hour.  Hopefully this is where we turn it around and make a decent day out of our rough start.


----------



## snootchiebootchies

Thanks for all the advice. I got through security and in line during MM at 6:40 AM. Rest of family joined me 20 minutes later, literally just before gates opened and lines started to move into the park. We linked our tickets and purchased Max Passes. The app was working fine. We left the park and sat on a bench outside La Brea Bakery to wait for 8 AM. We had two phones using data and an old phone using Disney's wifi. We opened our apps 30 seconds before 8 AM, and hit "find out more" right at 8 AM. My wife got BG #29! We were called to the gate around 11:42 AM.  Got to the ride maybe 15 minutes later after we were called and emerged from the ride roughly an hour later.  Great experience!


----------



## dina444444

Current spread is 88-98. I wonder if it’s down or if they are done for that night. 98 isn’t bad with the morning it had.


----------



## ironband74

ironband74 said:


> Finally seeing some acceleration with 14 groups called in the last hour.  Hopefully this is where we turn it around and make a decent day out of our rough start.


And they've slowed back down to around 8-9 per hour.  Not sure what the capacity issue is today, but at least they haven't shut down since this morning.  We should break 100 groups today if the Jawas stay away.  

Meanwhile DHS had its best day in quite a while, pulling 147 groups in about 10 hours and only one 35 minute bout with the Jawas. It's good to see them rebounding, though it does make me wonder if there is one crack overnight crew that splits time between the two locations. The last four days we've seen delayed openings and/or morning downtimes which suggests to me that something in the overnight procedure not right. Or it could just be rotten luck. We'll see how my renewed presence on the West Coast affects things tomorow...


----------



## ironband74

dina444444 said:


> Current spread is 88-98. I wonder if it’s down or if they are done for that night. 98 isn’t bad with the morning it had.


It looks like they are still calling...


----------



## Varty Yo

104 looks like the last group


----------



## kucanhead

In line now. Got to the backside of water, and then the ride went down. We’ve been waiting here for a half hour or so...


----------



## ironband74

kucanhead said:


> In line now. Got to the backside of water, and then the ride went down. We’ve been waiting here for a half hour or so...


Here's hoping it comes back up soon!


----------



## kucanhead

After an hour, back up.


----------



## montreid

kucanhead said:


> After an hour, back up.


Glad you stuck with it.   At least you get to know the water feature well   Not a bad spot to be in as still open and interesting.


----------



## ironband74

Varty Yo said:


> 104 looks like the last group


Yup.  Since they started at 10 that's 95 groups today...so 4 days consecutive now under 100 groups called.  Tomorrow is another day, hopefully they make some progress on whatever issue is causing the slow loading tonight.


----------



## theluckyrabbit

midnight star said:


> I’ve been seeing a lot of posts on Facebook of people having issues with the app not loading.


I'm seeing this, too. Wondering if the app is due for an update to resolve this problem. This can't be a coincidence.


----------



## tsumgirl

theluckyrabbit said:


> I'm seeing this, too. Wondering if the app is due for an update to resolve this problem. This can't be a coincidence.


FWIW, I got this message in the app earlier today.


----------



## theluckyrabbit

tsumgirl said:


> FWIW, I got this message in the app earlier today.
> View attachment 475873


Someone mentioned that on another thread this morning (the MP Superthread?), too -- hope Disney gets whatever it is fixed quickly!


----------



## Katiebird

I got that “digital experiences unavailable” message several times today, too. I didn’t notice anything amiss, other than it timing out for me this morning, obviously. 

It’s been glitchy in general lately though, it doesn’t like to open my flex pass reservations (often I have to use the website for that instead of the app).


----------



## Astylla

For any plus sized guests I belong to a Facebook group called Disney for Plus sized guests and they talk about experience with the ride vehicles.

Overall the consensus has been some people have mentioned is if they are a female size 26/28 or above or have larger hips then getting into the actual ride car but otherwise it's been fine.

There is reportedly a ride vehicle that has an extra wide opening for those who need extra assistance and to inquire with the very last CM if needed.  Seat belts have not been a concern just the molded seats.


----------



## theluckyrabbit

Astylla said:


> For any plus sized guests I belong to a Facebook group called Disney for Plus sized guests and they talk about experience with the ride vehicles.
> 
> Overall the consensus has been some people have mentioned is if they are a female size 26/28 or above or have larger hips then getting into the actual ride car but otherwise it's been fine.
> 
> There is reportedly a ride vehicle that has an extra wide opening for those who need extra assistance and to inquire with the very last CM if needed.  Seat belts have not been a concern just the molded seats.


Thank you for posting this -- I'll add it to the FAQs on page one.


----------



## ballonewb

Heading out to the park today from Chicago.  Wishing that boarding groups would last till we arrive around 12pm today.


----------



## Mark_E

ballonewb said:


> Heading out to the park today from Chicago.  Wishing that boarding groups would last till we arrive around 12pm today.


Not even a fairy godmother could grant that wish unfortunately


----------



## ballonewb

So true


----------



## Chenalex

Gates opened at 7:08 today. First time doing this, surprised shops and restaurants aren’t open


----------



## ironband74

Chenalex said:


> Gates opened at 7:08 today. First time doing this, surprised shops and restaurants aren’t open


Thanks, I was just about to ask!  Twitter showed someone getting there at 7:16 and finding the turnstiles admitting already.  

May the Force be with you!


----------



## chicagodisneyguy

Today is our first time on the left coast trying for a BG.  Got to the bagcheck around 7:25 with minimal wait.  In DL park at 7:33am.  Grabbed a Radiator Springs fastpass via Maxpass for 8:30am.  As posted above, shocked the shops aren't open.  And the coffee line is crazy....wish it was an option with Maxpass .

Weather is perfect so seems like it will be a great day.  Good luck to everyone else trying for a BG!

EDIT: My Join BG never lit up but luckily my bf had success.  BG 49!!


----------



## baozi

Have a good dream on the aircraft.



ballonewb said:


> Heading out to the park today from Chicago.  Wishing that boarding groups would last till we arrive around 12pm today.


----------



## Chenalex

67! We’re into backups already


----------



## Peachy0118

Played from home. Worked normally right at 9. Went out, then went back in to try again another way (since practice makes perfect!) And I got that "something went wrong" note. First time seeing that... 

hope things went okay for people actually in the parks!


----------



## sherilaine

I just tried it from home right now at 8:01 PST and I was of course told we are not yet in the park - ha ha - which we are not since we are in Calgary!!  But it worked smooth as anything!  Just tried it again and now it shows backup boarding groups being offered.  

I won't play around anymore from home as I do wonder if that could interfere with those actually in the parks - hope it works well for everyone there today!!


----------



## pokee99

Hmmm... I've played from home a few times...but never seen this. It was in at 8:00:30. After I clicked join boarding group it was hanging...


----------



## ironband74

Playing at home used my normal approach and everything seems normal on my end.  Regulars gone at 8:01:00.  Backups still being distributed at 8:06


----------



## whacked

BG 66.  Hopefully the Jawas stay home.


----------



## Syndrome

pokee99 said:


> Hmmm... I've played from home a few times...but never seen this. After I clicked join boarding group it was hanging...



I have been getting that random message 2 days in a row now . Must be a glitch . I have never been "stuck" on it , was always able to back out and get right back in and click on "join a boarding group" with no issues , so far .


----------



## gerilyne

pokee99 said:


> Hmmm... I've played from home a few times...but never seen this. After I clicked join boarding group it was hanging...


I got this too. I got in right at 8 and then backed out, went back in and the message came up. I wonder if it was at the switch between regular and backup groups?


----------



## Syndrome

gerilyne said:


> I got this too. I got in right at 8 and then backed out, went back in and the message came up. I wonder if it was at the switch between regular and backup groups?


I dont think it was due to a switch over to back-ups . I got it pretty early in , and was still able to back out, then return and "join a boarding group" not in back-up several times after that .
Looks like back-ups started about 60 seconds in again today .......


----------



## ironband74

Backups are gone now, didn't see when they finished (Edit:  Thrilldata puts it at 8:18).  First backup is 81 today.

DHS is clicking along yesterday's line so far today.  Hopefully today is the day we turn it around...


----------



## shosh1530

Playing from home again this morning and at first I got Join Boarding Group after hitting My Status. Was showing my husband the process for the first time, so I backed out to gove over it again and then I got that same message about not admitting new guests (saw it yesterday too). It looked a bit different then it did in screen shot above. I backed out again and then finally had Join Boarding Group button light up on the first screen. On third attempt I got back up message. 

We'll be arriving in the parks in 3 weeks! I hope we'll get on the ride at least one time in our four days there. We got park hoppers just so we can try every day.


----------



## pokee99

Katniss Mellark said:


> I was playing from home today, and I received a different error message for the first time.  It’s a red message saying “not admitting new guests.  The experience is currently closed to guests not already in a boarding group.” This was a few seconds after 8 before backup groups even started.  I had already gone through the whole process once with no issue, and then this message came up.  Do you guys sometimes get this message too? I don’t remember this one before.



I got this message for the first time this morning playing from home, but I was a little "late" this morning (maaaaybe close to 8:01). My "guess" is that error appears the nanosecond after all regular groups are assigned and backups are released?


----------



## pokee99

gerilyne said:


> I got this too. I got in right at 8 and then backed out, went back in and the message came up. I wonder if it was at the switch between regular and backup groups?



I just posted that theory! Great minds....!!!


----------



## pokee99

shosh1530 said:


> Playing from home again this morning and at first I got Join Boarding Group after hitting My Status. Was showing my husband the process for the first time, so I backed out to gove over it again and then I got that same message about not admitting new guests (saw it yesterday too). It looked a bit different then it did in screen shot above. I backed out again and then finally had Join Boarding Group button light up on the first screen. On third attempt I got back up message.
> 
> We'll be arriving in the parks in 3 weeks! I hope we'll get on the ride at least one time in our four days there. We got park hoppers just so we can try every day.



We arrive in 3 weeks, too - with 4 day hoppers. I'm nervous.  I think it's gonna be a gong show!

I personally think more people "play from home" more often on the weekends and overload the system!

Something to keep in mind, I think


----------



## sherilaine

pokee99 said:


> We arrive in 3 weeks, too - with 4 day hoppers. I'm nervous.  I think it's gonna be a gong show!
> 
> I personally think more people "play from home" more often on the weekends and overload the system!
> 
> Something to keep in mind, I think



I agree - I think it's great to try it - see how it works and then there really is no need to play around with it from home anymore than that.  Unless of course you are actually trying to book a boarding group at home for people who are physically in the park.  I am not going to do it anymore until we are actually in the parks trying for real.


----------



## Chenalex

What time does the ride usually open? Looks like they’re not boarding anyone yet


----------



## montreid

any moment now hopefully -  they've been able to push the opening earlier in 10 groups; but since it's Sunday -- no bets.


----------



## ironband74

pokee99 said:


> We arrive in 3 weeks, too - with 4 day hoppers. I'm nervous.  I think it's gonna be a gong show!
> 
> I personally think more people "play from home" more often on the weekends and overload the system!
> 
> Something to keep in mind, I think


We've all but established that playing at home doesn't do anything appreciable to the system.  The app doesn't send any data until tickets are selected and the second "Join Boarding Group" button is pressed.  Gate 1 (are you in the park) might get a little stressed if you have a lot of people selecting tickets who aren't in the park and submitting those, but that gate can be multi-threaded and easily weed out anyone who is not scanned in so that the heavy lifting done by Gate 2 (do you already have a group?) and the scheduler don't get bogged down with bad requests.


----------



## ironband74

Chenalex said:


> What time does the ride usually open? Looks like they’re not boarding anyone yet


Anyone's guess.  On a day when everything is ready to go and there are no issues, 15-30 minutes after opening seems to be the norm.  We are experiencing a lot of issues and are in the valley of our worst time ever (4 days straight of less than 100 groups called, before this we never had more than two consecutive days like this), so it is hard to say how things will progress.  But don't let it bring you down - the Resistance is built on hope!


----------



## Chenalex

Thanks! Looks like it started at 9am with group 10 today. Also hoping for a good day!


----------



## franandaj

I hope it perks up. Tomorrow is my first day to try for it at DL. We've been planning for this day since the day the ride opened!


----------



## sherilaine

So now that people are very focused on joining the boarding groups - which requires entering the DL gates - are the lines for DCA noticeably shorter?  I mean I have always seen much longer lines of people trying to get into DL at park opening compared to DCA but I am just wondering if this has actually moved the needle even further?

We will have 5 days in the parks - 1 will just be regular entry at DL our first day, 2 will be early entry at DL and 2 will be early entry at DCA - so on the DCA EMH days I know full well we will not have any possibility of riding ROTR.  So all of this information is so valuable!!


----------



## HydroGuy

sherilaine said:


> I just tried it from home right now at 8:01 PST and I was of course told we are not yet in the park - ha ha - which we are not since we are in Calgary!!  But it worked smooth as anything!  Just tried it again and now it shows backup boarding groups being offered.
> 
> *I won't play around anymore from home as I do wonder if that could interfere with those actually in the parks - hope it works well for everyone there today!!*


The consensus is this will not have an impact on those in the park, FYI.


----------



## SOCALMouseMommy

sherilaine said:


> So now that people are very focused on joining the boarding groups - which requires entering the DL gates - are the lines for DCA noticeably shorter?  I mean I have always seen much longer lines of people trying to get into DL at park opening compared to DCA but I am just wondering if this has actually moved the needle even further?
> 
> We will have 5 days in the parks - 1 will just be regular entry at DL our first day, 2 will be early entry at DL and 2 will be early entry at DCA - so on the DCA EMH days I know full well we will not have any possibility of riding ROTR.  So all of this information is so valuable!!


First, the day I went to try to ride ROTR, the lines for DCA were non-existent. We walked right in at park open (after first entering DL and then leaving).

Second, you could try for ROTR on your DCA days if you want. Just leave DCA 10 or 15 minutes before park open. If the lines are reasonable you should get into DL quickly now that they’ve been admitting people so much earlier. if it doesn’t work just head back to DCA. (This is all provided you have park hoppers of course.)


----------



## HydroGuy

SOCALMouseMommy said:


> First, the day I went to try to ride ROTR, the lines for DCA were non-existent. We walked right in at park open (after first entering DL and then leaving).
> 
> Second, you could try for ROTR on your DCA days if you want. Just leave DCA 10 or 15 minutes before park open. If the lines are reasonable you should get into DL quickly now that they’ve been admitting people so much earlier. if it doesn’t work just head back to DCA. (This is all provided you have park hoppers of course.)


I suspect the PP knows this, but lately Disney has been viewing suspiciously anyone who scans into DL then DCA, or vice versa, in a short time frame. The second scan can result in you not being admitted and needing to talk to a Disney manager. Apparently Disney has been doing this to come down on people falsely sharing their tickets with others.


----------



## SOCALMouseMommy

HydroGuy said:


> I suspect the PP knows this, but lately Disney has been viewing suspiciously anyone who scans into DL then DCA, or vice versa, in a short time frame. The second scan can result in you not being admitted and needing to talk to a Disney manager. Apparently Disney has been doing this to come down on people falsely sharing their tickets with others.


This is true! And it’s why I waited a good 20 minutes after scanning into DL before scanning into DCA. However, if the PP is scanning into DCA for EMH I think more than enough time will pass if they then try to scan into DL before park open.


----------



## socaldisneylover

sherilaine said:


> So now that people are very focused on joining the boarding groups - which requires entering the DL gates - are the lines for DCA noticeably shorter?  I mean I have always seen much longer lines of people trying to get into DL at park opening compared to DCA but I am just wondering if this has actually moved the needle even further?



Yesterday I scanned into DL, then went over to CA Adventure.  My card got flagged because they have a security lock when you enter one park, leave and then enter the other right away.  The CM asked if I scanned at other park to get ROTR, and I said yes, while she overrode the block.

Walked to rope drop by Pixar Pier, they dropped at 7:55 AM, and I made my way to Toy Story Mania.  Got there at 7:58, walked to the side where I unfortunately was missing 1 bar on the signal, then at 8:00, got Group 43.

I then proceeded to ride Toy Story Mania 4 times in a row, with 0 wait each time.  Also picked up FP's for RSR & Soarin'.  By then it was 8:40, and there looked to be about a 10 minute line, so I bailed and went over to RSR, stopping on the way to do Emotional Whirlwind & Little Mermaid.  Ended up going into the single rider line since it was shorter than the FP one, and went on it twice.  Met a nice lady who was behind me in SR line both times.  She was with her son and grandchildren, who rather than go single rider, decided to wait in 30 minute standby line.  The 2nd ride she pointed them out in line, and the grandkids looked at her like, "how come she's about to get on ride, and we're still standing in this line?"  We laughed about how she'll probably be able to do a 3rd ride before they get through, and maybe she'll even be close to getting on ride at same time.

Then I did Soarin', so I was able to do 5 separate rides a total 9 times in about 90 minutes.  I wanted to do Goofy's Sky School too, but it was down when I walked by.  I truly think that the park was extremely empty while everyone tried over at DL for the boarding group.  Which is actually unnecessary once you scan in.  The fact, which I was aware of, that DL had the Magic Morning that day, meant even fewer people at CA Adventure.  If you want to cover a ton of rides before lunch, when things start to get really busy, pick a Non-MM day at CA Adventure, and be there for rope drop.


----------



## sherilaine

SOCALMouseMommy said:


> First, the day I went to try to ride ROTR, the lines for DCA were non-existent. We walked right in at park open (after first entering DL and then leaving).
> 
> Second, you could try for ROTR on your DCA days if you want. Just leave DCA 10 or 15 minutes before park open. If the lines are reasonable you should get into DL quickly now that they’ve been admitting people so much earlier. if it doesn’t work just head back to DCA. (This is all provided you have park hoppers of course.)



We are going to try to ride ROTR on our first two park days as we will be in DL first those days.  We will want to take full advantage of the days where we have EMH at DCA so we won't be sneaking out before park opening.  We will still have one early entry day at DL to try after those so hopefully out of three tries, two where we are in the park for MM/EMH we will get on it.


----------



## socaldisneylover

SOCALMouseMommy said:


> This is true! And it’s why I waited a good 20 minutes after scanning into DL before scanning into DCA. However, if the PP is scanning into DCA for EMH I think more than enough time will pass if they then try to scan into DL before park open.


I just mentioned in my post a couple of minutes ago that when I did this yesterday, the CM at entrance knew exactly what I was doing, and she overrode the block herself.  I asked her how long I would have had to wait to avoid any issue, and she said 5 minutes, which seemed a bit low, since I did in fact take about that long in between scans.  In any case, I'm sure in the last 5 weeks, they've seen this become more common since more people know that you don't have to hang with the crowds at DL, once you've scanned in there.


----------



## sherilaine

socaldisneylover said:


> Yesterday I scanned into DL, then went over to CA Adventure.  My card got flagged because they have a security lock when you enter one park, leave and then enter the other right away.  The CM asked if I scanned at other park to get ROTR, and I said yes, while she overrode the block.
> 
> Walked to rope drop by Pixar Pier, they dropped at 7:55 AM, and I made my way to Toy Story Mania.  Got there at 7:58, walked to the side where I unfortunately was missing 1 bar on the signal, then at 8:00, got Group 43.
> 
> I then proceeded to ride Toy Story Mania 4 times in a row, with 0 wait each time.  Also picked up FP's for RSR & Soarin'.  By then it was 8:40, and there looked to be about a 10 minute line, so I bailed and went over to RSR, stopping on the way to do Emotional Whirlwind & Little Mermaid.  Ended up going into the single rider line since it was shorter than the FP one, and went on it twice.  Met a nice lady who was behind me in SR line both times.  She was with her son and grandchildren, who rather than go single rider, decided to wait in 30 minute standby line.  The 2nd ride she pointed them out in line, and the grandkids looked at her like, "how come she's about to get on ride, and we're still standing in this line?"  We laughed about how she'll probably be able to do a 3rd ride before they get through, and maybe she'll even be close to getting on ride at same time.
> 
> Then I did Soarin', so I was able to do 5 separate rides a total 9 times in about 90 minutes.  I wanted to do Goofy's Sky School too, but it was down when I walked by.  I truly think that the park was extremely empty while everyone tried over at DL for the boarding group.  Which is actually unnecessary once you scan in.  The fact, which I was aware of, that DL had the Magic Morning that day, meant even fewer people at CA Adventure.  If you want to cover a ton of rides before lunch, when things start to get really busy, pick a Non-MM day at CA Adventure, and be there for rope drop.


 

Wow - Sounds like you knew what you were doing!!


----------



## Mark_E

Not to Jinx it but looks like they may have gotten their mojo back with a 29 group spread this morning!


----------



## KAT4DISNEY

pokee99 said:


> I got this message for the first time this morning playing from home, but I was a little "late" this morning (maaaaybe close to 8:01). My "guess" is that error appears the nanosecond after all regular groups are assigned and backups are released?



No, I got it yesterday immediately at 8 am just before another in our group started getting in for our passes.   We ended up in the regular groups.


----------



## asumom

Anything I need to do different using a galaxy A70 on xfinity service? Also, I have tried from home a few times but since I dont have tickets yet, that's as far as I get. When I am in the park, with tickets linked,  what are the screens I will go through until I get a boarding pass?


----------



## KAT4DISNEY

Mark_E said:


> Not to Jinx it but looks like they may have gotten their mojo back with a 29 group spread this morning!



You had to say it didn't you.  We've been stopped for 10 minutes.


----------



## Mathmagicland

HydroGuy said:


> I suspect the PP knows this, but lately Disney has been viewing suspiciously anyone who scans into DL then DCA, or vice versa, in a short time frame. The second scan can result in you not being admitted and needing to talk to a Disney manager. Apparently Disney has been doing this to come down on people falsely sharing their tickets with others.


Is this more likely for those with paper tickets or does it also apply to APs?


----------



## KAT4DISNEY

Mathmagicland said:


> Is this more likely for those with paper tickets or does it also apply to APs?



We entered DL this morning and then went over to DCA for early entry.   No stopping or questions with 2 annual pass holders.


----------



## pdx

KAT4DISNEY said:


> We entered DL this morning and then went over to DCA for early entry.   No stopping or questions with 2 annual pass holders.



We are hoping to do this too. Would you mind sharing your timing, if you remember? When did you leave your hotel, how far back were you in the DL lines, when did you enter DL, and when did you get to DCA? (We'll be trying this on a Friday, so the DL gates may not open quite as early as today, but I can hope!)


----------



## montreid

Disney can simply save the trouble and code to allow grabbing BG from either side just like the FP knows if you have a hopper.


----------



## montreid

Early Jawa activity. Stuck at 45 a bit now.


----------



## pdx

montreid said:


> Disney can simply save the trouble and code to allow grabbing BG from either side just like the FP knows if you have a hopper.


Yes, I really thought that they would be doing that by now! It really takes away value from EMH right now.


----------



## ZCarroll

The one thing that makes me nervous about heading to DCA is someone here mentioned getting a 45 minute return window for their BG early in the day... when we were there on the 14th it took us an hour to get from paradise pier to ROTR mostly due to long slow moving lines to get back into DL, at least 25 minutes that I was keeping track of to get through.


----------



## texascutie

What happens if you have a boarding group number and it stays down the entire day? The main reason you went to DL?


----------



## dina444444

texascutie said:


> What happens if you have a boarding group number and it stays down the entire day? The main reason you went to DL?


If it’s a backup group they won’t do anything. They’ve never not reached the guaranteed groups at Disneyland, on the handful of occasions that’s happened at DHS they issue guest recovery.


----------



## texascutie

dina444444 said:


> If it’s a backup group they won’t do anything. They’ve never not reached the guaranteed groups at Disneyland, on the handful of occasions that’s happened at DHS they issue guest recovery.


Thanks, daughter is there now in a regular boarding group, 70 I believe. It's been down awhile.


----------



## ironband74

Mark_E said:


> Not to Jinx it but looks like they may have gotten their mojo back with a 29 group spread this morning!


That was a massive jinx. Looks like we're trying to start up again, though...


----------



## socaldisneylover

HydroGuy said:


> I suspect the PP knows this, but lately Disney has been viewing suspiciously anyone who scans into DL then DCA, or vice versa, in a short time frame. The second scan can result in you not being admitted and needing to talk to a Disney manager. Apparently Disney has been doing this to come down on people falsely sharing their tickets with others.


I don't understand how you could share your ticket with someone, since it has your photo assigned to it.  I know that some days they're not taking photos at DL, to keep the lines moving, but you would still have to exit the park, "share" your ticket with someone, who then goes into CA Adventure, where their picture IS taken.  And obviously since you did this in a 5 minute period, you did not do anything at DL.

And if it's an AP, which already has your picture, how exactly would that work?  I'm curious as to what I'm missing here.  If the security block was not in place, how would one game the system?


----------



## matthewthompson87

socaldisneylover said:


> I don't understand how you could share your ticket with someone, since it has your photo assigned to it.  I know that some days they're not taking photos at DL, to keep the lines moving, but you would still have to exit the park, "share" your ticket with someone, who then goes into CA Adventure, where their picture IS taken.  And obviously since you did this in a 5 minute period, you did not do anything at DL.
> 
> And if it's an AP, which already has your picture, how exactly would that work?  I'm curious as to what I'm missing here.  If the security block was not in place, how would one game the system?



Tickets can be shown on the app as well as the physical ticket...


----------



## StarGirl11

Yeah I wouldn’t go around saying ‘Look at how good a ride is doing!’ Because it seems to end up jynxing the ride every time we do that. So let’s just avoid that in the future 

Ended up deciding against to try for a BG this morning. Sunday is still the worst day with this ride and after spending the weekend emotionally drained I didn’t want to deal with the stress of ‘Will I or won’t I get to ride before I have to leave for the airport?’


----------



## ZCarroll

socaldisneylover said:


> I don't understand how you could share your ticket with someone, since it has your photo assigned to it.



I wonder how that works as well but we did have one instance where my husband took one son to Disneyland while the rest of us went to California Adventure and he accidentally scanned in a ticket of one of our other kid's that was with me instead of his own.  We didn't have any issues even though I'd just scanned him in from the app around the same time, we just weren't able to include my husband for fast pass selections,  but it just really confused and surprised us that this happened since they look completely different!  My husband's darker with brown hair, brown eyes and bulky while our 11yo is tiny blond green eyes and uber fair in addition to their facial features being very distinct from each other.  The person scanning tickets definitely had to be paying zero attention is all I can figure.... so maybe they have this system set up just as a double check against people at the turnstiles not paying attention?


----------



## chicagodisneyguy

We'll, got half way thru the ride and it broke down...and now waiting to get walked off.  They said we'll get a fastpass for later so hopefully they get it back up soon.


----------



## Chenalex

It broke down at 63, got up to 67 where I got in line, and then broke down again


----------



## robododo

We're heading down in April, and I just wanted to say this thread gives me hope 

I was afraid it was 100% random lotto, but it sounds like some planning and effort can let my family experience the ride. Thanks for all the tips and tracking the ride status, everyone.

This board's the best


----------



## PairOfDice

What time do you guys suggest we arrive for our Tuesday MM (8:00am)  and also Friday (8:00)? We're staying at the crosswalk so no parking garage. We'll be at CA on W/Th but I'm not as concerned about those days. But CA opens at 9:00 if you have suggestions for that.
I'm so excited to head out tomorrow and I promise (to myself) to just get over it and move on if for some reason we don't get a BG.


----------



## AmyJamer

PairOfDice said:


> What time do you guys suggest we arrive for our Tuesday MM (8:00am)  and also Friday (8:00)? We're staying at the crosswalk so no parking garage. We'll be at CA on W/Th but I'm not as concerned about those days. But CA opens at 9:00 if you have suggestions for that.
> I'm so excited to head out tomorrow and I promise (to myself) to just get over it and move on if for some reason we don't get a BG.



I’d be there at 7. Magic mornings are super busy


----------



## chicagodisneyguy

We'll, they got thru like 40 bg while at Napa Rose...let's see if we can get on this ride


----------



## HydroGuy

socaldisneylover said:


> I don't understand how you could share your ticket with someone, since it has your photo assigned to it.  I know that some days they're not taking photos at DL, to keep the lines moving, but you would still have to exit the park, "share" your ticket with someone, who then goes into CA Adventure, where their picture IS taken.  And obviously since you did this in a 5 minute period, you did not do anything at DL.
> 
> And if it's an AP, which already has your picture, how exactly would that work?  I'm curious as to what I'm missing here.  If the security block was not in place, how would one game the system?


I don't either.


----------



## PHXscuba

I just got back from a Fri/Sat Disneyland trip. We were successful in riding ROTR and I appreciate everyone's research and commentary leading up to it. I'll add my own.

GETTING IN: We left HOJO at 6:35 on Friday and (2 adults) walked briskly to security, where lines were short and we were through by about 6:50. CM looked through my cross-body bag verrrrry thoroughly. Lines in the esplanade were about halfway back even then. I took this thread's advice and we found a center line. When the lines got almost back to DCA about 7:15, they opened the gates. Our line split at opening so we got in pretty quickly. No photos taken. I made a MaxPass reservation for Space Mountain to verify we were both considered inside the park. They held everyone on Main Street until it filled, then held everyone at the individual land rope-drops until about 7:55 a.m. We chose to stay between Plaza Inn and Star Tours as we had a good cell signal there.

GETTING A GROUP: We closed everything before 8:00 and launched the app 5 seconds before the hour. It was all a blur at that point, both of us poking the buttons until I got in!!! GROUP 42!!!  I should probably mention what big Star Wars fans DH and I are and how badly I wanted this to go right. Huge relief to get a lower group. The atmosphere listening to everyone around us was unique and fun. We were both on verizon cell service, DH has an iPhone 8 and I have an iPhone 10.

WAITING TO RIDE: It's probably a good thing I was offline all weekend and didn't know til later how few groups they got through on Friday or I would have been more worried. We knew it was a delayed opening. We checked on the progress throughout the morning as it finally opened and inched up. We got called right around 2:00. The line took about 30 minutes and we experienced the whole attraction seamlessly as far as I could tell (I avoided spoilers).

MY NO-SPOILER REVIEW: VERY awesome. I really need to ride it again to take everything in. My father asked me later what kind of ride it was and I said "all of them," which explains nothing and everything. This was our first visit to SWGE and we also rode MFSR twice. DH got to pilot the Falcon, bucket list item checked. And got a legacy Luke Skywalker lightsaber, check. We both liked our Ronto Wraps. Oga's was meh for us but I'm glad we did it once.

Good luck to all who are trying to experience this, especially over the busy spring break season. It's worth it.

PHXscuba


----------



## ironband74

Hooray!  We broke 100 groups despite almost 6 hours of downtime today.  A rough day to be sure.  And we're still going for a while longer.

Meanwhile, DHS may have had its best 8-8 day ever, with maybe 20 minutes of downtime, pulling over 140 groups in 10 hours.

The future is bright.


----------



## StarGirl11

Chenalex said:


> It broke down at 63, got up to 67 where I got in line, and then broke down again



It did this Friday too. Went down first time around 65. Came back up and went back down again at 71. They came back up a final time and ended the night then at 86.


----------



## montreid

Bad/Ugly - major downtime and fits on restart today
Good - when it was humming,  even the MF has trouble keeping up lately.  -- 122 groups.  not bad.


----------



## Chenalex

I just got home. I stayed in line, and it was back up within 50 minutes. I’m so glad I did. This is by far the best ride Disney has ever built, in my opinion. Once they work out all the issues and come out with a more efficient boarding process, this will be amazing. But I don’t know how often I’ll be waking up at 6am to get to the park at 7am


----------



## ten6mom

I'm heading out for my trip in a couple days (driving from Phoenix) and seriously considering departing here around 0200 to make rope drop on Wednesday.  Even though we will have Thursday, Friday, and Saturday in the parks also, I am still feeling like Wednesday is the best bet for ROTR and with the down times as well as these new error messages some folks are experiencing, I want to give it every chance I have.

This thread and everyone's experiences have been amazing... thank you so much!


----------



## Peachy0118

Have there been any recent updates when the ride goes down? Are they issuing Fastpasses and allowing you to leave the line or are you having to wait for however long it is down?

I know before you had to wait... just seeing if it changed.


----------



## StarGirl11

montreid said:


> Bad/Ugly - major downtime and fits on restart today
> Good - when it was humming,  even the MF has trouble keeping up lately.  -- 122 groups.  not bad.



Funny you mention MF. Last time I rode that on Friday the ride glitched towards the later half of the run. Like it froze for half a second before continuing. I made sure to make a comment to a CM as I was headed out that I had noticed something. And they might want to get to it and fix whatever part of the program caused the issue before the entire bay goes down.


----------



## dina444444

My final chart update:


----------



## chicagodisneyguy

We ended up using our fastpass from this afternoon's walk off and we're on the ride in no time around 730pm. While many parts were the same, the main ride seemed shorter than WDW's version.  For those that have done both...is that normal? Or is there a faster version of the ride where they can skip a scene or two to allow more riders?


----------



## dina444444

chicagodisneyguy said:


> We ended up using our fastpass from this afternoon's walk off and we're on the ride in no time around 730pm. While many parts were the same, the main ride seemed shorter than WDW's version.  For those that have done both...is that normal? Or is there a faster version of the ride where they can skip a scene or two to allow more riders?


The ride is identical on both coasts. The only differences are in the queue before the pre show. The queues are laid out slightly differently.


----------



## chicagodisneyguy

dina444444 said:


> The ride is identical on both coasts. The only differences are in the queue before the pre show. The queues are laid out slightly differently.


I guess maybe a few things weren't working today then.  Probably makes sense as the ride was down so much.


----------



## matthewthompson87

chicagodisneyguy said:


> I guess maybe a few things weren't working today then.  Probably makes sense as the ride was down so much.



Would you mind sharing which parts you believe were missing/skipped/not functioning  for your ride over on the RotR Spoilers thread?


----------



## ironband74

dina444444 said:


> My final chart update:
> 
> View attachment 476181View attachment 476180


Thank you @dina444444 for your steadfast devotion to providing this important intel.

While I have strongly hinted at it and most of you have probably figured out, I have volunteered to take on the charting duties, so you'll have to deal with me from this point forward


----------



## natebenma

I just wanted to issue a belated, but heartfelt "THANK YOU!" to this group.

I shared some of our BG adventures while we were there on Feb 4 & 5, then we were off to Hawaii for a week so I didn't have a chance to properly debrief.

I can't emphasize enough how important it was to practice getting a boarding group before the trip.  My husband thought I was crazy when I told him I needed to train, but then I made him go through the process for a few days before our trip.  He ended up getting a BG our first morning (but didn't know it), and readily admits that going through the process a few times helped.

First morning, Tuesday - we were staying at the DLH, so we entered at 8 am for EMM.  Went to Peter Pan, it was down  and then Space Mountain. After that we stopped for photos in front of the castle. Another couple ahead of us were chatting with their photographer about trying for a boarding group, and when it was our turn, the photographer wished us luck. We went over to the left side of the castle. There were a few benches and two other couples there. One was the couple who was in line for pictures in front of us. After chatting a bit prior to the big moment, we learned that they are from the same state as us and they were also going to Hawaii after their DL stay.

It's a Small World!

When the big moment came, something went wrong for me, my husband said "Oh, no, I screwed up!" and then I saw the message "Not so fast, you are already in a boarding group!"  He had somehow managed to book BG 70.  The other two couples in our area got lower BG numbers.  As they walked away, my husband heard one of them say "That's so cute.  He didn't know he got a group!"

Some sort of Samsung, AT&T

(Are you here on this thread kind and helpful friend?)

Of course, things didn't go great for us when it came to ride.  We were in CA when we got the push notification* and had a FP for Guardians which we used first.  (OMG, awesome, fun ride).  Unfortunately about 30 min after getting into line for RotR, ride broke down.  3 attempted reboots and 3 hours later we finally rode.  Thanks for all the encouragement from this group while we were in line!

********************************************************************************************************

On Wed Feb 5, we had EMM for DCA, went in and rode Cars and then entered DL.  They started letting in around 8:30-8:35 I think, and we were in by 8:50.  We went up the steps to the train station, took some pictures that I posted on this thread and went on to successfully score BG 23.  Rode around 10:30 that day.

iphone 11, AT&T.  Groups around us seemed to be getting low BG numbers from what we heard.
**********************************************************************************************************

* My favorite thing is that I impressed my software developer husband by using the term "push notification" correctly.  So thanks y'all!

Good luck to all in your future BG quests!


----------



## theluckyrabbit

sherilaine said:


> I just tried it from home right now ... I won't play around anymore from home as I do wonder if that could interfere with those actually in the parks - hope it works well for everyone there today!!


Don't worry, you won't do any harm to those inside DL. See the post below for a detailed explanation.


ironband74 said:


> We've all but established that playing at home doesn't do anything appreciable to the system.  The app doesn't send any data until tickets are selected and the second "Join Boarding Group" button is pressed.  Gate 1 (are you in the park) might get a little stressed if you have a lot of people selecting tickets who aren't in the park and submitting those, but that gate can be multi-threaded and easily weed out anyone who is not scanned in so that the heavy lifting done by Gate 2 (do you already have a group?) and the scheduler don't get bogged down with bad requests.





HydroGuy said:


> I suspect the PP knows this, but lately Disney has been viewing suspiciously anyone who scans into DL then DCA, or vice versa, in a short time frame. The second scan can result in you not being admitted and needing to talk to a Disney manager. Apparently Disney has been doing this to come down on people falsely sharing their tickets with others.


See post below. Most CMs at DCA are aware of guests trying for ROTR BGs outside DL and can override the ticket/AP block. Someone else posted about this same thing earlier in the thread.


socaldisneylover said:


> Yesterday I scanned into DL, then went over to CA Adventure.  My card got flagged because they have a security lock when you enter one park, leave and then enter the other right away.  The CM asked if I scanned at other park to get ROTR, and I said yes, while she overrode the block...





asumom said:


> Anything I need to do different using a galaxy A70 on xfinity service? Also, I have tried from home a few times but since I dont have tickets yet, that's as far as I get. When I am in the park, with tickets linked,  what are the screens I will go through until I get a boarding pass?


See page one, post two (FAQs), "For those who need a visual guide on joining a boarding group" for a video tutorial on what the screens will look like.



Mathmagicland said:


> Is this more likely for those with paper tickets or does it also apply to APs?


For both -- this flagging/block has been reported by guests with tickets and with APs, so just be prepared. And, as noted above, DCA CMs know how to override the block.



robododo said:


> ... This board's the best


While biased, I totally agree! To everyone who is participating in this thread and sharing their experience and knowledge to help other DISers, thank you!


----------



## becauseimnew

ten6mom said:


> I'm heading out for my trip in a couple days (driving from Phoenix) and seriously considering departing here around 0200 to make rope drop on Wednesday.  Even though we will have Thursday, Friday, and Saturday in the parks also, I am still feeling like Wednesday is the best bet for ROTR and with the down times as well as these new error messages some folks are experiencing, I want to give it every chance I have.
> 
> This thread and everyone's experiences have been amazing... thank you so much!


I'll see you there!


----------



## ten6mom

becauseimnew said:


> I'll see you there!


----------



## franandaj

Here in line. The lines are already past the monorail tracks.


----------



## sherilaine

franandaj said:


> Here in line. The lines are already past the monorail tracks.



Those are quite the lines 90 minutes ahead of official park opening time.  I know it's a Monday but still...


----------



## ironband74

franandaj said:


> Here in line. The lines are already past the monorail tracks.


Glad to know we have intel from the park this morning.  Keep us posted as to when they start letting folks in.  

May the Force be with you.


----------



## ironband74

sherilaine said:


> Those are quite the lines 90 minutes ahead of official park opening time.  I know it's a Monday but still...


Indeed.  I wonder if some folks didn't check to see that it's a 9am open today...


----------



## ballonewb

Big lines.  First day trying for a bg


----------



## Beachwood58

Sorry if this was answered. Can I enter DL, then exit to downtown Disney after opening and still get a BG?


----------



## ironband74

Beachwood58 said:


> Sorry if this was answered. Can I enter DL, then exit to downtown Disney after opening and still get a BG?


Yes.  Once you are scanned in to DL you can go wherever you like.  May the Force be with you.


----------



## kappyfamily

ironband74 said:


> Indeed.  I wonder if some folks didn't check to see that it's a 9am open today...


Haha omg that’s funny, I’ve been trying like crazy at 8 and nothing!!! No wonder.....


----------



## franandaj

8:05 - they're letting us in the gates


----------



## sherilaine

That is crazy early to be let in through the gates - what do people even do for an hour?


----------



## MickeyT

kappyfamily said:


> , I’ve been trying like crazy at 8 and nothing!!! No wonder.....


My first time trying from home.


----------



## ironband74

sherilaine said:


> That is crazy early to be let in through the gates - what do people even do for an hour?


The same thing they would do waiting on the esplanade for an hour.  Or wait in line for coffee 

They seem to be opening the turnstiles earlier to ensure that folks have a shot at getting in before OPO, and to prevent crowding on the Esplanade.  IMHO a good move by Disney.  People get upset when they can't even get into the park to try for a BG.


----------



## Beachwood58

It’s taking FOREVER for them to move these lines after gate opening....


----------



## sherilaine

ironband74 said:


> The same thing they would do waiting on the esplanade for an hour.  Or wait in line for coffee
> 
> They seem to be opening the turnstiles earlier to ensure that folks have a shot at getting in before OPO, and to prevent crowding on the Esplanade.  IMHO a good move by Disney.  People get upset when they can't even get into the park to try for a BG.



If they would align the qualifications to join a BG to follow MP (scanned into either park not just DL) the lines would not be so heavy in the direction of DL - mind you I am sure there are some Star Wars adverse people who are enjoying quiet mornings in DCA who would not support that change...


----------



## ballonewb

Sitting at the train station waiting


----------



## Beachwood58

ironband74 said:


> The same thing they would do waiting on the esplanade for an hour.  Or wait in line for coffee
> 
> They seem to be opening the turnstiles earlier to ensure that folks have a shot at getting in before OPO, and to prevent crowding on the Esplanade.  IMHO a good move by Disney.  People get upset when they can't even get into the park to try for a BG.


I will be a little upset if I don’t even have a chance at getting one due to not making it in the gate. I was at parking garage before it opened waiting in line.


----------



## ironband74

Beachwood58 said:


> I will be a little upset if I don’t even have a chance at getting one due to not making it in the gate. I was at parking garage before opening waiting in line.


You'll get there - if you are in line now, you'll make it with time to spare.


----------



## Skyegirl1999

Beachwood58 said:


> I will be a little upset if I don’t even have a chance at getting one due to not making it in the gate. I was at parking garage before it opened waiting in line.


You have lots of time; they can clear lines fast if they drop the pictures.


----------



## ironband74

sherilaine said:


> If they would align the qualifications to join a BG to follow MP (scanned into either park not just DL) the lines would not be so heavy in the direction of DL - mind you I am sure there are some Star Wars adverse people who are enjoying quiet mornings in DCA who would not support that change...


On the one hand, this would make the guest experience much better for folks who want to start their day at DCA but also try for a BG.

On the other hand, I think there is a logistical issue in play - imagine the two sets of lines meeting in the middle and the confusion that would ensue. 

As long as they open the turnstiles early enough, I think they are ok.


----------



## Skyegirl1999

ironband74 said:


> On  the other hand, I think there is a logistical issue in play - imagine the two sets of lines meeting in the middle and the confusion that would ensue.
> 
> As long as they open the turnstiles early enough, I think they are ok.


This!

I had thought that allowing BGs at DCA would be a smart way to spread out the crowds UNTIL I witnessed the Esplanade... it would be an absolute nightmare out there.  At least now, the have the whole “they open the gates when the lines hit DCA” thing working ok because DCA doesn’t have huge lines!

Also, while there have been a few notable exceptions, 95% of the days they have done an admirable job of processing people through the DL gates... so I think adding DCA into the mix would do more harm than good.


----------



## sherilaine

ironband74 said:


> On the one hand, this would make the guest experience much better for folks who want to start their day at DCA but also try for a BG.
> 
> On the other hand, I think there is a logistical issue in play - imagine the two sets of lines meeting in the middle and the confusion that would ensue.
> 
> As long as they open the turnstiles early enough, I think they are ok.



Good point!
Do they have rope drop at end of Main Street or at each land when they let people in this early?


----------



## Beachwood58

ironband74 said:


> You'll get there - if you are in line now, you'll make it with time to spare.


I’m in! Thank you!


----------



## Going2DisneyAZ

sherilaine said:


> Good point!
> Do they have rope drop at end of Main Street or at each land when they let people in this early?


Depends.  On busier days it's at the entrance to each land in the hub.


----------



## ironband74

sherilaine said:


> Good point!
> Do they have rope drop at end of Main Street or at each land when they let people in this early?


Yes. 

Reports have been that they start with the Main St. Rope, then at some point back off to the hub/lands.


----------



## ironband74

Here's a question - I know that the current theory is that the ping speed is more important than your data rate.  What do you consider to be a "good" ping speed for the purposes of getting a BG?


----------



## chicagodisneyguy

We went to the far left turnstiles at 8:05am and the lines were about half the amount of people compared to the center ones.  I think they started those queues after the center ones.  We're were through pretty quick once open.


----------



## ballonewb

I can’t tell from the train station. The crowds are moving.  No one is going through the castle and Main Street is still moving.


----------



## franandaj

chicagodisneyguy said:


> We went to the far left turnstiles at 8:05am and the lines were about half the amount of people compared to the center ones.  I think they started those queues after the center ones.  We're were through pretty quick once open.



No one was queued there when we got here, but then a rush of people started over to those turnstiles. We were in the middle so we just stayed put.


----------



## ballonewb

Lines still to the monorail tracks


----------



## franandaj

ballonewb said:


> I can’t tell from the train station. The crowds are moving.  No one is going through the castle and Main Street is still moving.



They're stopping people at the statue. We're at the little red Wagon area and it is packed.


----------



## ballonewb

chicagodisneyguy said:


> We went to the far left turnstiles at 8:05am and the lines were about half the amount of people compared to the center ones.  I think they started those queues after the center ones.  We're were through pretty quick once open.




We also went to the far left.  In pretty fast.


----------



## ironband74

One minute to go time.  An expectant hush falls over Main St...


----------



## montreid

Do both.   Open DLR early to get people in.   For those with hoppers, open DCA a little early too allow for those getting in.   When DLR opens early enough to keep the lines at the monorail, no confusion will occur.  

The amount of people entering DLR and immediately exiting for DCA is only going to grow with spring break younger folk.   Disney needs to realize this and adjust accordingly for crowd control along with just simple customer satisfaction and less strain on supervisors making all these exception alerts.


----------



## Beachwood58

BG 16!


----------



## ironband74

Regulars gone at 8:01:00 as is the custom.


----------



## Syndrome

Wow , backups about 45 seconds in this morning !


----------



## ballonewb

Bg19.   Woo woo


----------



## franandaj

Group 14!


----------



## Syndrome

ironband74 said:


> Regulars gone at 8:01:00 as is the custom.


I was seeing backups well before 9:01 this morning playing from home .
Was about 9:00:45 and mine went into backup groups .


----------



## Epek

Playing from home, I did not get the backup notification until 9:04...


----------



## chicagodisneyguy

We were near the statue and they let people start walking at 8:59am.  That seemed really stupid as you had a mass of people walking and trying to get a BG at the same time.

Ended up getting the exact same BG 49 as yesterday.   Second day in a row my join group never turned red.  Guess my phone just doesn't like me.

Hopefully the ride performs better today than yesterday.


----------



## Syndrome

Epek said:


> Playing from home, I did not get the backup notification until 9:04...


 You may have been working on cached data in the app .


----------



## Beachwood58

How do I see my boarding group now that I got one, and will it show somewhere what they’re on? Do I get a text?


----------



## Epek

Syndrome said:


> You may have been working on cached data in the app .



i don’t know what that means. Can you explain it? I’ve seen that term mentioned here, but never quite figured out what people were talking about.Does that effect you in park? Or is it just because I’m at home?


----------



## ironband74

Beachwood58 said:


> How do I see my boarding group now that I got one, and will it show somewhere what they’re on? Do I get a text?


Go to "Find Out More" and tap "My Status"

If you have notifications on you will get a push notification when your group is called.


----------



## Beachwood58

ironband74 said:


> Go to "Find Out More" and tap "My Status"
> 
> If you have notifications on you will get a push notification when your group is called.


Thanks again!


----------



## ironband74

Now Boarding Group 10!  That's a good sign at 9:15


----------



## coaches24

Epek said:


> i don’t know what that means. Can you explain it? I’ve seen that term mentioned here, but never quite figured out what people were talking about.Does that effect you in park? Or is it just because I’m at home?


Just means your phone was using already updated info to load from when you first opened the app and not getting new info from the server.


----------



## ironband74

Backups gone as of 9:17.  81 and up are backups.  Here's hoping we have a good day!


----------



## Epek

coaches24 said:


> Just means your phone was using already updated info to load from when you first opened the app and not getting new info from the server.



Thanks!! Makes sense


----------



## ironband74

chicagodisneyguy said:


> We were near the statue and they let people start walking at 8:59am.  That seemed really stupid as you had a mass of people walking and trying to get a BG at the same time.
> 
> Ended up getting the exact same BG 49 as yesterday.   Second day in a row my join group never turned red.  Guess my phone just doesn't like me.
> 
> Hopefully the ride performs better today than yesterday.


Yeah, previously they seemed to drop the rope about 10 minutes prior.  If they didn't let people walk until 8:59 then the kiosks would have had no joy today.

I have noticed a couple things in my experience (Android Samsung Galaxy S7) and not getting a red button:

1.  If I tap "Find out More" even one second before OPO, my button does not turn red and will not turn red no matter how much I refresh, restart the app, curse, swear or anything until it is time for backups.  I suspect if I were to "Force Stop" the app it would reset, but that takes too much time once you are in the thick of it.

2.  If I tap "Find out More" too soon and get the above behavior, but I tap "My Status" AFTER OPO, I get an active button in there that will let me start the join process.  However, if I tap "My Status" too soon, it also will not activate no matter what I do until it is time for backups.  Going back out to the "Find out More" screen still yields a grey button despite the button in "My Status" being active.

3.  I noticed today that my Gear S2 watch has drifted off of my phone's time by about 3 seconds fast.  This is what caused me to tap in too soon.  I could see as I entered the screen that my phone's time hadn't changed to 9:00 yet and knew I was going to be locked out.

Given these observations, My process when I go to the park in April will be:

T-minus 15 minutes: Find a location with good service (ping) and fair wi-fi for the extra phones. Confirm that we are in the park and everyone is logged in to my account with the tickets for today.

T-minus 10 minutes:  Force Stop Disneyland App and clear cache.   Power down and restart smart watch.  Confirm watch synchronized with phone's network time.  Have others in my party do the same.  Confirm that wifi phones are synchronized with wireless network phones.  Review the process with everyone in the party.  The wifi-phones are going to be secondary and will tap in 1 seconds after OPO to ensure that they will be active in the case that our network time is off and we get locked out.

T-minus 2 minutes:  Have everyone start the Disneyland app.

T-minus 1 minute:  I am one with the force and the force is with me.  I am one with the force and the force is with me.  I am one with the force...

T-minus 5 seconds:  Countdown.  Network goes on 0.  Wireless goes one second after. 

After that...BG or not, it's Disneyland.


----------



## dina444444

ironband74 said:


> Yeah, previously they seemed to drop the rope about 10 minutes prior.  If they didn't let people walk until 8:59 then the kiosks would have had no joy today.
> 
> I have noticed a couple things in my experience (Android Samsung Galaxy S7) and not getting a red button:
> 
> 1.  If I tap "Find out More" even one second before OPO, my button does not turn red and will not turn red no matter how much I refresh, restart the app, curse, swear or anything until it is time for backups.  I suspect if I were to "Force Stop" the app it would reset, but that takes too much time once you are in the thick of it.
> 2.  If I tap "Find out More" too soon and get the above behavior, but I tap "My Status" AFTER OPO, I get an active button in there that will let me start the join process.  However, if I tap "My Status" too soon, it also will not activate no matter what I do until it is time for backups.  Going back out to the "Find out More" screen still yields a grey button despite the button in "My Status" being active.
> 3.  I noticed today that my Gear S2 watch has drifted off of my phone's time by about 3 seconds fast.  This is what caused me to tap in too soon.  I could see as I entered the screen that my phone's time hadn't changed to 9:00 yet and knew I was going to be locked out.
> 
> Given these observations, My process when I go to the park in April will be:
> T-minus 15 minutes: Find a location with good service (ping) and fair wi-fi for the extra phones. Confirm that we are in the park and everyone is logged in to my account with the tickets for today.
> T-minus 10 minutes:  Force Stop Disneyland App and clear cache.   Power down and restart smart watch.  Confirm watch synchronized with phone's network time.  Have others in my party do the same.  Confirm that wifi phones are synchronized with wireless network phones.  Review the process with everyone in the party.  The wifi-phones are going to be secondary and will tap in 1 seconds after OPO to ensure that they will be active in the case that our network time is off and we get locked out.
> T-minus 2 minutes:  Have everyone start the Disneyland app.
> T-minus 1 minute:  I am one with the force and the force is with me.  I am one with the force and the force is with me.  I am one with the force...
> T-minus 5 seconds:  Countdown.  Network goes on 0.  Wireless goes one second after.
> 
> After that...BG or not, it's Disneyland.


On Saturday they dropped the rope at 7:55 for the 8am opening


----------



## Blue32

ironband74 said:


> T-minus 1 minute:  I am one with the force and the force is with me.  I am one with the force and the force is with me.  I am one with the force...



I’m definitely stealing this! And you are right, BG or not, it’s still Disneyland. And for many, it’s still the happiest place on earth.


----------



## Beachwood58

So, I had BG 16. Was called, on and done by 10am! Wow, great ride!


----------



## Aurora0427

Ok after a weekend away I am checking in to give feedback! My daughter’s teacher went Presidents’ Day weekend with. I gave her all of the tips I’ve learned here, and from our experience a few weeks ago. They did not follow my advice about waiting to open the app at 7:59:59 on Saturday, and it didn’t work properly, so they had to exit the app and ended up with backup BG 104. The next day they followed my advice and got BG 32.



Spoiler: Spoiler alert 



She said the ride never worked  .... first time they were stuck and evacuated from the ride, a certain lightsaber scene only worked once, and she said Sunday when they rode it was super buggy with lots of screen issues, droid issues etc. They were on it a total of three times and it was never working . They loved it though!


----------



## HydroGuy

Beachwood58 said:


> Sorry if this was answered. Can I enter DL, then exit to downtown Disney after opening and still get a BG?


It _was _answered. See the thread title - PLEASE READ POSTS 1-4...

From post #2 FAQ


dina444444 said:


> How do I join a boarding group?
> 
> *You must first enter Disneyland Park to join a boarding group*, you do *not* have to stay inside Disneyland once you are scanned in. *You can hop over to DCA or head into Downtown Disney or even return to your hotel.* Please note that the Monorail entrance is not usually advisable for use as it typically does not open until the park officially opens. People have reported using the Monorail entrance when it was open before official park opening, but this is not something to depend upon.



From post #4: "How To" Guide For Riding Rise of the Resistance at DL


dina444444 said:


> *2. Arrive early - REALLY early*
> 
> ....
> 
> You have to get inside the DL park, with your park tickets scanned, and everyone in your party present, before the DL park officially opens (OPO).
> 
> *You do not have to remain inside the DL park to get a BG. You can scan into the park, then leave - to DTD, DCA, the Esplanade, your hotel or anywhere outside DLR.*


----------



## brightlined

ironband74 said:


> Yeah, previously they seemed to drop the rope about 10 minutes prior.  If they didn't let people walk until 8:59 then the kiosks would have had no joy today.
> 
> I have noticed a couple things in my experience (Android Samsung Galaxy S7) and not getting a red button:
> 
> 1.  If I tap "Find out More" even one second before OPO, my button does not turn red and will not turn red no matter how much I refresh, restart the app, curse, swear or anything until it is time for backups.  I suspect if I were to "Force Stop" the app it would reset, but that takes too much time once you are in the thick of it.
> 
> 2.  If I tap "Find out More" too soon and get the above behavior, but I tap "My Status" AFTER OPO, I get an active button in there that will let me start the join process.  However, if I tap "My Status" too soon, it also will not activate no matter what I do until it is time for backups.  Going back out to the "Find out More" screen still yields a grey button despite the button in "My Status" being active.
> 
> 3.  I noticed today that my Gear S2 watch has drifted off of my phone's time by about 3 seconds fast.  This is what caused me to tap in too soon.  I could see as I entered the screen that my phone's time hadn't changed to 9:00 yet and knew I was going to be locked out.
> 
> Given these observations, My process when I go to the park in April will be:
> 
> T-minus 15 minutes: Find a location with good service (ping) and fair wi-fi for the extra phones. Confirm that we are in the park and everyone is logged in to my account with the tickets for today.
> 
> T-minus 10 minutes:  Force Stop Disneyland App and clear cache.   Power down and restart smart watch.  Confirm watch synchronized with phone's network time.  Have others in my party do the same.  Confirm that wifi phones are synchronized with wireless network phones.  Review the process with everyone in the party.  The wifi-phones are going to be secondary and will tap in 1 seconds after OPO to ensure that they will be active in the case that our network time is off and we get locked out.
> 
> T-minus 2 minutes:  Have everyone start the Disneyland app.
> 
> T-minus 1 minute:  I am one with the force and the force is with me.  I am one with the force and the force is with me.  I am one with the force...
> 
> T-minus 5 seconds:  Countdown.  Network goes on 0.  Wireless goes one second after.
> 
> After that...BG or not, it's Disneyland.


Just to add a minor observation from this morning.

Testing from home - I accidentally clicked Find Out More at like 8:59:45. 9:00 hits, grey button.

I immediately went to My Status and got a Join link, so that would be my normal failsafe.

But just for kicks (since I was home), I went to the App page (Android), cleared cache, and closed the app. Reopened it, hit Find Out More, got the red button.

In part, confirming what we already knew about the caching issues. But it does make me wonder if it might be worth keeping the app page "open" so you can switch to it and clear cache if My Status somehow isn't working either. (Though I think hitting My Status is the bigger suggestion that most people should know about if they're getting locked out.)


----------



## ballonewb

Just broke down after _____



Spoiler: certain point in ride



the hanger bay


----------



## ironband74

Looks like our second one-hour downtime just came to an end.  Fingers crossed that they can keep her running for the next 5 hours or so and make a day of it.


----------



## Benjl1993

After reading so many tips from these boards, I finally got on the ride today. I was super nervous this morning when bag check and the line at the turnstiles were huge at around 8:15am, but we were scanned into the park by 8:45. Grabbed a spot right in the centre of town square on Main Street and managed to grab BG 50. They seemed to absolutely fly through BG's until it gor stuck on 47 for an hour or so at around midday/1pm. I was absolutely blown away by the ride, as far as I know, every effect was working and the entire attraction is the pinical of theme park design, utterly breathtaking. I think it surpassed Mystic Manor at HKDL and Journey at TDS for me too, my top 2 attractions before deciding this (haven't ridden Shanghai pirates yet).

Thanks everyone for all the tips, hoping to score BG's for the next 2 mornings before I head back to the UK.


----------



## nutshell

Benjl1993 said:


> After reading so many tips from these boards, I finally got on the ride today. I was super nervous this morning when bag check and the line at the turnstiles were huge at around 8:15am, but we were scanned into the park by 8:45. Grabbed a spot right in the centre of town square on Main Street and managed to grab BG 50. They seemed to absolutely fly through BG's until it gor stuck on 47 for an hour or so at around midday/1pm. I was absolutely blown away by the ride, as far as I know, every effect was working and the entire attraction is the pinical of theme park design, utterly breathtaking. I think it surpassed Mystic Manor at HKDL and Journey at TDS for me too, my top 2 attractions before deciding this (haven't ridden Shanghai pirates yet).
> 
> Thanks everyone for all the tips, hoping to score BG's for the next 2 mornings before I head back to the UK.


Love Journey at TDS!


----------



## Chenalex

nutshell said:


> Love Journey at TDS!



I was a little underwhelmed by Journey. My favorite Disney rides are now this, Mystic Manor, and Crush's Coaster in Walt Disney Studios in Paris


----------



## franandaj

Benjl1993 said:


> I was absolutely blown away by the ride, as far as I know, every effect was working



You might want to check out the spoiler thread.  Two of us rode it in the 10AM hour and had some B mode situations, not sure if you have checked out videos to know what was supposed to be happening.  Then again they may have got them back online after the downtime.


----------



## PairOfDice

Can someone please explain the caching issues? I’m not sure what the “clear cache” step means.


----------



## Varty Yo

looks like a pretty good day!


----------



## Going2DisneyAZ

PairOfDice said:


> Can someone please explain the caching issues? I’m not sure what the “clear cache” step means.


Apps will cache or store bits of information in your device. They do this to speed up the experience.  However when an app is processing time critical processes (such as trying to get a BG within milliseconds) it is important to clear that cache so the app doesn't display old information.


----------



## ironband74

PairOfDice said:


> Can someone please explain the caching issues? I’m not sure what the “clear cache” step means.


Can't speak to Apple, but on Android if you go into settings and Apps, you can tap on the Disneyland app to get a screen like this

Tapping "Force Stop" will kill the app and remove it from your device's memory. 

If you tap Storage, you get a screen like this:

Tapping clear cache will dump any cached information that the app is using.  Note that you do not want to "clear data" as this will force you to log into your account again and slow things down. 

Hope that's helpful.


----------



## ironband74

Varty Yo said:


> looks like a pretty good day!


We no longer say such things until the day is over


----------



## baozi

Note that native apps are implemented separately, actually Android and IOS have differences in terms of the principles of the APIs they provide, where IOS is more restrictive. So basically although design wise the Android team and IOS team receive the same (or similar) spec, due to the implementation details they have different issues.
I think the caching issue is more apparent on Android. The symptom is that for instance you get to a page before 8:00am, then at 8:00am it is not refreshed no matter what you do. There needs to be a balance here to prevent mobile servers from being overloaded, provide fast experiences to users as well as keeping the correct behavior.



PairOfDice said:


> Can someone please explain the caching issues? I’m not sure what the “clear cache” step means.


----------



## brightlined

PairOfDice said:


> Can someone please explain the caching issues? I’m not sure what the “clear cache” step means.


Short version: the morning you want to try to get a BG, do not under any circumstance click on Find Out More until after 8:00am/9:00am/park open. The Android app tends to load the "Closed" version of the ROTR page before open, and retains that version (caches it), so the "Join" button doesn't activate when the park opens.

If you do get stuck with a gray button, immediately hit My Status and hit the "Join" button there.


----------



## ironband74

Looks like 140 is probably it for tonight.  131 groups called - not a bad day by any stretch.  Two hours of downtime, but a decent rate of call.  Chart to follow once we're sure they're done.


----------



## PairOfDice

Thanks, everyone, for being so helpful. 
I’m hopeful.


----------



## ironband74

See The Chart, you must...


----------



## pokee99

socaldisneylover said:


> Yesterday I scanned into DL, then went over to CA Adventure.  My card got flagged because they have a security lock when you enter one park, leave and then enter the other right away.  The CM asked if I scanned at other park to get ROTR, and I said yes, while she overrode the block.
> 
> Walked to rope drop by Pixar Pier, they dropped at 7:55 AM, and I made my way to Toy Story Mania.  Got there at 7:58, walked to the side where I unfortunately was missing 1 bar on the signal, then at 8:00, got Group 43.
> 
> I then proceeded to ride Toy Story Mania 4 times in a row, with 0 wait each time.  Also picked up FP's for RSR & Soarin'.  By then it was 8:40, and there looked to be about a 10 minute line, so I bailed and went over to RSR, stopping on the way to do Emotional Whirlwind & Little Mermaid.  Ended up going into the single rider line since it was shorter than the FP one, and went on it twice.  Met a nice lady who was behind me in SR line both times.  She was with her son and grandchildren, who rather than go single rider, decided to wait in 30 minute standby line.  The 2nd ride she pointed them out in line, and the grandkids looked at her like, "how come she's about to get on ride, and we're still standing in this line?"  We laughed about how she'll probably be able to do a 3rd ride before they get through, and maybe she'll even be close to getting on ride at same time.
> 
> Then I did Soarin', so I was able to do 5 separate rides a total 9 times in about 90 minutes.  I wanted to do Goofy's Sky School too, but it was down when I walked by.  I truly think that the park was extremely empty while everyone tried over at DL for the boarding group.  Which is actually unnecessary once you scan in.  The fact, which I was aware of, that DL had the Magic Morning that day, meant even fewer people at CA Adventure.  If you want to cover a ton of rides before lunch, when things start to get really busy, pick a Non-MM day at CA Adventure, and be there for rope drop.



How did you get FPs for both RSR and Soarin when DCA was only open for 40 mins?


----------



## Skyegirl1999

pokee99 said:


> How did you get FPs for both RSR and Soarin when DCA was only open for 40 mins?


My guess would be booked RSR after scanning into Disneyland and then booked Soarin’ when the RSR window opened.


----------



## pokee99

ironband74 said:


> Can't speak to Apple, but on Android if you go into settings and Apps, you can tap on the Disneyland app to get a screen like this
> View attachment 476459
> Tapping "Force Stop" will kill the app and remove it from your device's memory.
> 
> If you tap Storage, you get a screen like this:
> View attachment 476460
> Tapping clear cache will dump any cached information that the app is using.  Note that you do not want to "clear data" as this will force you to log into your account again and slow things down.
> 
> Hope that's helpful.



Is it really necessary to clear cache when clicking "find out more" will enable the red "join boarding group" selection?


----------



## emchen

Another belated summary:

Family of 5.
Saturday Feb 22.
Shooting for BG 80+ (cuz DD11 needed to be somewhere else for a swim camp during the day, so planned 5 sec delay after 0800).  Credit to @montreid for idea.

*BG 14*.
DD14 got it on Android phone despite a really fast 5 Mississippi's (allegedly).
All on T-mobile.

Narrative:
Stayed at VGC night before, intended to rope drop Extra Magic Hour.  Left our villa at 0645...one DD did not bring jacket requiring DW to go back to the room...coupled with large crowds hindering movement...got through turnstiles by 0715.  Interestingly, they opened all turnstiles for general entry around 5 minutes after 0700.  DD x 3 got to ride Matterhorn still.

DW and I waited at Sleeping Beauty Castle (right side benches if facing the castle) and kids joined us 10 minutes before 0800.  We spread out a little to optimize signals.  We had done this before and went through much of the prescribed procedures from this thread.  Re-enforced need to count 5-Mississippi's in effort to score a later BG so the youngest DD and DW can ride with us later in the afternoon.  Getting early BG (and rain) caused wife to cancel the swim camp so it all worked out in the end.

The ride did go down after a 45 minute wait in line (around 0900-0945), then again when we were eligible for a Multi Experience FP (MEFP) but before we got on the actual ride.  Came back later after lunchtime at our convenience when we saw the ride was running relatively smoothly based on posts in this thread.  No wait at all thanks to MEFP.  Had a great time!

My take (a bit of tin-foil, so skip if you aren't into crazy) :
I've ridden this ride twice now in 2 months.  DD got BG 17 first time and BG 14 this second time (with a 5-Mississippi delay). I would say I've read a bit over 50% of this thread.  It goes without saying that having a larger group (especially if everyone in the group is trying for a BG) increases your odds of getting an early BG.  However, I don't think that is the most important factor, all else being equal.

Here is why... if you are familiar with Tokyo Disneyland and Disney Sea, you may be familiar with their lottery system.  I've not had first hand experience, but from what I've read in threads dedicated to Tokyo Disneyland, their lottery system factors in group sizes.  I'm not saying it is exactly like their system. it is not.  Just that maybe each different group size is playing in a different pool.

Pure speculation:  If you are a single rider, you will be in the "1-person pool".  Three people in your group?  There is a "3-person pool".  My family of 5?  You guessed it, "5-person pool".   Depending on how Disney distributes numbers of available spots into each pool, the ease of getting an early boarding group can be drastically different. Simpler still, Disney can just divide into two-groups, large (5-10) vs small (1-4).  I can easily imagine the large group being much easier to compete in (tend to have less adults than kids).  Versus the small groups which tend to have a higher percentage of adults who stalk the forums for tips on how to score boarding groups.  Based on my musings, those childless millenials and lonely singletons need to group up with each other before official park opening to really maximize their chances of getting an early boarding group (instead of competing against each other).  Why has no one started a new thread for small-groupers to "group-up" yet?!  C'mon Dis'ers!

Let's explore!...


----------



## Skyegirl1999

pokee99 said:


> Is it really necessary to clear cache when clicking "find out more" will enable the red "join boarding group" selection?


A lot of the stuff people are doing isn’t “necessary.”  You don’t “need” to close all your apps and have an atomic clock running and all that... plenty of people are getting BGs without any of the “tips” here.

But if you have the opportunity and think it might help... why not?


----------



## pokee99

Skyegirl1999 said:


> A lot of the stuff people are doing isn’t “necessary.”  You don’t “need” to close all your apps and have an atomic clock running and all that... plenty of people are getting BGs without any of the “tips” here.
> 
> But if you have the opportunity and think it might help... why not?



For me, the more I "do" - or should I say "overdo", the more chance there is to mess something up! More to remember! More to stress out about!  I need to try to be zen, and just keep it as simple as possible!


----------



## pokee99

Skyegirl1999 said:


> My guess would be booked RSR after scanning into Disneyland and then booked Soarin’ when the RSR window opened.



Ahhh... that makes sense.  It would require turnstiles to be opened quite early at DLR though, no?


----------



## ironband74

pokee99 said:


> Is it really necessary to clear cache when clicking "find out more" will enable the red "join boarding group" selection?


I have not found it to be necessary if I close the app, open within 5 minutes of OPO, and don't tap find out more until after OPO.

However, say that 5 minutes before opening you tap find out more and my status and have now cached the pages for today. By clearing the cache you ensure that what you loaded just now doesn't ruin your chances five minutes from now.


----------



## Skyegirl1999

pokee99 said:


> Ahhh... that makes sense.  It would require turnstiles to be opened quite early at DLR though, no?


No... return times are quick in the morning.  Almost anyone rope dropping would have at least two FPs by 8:30 or 8:45.  I don’t want to clog up this thread with FP discussion, but feel free to ask questions here: https://www.disboards.com/threads/m...view-and-some-strategy.3726246/#post-60074882


----------



## ironband74

emchen said:


> Pure speculation:  If you are a single rider, you will be in the "1-person pool".  Three people in your group?  There is a "3-person pool".  My family of 5?  You guessed it, "5-person pool".   Depending on how Disney distributes numbers of available spots into each pool, the ease of getting an early boarding group can be drastically different. Simpler still, Disney can just divide into two-groups, large (5-10) vs small (1-4).  I can easily imagine the large group being much easier to compete in (tend to have less adults than kids).  Versus the small groups which tend to have a higher percentage of adults who stalk the forums for tips on how to score boarding groups.  Based on my musings, those childless millenials and lonely singletons need to group up with each other before official park opening to really maximize their chances of getting an early boarding group (instead of competing against each other).  Why has no one started a new thread for small-groupers to "group-up" yet?!  C'mon Dis'ers!
> 
> Let's explore!...



I'm all for speculation and exploration, but I don't think that the system batches groups for assignment.  I really do think that once your message passes the two gates (1.  are you in the park?  2.  Do you already have a BG?) it's a single threaded assignment in the order received by the server.

The only place I think group size might come into play is when a BG is almost full and a large group is next off the spool. It is possible that if there are 4 spots in group 10 left and a group of 5 comes down the spool, it assigns those 5 to group 11 and then looks to the next message to see if it is 4 or less to determine which group to assign. But even that logic might slow things down a little, so my suspicion is that the scheduler doesn't try and make the BGs exact sizes and instead just assigns groups to a BG until the number of people in that BG is greater than the set number, then moves to the next BG. It may correct the target size of the next BG to compensate, or it may not. 

Essentially I think the system is designed with speed of assignment while avoiding duplicates without optimization of space in the virtual queue.


----------



## montreid

@emchen That's a super fast five count for bg14!   Nice theory.  Too complex for Disney though me thinks.


----------



## theluckyrabbit

ironband74 said:


> Here's a question - I know that the current theory is that the ping speed is more important than your data rate.  What do you consider to be a "good" ping speed for the purposes of getting a BG?


Good question! Anyone have an answer? I think I saw people looking for ping speeds at or below 30? For example, @Epicnemesis said, "... I ended up setting up shop by the fountain outside of the bowling alley, there were 3 other people trying for a BG around me. ATT was lightening there. 150mbps and <30 ping so I didn’t even bother with WiFi."



ironband74 said:


> ...
> T-minus 1 minute:  I am one with the force and the force is with me.  I am one with the force and the force is with me.  I am one with the force...


THIS. And remember to breathe while chanting. In. Out.



ballonewb said:


> Just broke down after _____
> 
> 
> 
> Spoiler: certain point in ride
> 
> 
> 
> the hanger bay


Reminder: NO SPOILERS, PLEASE! If you must include ANY details about the queue, the ride, the storyline, etc. (and it is very possible to be general and vague), PLEASE use the spoiler tags!
(I, too, am trying to avoid all spoilers, so having to clean up the slip ups isn't easy!)

Spoilers can be discussed here: Rise of the Resistance experience *Ride Spoilers* (Photos on Pg. 5)



Beachwood58 said:


> So, I had BG 16. Was called, on and done by 10am! Wow, great ride!


Congratulations on your BG success! So, how was the rest of your solo first visit?


----------



## theluckyrabbit

ironband74 said:


> See The Chart, you must...
> 
> View attachment 476466
> View attachment 476467


Updated on page one!


----------



## Mappyland

They are unused tickets and are on my app but I will be there 1 day earlier and want them off my app for that day.

Thanks!


----------



## theluckyrabbit

Mappyland said:


> They are unused tickets and are on my app but I will be there 1 day earlier and want them off my app for that day.
> 
> Thanks!


See page one, post two (FAQs) -- "First try tapping the 3 lines on the bottom right of the app, select 'Tickets and passes' and delete the desired tickets or passes." If this doesn't work, there is more information in the FAQs.


----------



## Markonefive

Question - my wife and I are going in April.  She doesn't like high motion rides and this ride does have a few.  But it sounds like the preshow is both amazing and long.  Can we get Boarding Passes for both of us, go through preshow, and then she can bail before the main ride itself?


----------



## Mathmagicland

Markonefive said:


> Question - my wife and I are going in April.  She doesn't like high motion rides and this ride does have a few.  But it sounds like the preshow is both amazing and long.  Can we get Boarding Passes for both of us, go through preshow, and then she can bail before the main ride itself?


Before she decides not to experience it, I’d suggest she read through the first few pages of this thread which DOES INCLUDE SPOILERS!!!  It offers comparisons of ROTR to other DL/WDW rides so she can get an idea ahead of time.  I’m not big on roller coasters and my DAS sister is extremely hesitant as well - this thread provided good info where we both decided to experience ROTR and have no regrets, we enjoyed it immensely and are ready  to try for BGs again on our next visits. 

https://www.disboards.com/threads/r...erience-ride-spoilers-photos-on-pg-5.3786890/


----------



## theluckyrabbit

Mathmagicland said:


> Before she decides not to experience it, I’d suggest she read through the first few pages of this thread which DOES INCLUDE SPOILERS!!!  It offers comparisons of ROTR to other DL/WDW rides so she can get an idea ahead of time.  I’m not big on roller coasters and my DAS sister is extremely hesitant as well - this thread provided good info where we both decided to experience ROTR and have no regrets, we enjoyed it immensely and are ready  to try for BGs again on our next visits.
> 
> https://www.disboards.com/threads/r...erience-ride-spoilers-photos-on-pg-5.3786890/


I'm so glad to hear that your sister enjoyed it!


----------



## PairOfDice

In line now. Lines growing pretty quickly.


----------



## sherilaine

Lines like the above at 6:53AM local time for a 8AM MM/EMH seem reasonable - yesterday must have really been a Monday!  These people are in the early entry lines I'm hoping, I'd hate to be there 2 hours plus ahead of time for regular park opening.


----------



## Bunless

PairOfDice said:


> In line now. Lines growing pretty quickly.


Today is the first day that I’m intensely watching. We will be there next week Sunday-Wednesday, and we are going to be one of those complicated families. DH wasn’t able to take time off, so we will have to get him scanned in early, but then he has to go back to the hotel so he can work. Wondering how much of a delay I’ll need to do in order to get a boarding pass after 5pm.


----------



## ironband74

Bunless said:


> Today is the first day that I’m intensely watching. We will be there next week Sunday-Wednesday, and we are going to be one of those complicated families. DH wasn’t able to take time off, so we will have to get him scanned in early, but then he has to go back to the hotel so he can work. Wondering how much of a delay I’ll need to do in order to get a boarding pass after 5pm.


Impossible to know for sure since we're still having fun trying to get everything working consistently.  If it were me, I'd basically wait for it to go to backup groups and then go for it.  Even that might not get you all the way to 5, but you know it will at least be in the afternoon.  Of course you risk not getting on at all if the attraction has a bad day.

Scratch that. If it were me, DH (DW in my case) would be on her own.


----------



## ironband74

@PairOfDice , any intel regarding gates/turnstiles opening and all that jazz?


----------



## ballonewb

Sitting by small world waiting for the 9am bg to begin

We had magic morning and got through the gates at 810am. Quite busy already


----------



## PairOfDice

ironband74 said:


> @PairOfDice , any intel regarding gates/turnstiles opening and all that jazz?


Let in the park at 7:25. Rope drop from coke corner at 8:00.


----------



## ironband74

Alright, folks.  The tickle fights and kitten whiskers stop here.  It's make your momma PROUD time!

May the Force be with you.


----------



## PairOfDice

BG 55 and the crowd goes wild!


----------



## Mathmagicland

Playing along at home, backups are gone by 9:02.


----------



## ballonewb

Got bg #4.  Woo woo


----------



## ironband74

Mathmagicland said:


> Playing along at home, backups are gone by 9:02.



Confirmed.  Pretty typical for a 9am open with MM.


----------



## ironband74

Good news, they are boarding already groups 1-2.  72 and up are backups.  Good luck everyone!


----------



## gerilyne

I was distracted making my packing and shopping list I forgot to practice.  Good thing there is still a week and a half for me to make sure I am ready to attempt getting a boarding group.


----------



## ballonewb

Practicing helped us.  Did it for couple of days before.  Two days in a row got a bg.  Today was our best ever


----------



## JJ2017

Do you "get" the BG once you hit the Join Boarding Group button?  Can you lose it while you are creating your party (assuming it doesn't freeze or glitch)?


----------



## Syndrome

Mathmagicland said:


> Playing along at home, backups are gone by 9:02.


I have noticed ( while playing at home ) , that if you just keep backing out of getting a boarding group and retrying several times during the first minute the app gets “cashed” and will give you a false timeline of when the groups go into backups . I was wondering why sometimes I would see backups not pop-up  until 2-3 minutes after everybody else was saying they were gone in 1 minute !  This morning (and yesterday)  , I shut down the app , and restarted it within the first minute and after successfully getting through a few times  the first go around , and quickly saw the boarding groups went into back -ups at 9:00:45 . 45 seconds in , and I was already getting the back-up screen ! Checked against a running atomic clock .
Of coarse this is only a problem when playing at home . If you are at DL and you get your boarding group ,you are done “ trying” , lol .
Just what I have seen 2 days in a row now .
It seems like if you “hold” on the original app launch and just keep trying to get a boarding group over and over  , the app has a delay on when it tells you the real time it goes into back-ups ( prob from working off cashed data ) .


----------



## ironband74

JJ2017 said:


> Do you "get" the BG once you hit the Join Boarding Group button?  Can you lose it while you are creating your party (assuming it doesn't freeze or glitch)?


You don't "get" anything until you have selected your party and click the second "Join Boarding Group" button.  It doesn't hold a spot for you while you select your party - no communication with the server occurs until that second button gets tapped.  At that point it sends the ticket/pass numbers to the server and processes them and hopefully returns your BG number to you.

This is why it is helpful to not have extra tickets in the app - seconds can make the difference between a low and high number, a regular and a backup, or a backup and nothing...


----------



## ironband74

Syndrome said:


> I have noticed ( while playing at home ) , that if you just keep backing out of getting a boarding group and retrying several times during the first minute the app gets “cashed” and will give you a false timeline of when the groups go into backups . I was wondering why sometimes I would see backups not pop-up  until 2-3 minutes after everybody else was saying they were gone in 1 minute !  This morning (and yesterday)  , I shut down the app , and restarted it within the first minute and after successfully getting through a few times  the first go around , and quickly saw the boarding groups went into back -ups at 9:00:45 . 45 seconds in , and I was already getting the back-up screen ! Checked against a running atomic clock .
> Of coarse this is only a problem when playing at home . If you are at DL and you get your boarding group ,you are done “ trying” , lol .
> Just what I have seen 2 days in a row now .
> It seems like if you “hold” on the original app launch and just keep trying to get a boarding group over and over  , the app has a delay on when it tells you the real time it goes into back-ups ( prob from working off cashed data ) .


I've seen similar behavior.  When I'm trying to gauge my process is to go in, close the app, start again, go back in.  I can do that in 15 second increments and it gives me a good idea of when the switch happens.  Note also that the pop-up does not always kick in, and sometimes it is just a subtle change in the verbiage on the "Find out More" page that alerts you to the fact that regular distribution has concluded.


----------



## Syndrome

ironband74 said:


> I've seen similar behavior.  When I'm trying to gauge my process is to go in, close the app, start again, go back in.  I can do that in 15 second increments and it gives me a good idea of when the switch happens.  Note also that the pop-up does not always kick in, and sometimes it is just a subtle change in the verbiage on the "Find out More" page that alerts you to the fact that regular distribution has concluded.



Interesting . I have yet to see any subtle verbiage changes (or haven’t noticed yet ) that says back-ups are in effect , besides the main pop-up.
2 days in a row now , I have seen back-ups start up at 45 seconds in when I didn’t “linger” on the 1st app launch. If I just kept trying to get a boarding group on the first launch , it would always get to about 2-3 minutes before the back-ups would show up .  Also trying the 15 second shut down and start up to eliminate caching , to see when “true” back-ups are starting .


----------



## StarlitNight05

Sorry wrong thread!


----------



## twodogs

JJ2017 said:


> Do you "get" the BG once you hit the Join Boarding Group button?  Can you lose it while you are creating your party (assuming it doesn't freeze or glitch)?


You can't see what BG (if any) you are being assigned until you hit Join Boarding Group, confirm the members of your party and hit Confirm (or whatever the last button is; went so fast when we did it, I don't even know what that button at the bottom of your party list says!).  Then you get a notification of what group number you got (hopefully you got one!).  You can't "lose" your BG while creating your party since you have not yet been told if you even got a BG at the point in the process where you are creating your party.  If you take too long creating your party or there is a glitch at that stage, you either won't get a BG at all or you will get a back up BG if the process takes too long and groups run out.  Nothing is locked in until the last button is pushed AFTER you create your party.


----------



## ironband74

MonocularVision said:


> I can confirm this. In examining the network activity of the app, I can see that when you tap on the button the join a boarding group from outside the park, the server responds with the list of folks in your party but in that response it states who is in and not in the park.When you continue from the party selection screen, there is no additional network call made, the client just displays the error that people aren’t in the park yet.
> 
> Here is the end of the response. I crossed out the 6 guest IDs (my family) because I have no idea how secret those should remain.
> 
> View attachment 474850


Hey, do we know what the ip is of the server the disneyland app connects to?  Seems like pinging that would give a better indication of latency in the application than just pinging a random speed test server nearby...


----------



## smiley_face2

Boarding group 47!! Times coming up soon! Park opening was 9 am, we had magic morning, got to the entrance at 7:30, through turnstiles at 7:50, rode star tours and space mtn and buzz, then the 3 of us got prepared standing by the big ball outside space mtn, daughter was already in the “learn more’ section, got group 47 other daughter and I got “something went wrong” messages cause daughter 1 had already got the group! Woohoo!!


----------



## MinnieLovesMickey

Cast member at Galaxy's Edge just let us know that the ride is currently down. Dang Jawas.


----------



## PairOfDice

MinnieLovesMickey said:


> Cast member at Galaxy's Edge just let us know that the ride is currently down. Dang Jawas.


Thanks for posting this. We noticed it hadn’t moved past 46 in a while.


----------



## smiley_face2

Cant believe it broke down at 46! Lol we are 47...


----------



## Skyegirl1999

smiley_face2 said:


> Cant believe it broke down at 46! Lol we are 47...


At least you’re not trapped in line...


----------



## baozi

Some people mentioned Indiana Jones and Test Track / RSR, but I did not experience the openings of them at all.
Were they like this one? It breaks down every day...



smiley_face2 said:


> Cant believe it broke down at 46! Lol we are 47...


----------



## ironband74

47 called!  Hopefully the fix holds - this downtime = 55 minutes.


----------



## PairOfDice

Now calling up to BG 48. Back up and running?


----------



## ironband74

PairOfDice said:


> Now calling up to BG 48. Back up and running?


Looks that way.  Hopefully not a false start.


----------



## HydroGuy

baozi said:


> Some people mentioned Indiana Jones and Test Track / RSR, but I did not experience the openings of them at all.
> Were they like this one? It breaks down every day...


LOL, IJA and TT still break down every day!!! RSR I think has achieved more stability but that took probably a year.


----------



## KAT4DISNEY

baozi said:


> Some people mentioned Indiana Jones......
> Were they like this one? It breaks down every day...



Was evacuated off of Indy on Sunday and it's not the first time I've been evacuated off of it.  It still breaks down a lot.  And that also was when RoTR finally opened and our group was called.  After the time spend getting taken off Indy and then waiting for them to decide what to do and then for replacement FP's we decided we needed to get checked out of the hotel before going to RoTR.  And then that broke down after we'd been in line 2 minutes.  2.5 hours in line we had to give up on that.  I'm now 50% on riding it.  In FL they didn't even make it to our regular boarding group on 1 of the 2 days we had gone thru the process.  And at DL we were flying out late in the afternoon but their very late start and then the long breakdown left us out again.


----------



## SOCALMouseMommy

For anyone there today, is it as busy as it seems by stalking the app?


----------



## Skyegirl1999

SOCALMouseMommy said:


> For anyone there today, is it as busy as it seems by stalking the app?


It looks way less crowded than last Tuesday based on the app, for what that's worth...

We'll be there Thursday afternoon and most of the day Friday.  Very curious to see what kind of crowds the parade and F&W bring in.


----------



## JohnR5101

Just curious. I tried today to "play at home" for the first time. We are going in September so don't have our tickets yet. The last time we were there was Sept 2017 with APs so we had our "group", but now it doesn't have anything in there.
So when I tried this morning after the "Find out more" it wanted me to set up a group, which I can't do without tickets. So, do you all have tickets loaded and that is how you can see more info past that screen when you are "playing at home"?


----------



## socaldisneylover

Skyegirl1999 said:


> We'll be there Thursday afternoon and most of the day Friday.  Very curious to see what kind of crowds the parade and F&W bring in.



There will be a lot of people who want to be there for the debut of the new parade on Friday.  Then expect the 2nd parade to be even more crowded as people come after work.


----------



## brightlined

JohnR5101 said:


> So when I tried this morning after the "Find out more" it wanted me to set up a group, which I can't do without tickets. So, do you all have tickets loaded and that is how you can see more info past that screen when you are "playing at home"?


Did it say "Join Boarding Group"? That's talking about a ROTR "boarding group" - that's the term for the virtual queue. I don't think you need tickets at all to play at home - at park open, the "Join Boarding Group" button will turn red, the next screen would ask you about your tickets.


----------



## SOCALMouseMommy

Skyegirl1999 said:


> It looks way less crowded than last Tuesday based on the app, for what that's worth...
> 
> We'll be there Thursday afternoon and most of the day Friday.  Very curious to see what kind of crowds the parade and F&W bring in.



We will be there tomorrow with my mother, who hasn’t been in a long time. Hoping it’s not too busy. I even convinced her to ride ROTR if we can luck out with a boarding group (she doesn’t generally do bigger rides). Parade doesn’t start tomorrow right?


----------



## Skyegirl1999

SOCALMouseMommy said:


> We will be there tomorrow with my mother, who hasn’t been in a long time. Hoping it’s not too busy. I even convinced her to ride ROTR if we can luck out with a boarding group (she doesn’t generally do bigger rides). Parade doesn’t start tomorrow right?


Nope, Friday.  Have fun, and good luck with a BG!


----------



## ironband74

Alright, we're done with regular groups.  On to the backups!


----------



## LightningGale

(THIS IS FOR WDW)
So, my experience with RotR yesterday: we were running a bit late, but managed to get both members of the group through the turnstiles at 7:58 (opening at 8). We got boarding group 55 and were called around 1 PM. We got off the ride at 1:40.

We were seeing backup groups still available around the 8:15/8:30 range (not sure exactly when; we rope-dropped Tower of Terror and were kind of distracted by that), but not much longer than that. The ride had two downtimes that we saw, one before we rode and one after. The first preshow (the one before you get grouped) wasn't working when we rode, so we got routed through backstage and directly into the grouping area, but everything else seemed to be fine.

There were also a whole lot of cast members guarding the fire exits. I'm not sure if that was just how it's done or a sign of technical difficulties.


----------



## Skyegirl1999

LightningGale said:


> So, my experience with RotR yesterday: we were running a bit late, but managed to get both members of the group through the turnstiles at 7:58 (opening at 8). We got boarding group 55 and were called around 1 PM. We got off the ride at 1:40.
> 
> We were seeing backup groups still available around the 8:15/8:30 range (not sure exactly when; we rope-dropped Tower of Terror and were kind of distracted by that), but not much longer than that. The ride had two downtimes that we saw, one before we rode and one after. The first preshow (the one before you get grouped) wasn't working when we rode, so we got routed through backstage and directly into the grouping area, but everything else seemed to be fine.
> 
> There were also a whole lot of cast members guarding the fire exits. I'm not sure if that was just how it's done or a sign of technical difficulties.


Were you at DL or WDW?


----------



## matthewthompson87

baozi said:


> Some people mentioned Indiana Jones and Test Track / RSR, but I did not experience the openings of them at all.
> Were they like this one? It breaks down every day...



Test Track was much, much worse of a guest experience than this.

The Boarding Group process going on for RotR at least makes me willing to give it a chance.  Sure I might ride or might not depending on how it’s performing that day... but with Test Track, people would stand in line outside the queue for hours and hours in hopes it would open. Often it would open, and then close back down 20 minutes later for the day. It went on like that for months and months. (Trust me you never want to be stuck baking in the sun in 100 degree Florida weather on asphalt waiting to be evacuated either.)


----------



## Syndrome

Skyegirl1999 said:


> Were you at DL or WDW?



I am guessing WDW, since Tower of Terror has not been in DL for quite a while now ! LOL


----------



## LightningGale

WDW - misread the thread title, sorry. Hopefully the group timing/downtime info is still useful.


----------



## Skyegirl1999

Syndrome said:


> I am guessing WDW, since Tower of Terror has not been in DL for quite a while now ! LOL


That tipped me off, along with the different park opening time.


----------



## MonocularVision

ironband74 said:


> Hey, do we know what the ip is of the server the disneyland app connects to?  Seems like pinging that would give a better indication of latency in the application than just pinging a random speed test server nearby...



The endpoint’s for the virtual queue are all hosted on vqguest-svc.wdprapps.disney.com. Just tested and the server does respond to pings.


----------



## ironband74

MonocularVision said:


> The endpoint’s for the virtual queue are all hosted on vqguest-svc.wdprapps.disney.com. Just tested and the server does respond to pings.
> 
> View attachment 476652


This is definitely tech find of the week.  Nice!


----------



## becauseimnew

socaldisneylover said:


> Then expect the 2nd parade to be even more crowded as people come after work.


I totally didn’t think about local crowd making the second parade busier, going to make it a point to go to the first one.


----------



## ironband74

MonocularVision said:


> The endpoint’s for the virtual queue are all hosted on vqguest-svc.wdprapps.disney.com. Just tested and the server does respond to pings.
> 
> View attachment 476652


So for those of you who aren't sure what we're talking about - one of the things we've been looking at is ping speed, or latency.  When you use a speed test app, you are usually getting a ping speed to some server that the speed tester has designated - maybe google or some other local server.  However @MonocularVision  here has rooted out the actual address of the server that the app has to communicate with in order to send the ticket info to get a group.  So if you download a ping app (just search for ping in the app store) and enter the address as noted in his post, you can see in real time how your ping to the only server that matters is doing.  

From up here in NorCal, on my wifi, I'm seeing pings of around 50ms. Switching off my wifi (I'm in a pretty dead at&t zone in my house - 2 bars) I am seeing pings of around 500ms. Mr. Vision there is seeing pings from 13-38ms.

My family is going to think I'm nuts, but I'm definitely using this when we go.


----------



## PairOfDice

I was the only one of the four of us trying for a BG this morning. We were in line for Space and when I started losing bars I left the line. I was happy to get 55. 
Then later when our group was called we got stuck on Space but fortunately not too long. First time for us. 
So the ride. No spoilers but I’ll just say it’s not just a ride. It’s an experience. We can’t wait to try again on Friday.
It’s been a good day so far. A bit crowded but that was to be expected.


----------



## smiley_face2

So awesome!! It was not as hard as it sounded reading everything, we are going to try again tomorrow, having an OPO of 9 am makes it a lot easier to get through the turnstile at a decent time!


----------



## ten6mom

Tonight after soccer practice and a band concert, I am going to try to get in a couple hours' sleep and then get up at 0100 for an 0200 departure (driving from Phoenix) in order to drop the car at an area hotel and try to make rope drop.

Gotta get through southern California rush hour traffic first.

Wish us luck!  Only 2 in my party but hopefully between the two of us we can grab a BG!


----------



## MonocularVision

ironband74 said:


> So for those of you who aren't sure what we're talking about - one of the things we've been looking at is ping speed, or latency.  When you use a speed test app, you are usually getting a ping speed to some server that the speed tester has designated - maybe google or some other local server.  However @MonocularVision  here has rooted out the actual address of the server that the app has to communicate with in order to send the ticket info to get a group.  So if you download a ping app (just search for ping in the app store) and enter the address as noted in his post, you can see in real time how your ping to the only server that matters is doing.



Also important to note that the IP address you see will change. I just ran it again on Verizon this time and see different results. With how DNS caching and load balancers work, I would expect that whatever ping times you see in a ping app should reflect what occurs in the app within a reasonable time frame.


----------



## Lewdannie

ironband74 said:


> This is definitely tech find of the week.  Nice!


I agree well done!


----------



## kappyfamily

Sorry for the silly question but was is a good ping speed in the park?


----------



## ironband74

kappyfamily said:


> Sorry for the silly question but was is a good ping speed in the park?


Not a silly question at all.  I had the same question.  Right now prevailing theory is 30ms or less is "good" but we haven't codified that yet.


----------



## ironband74

They're feeling bold this evening...rocking a 29 group spread as they are accelerating into the last few hours...will it end in triumph or disaster?  Only the ancients know...


----------



## midnight star

baozi said:


> Some people mentioned Indiana Jones and Test Track / RSR, but I did not experience the openings of them at all.
> Were they like this one? It breaks down every day...





HydroGuy said:


> LOL, IJA and TT still break down every day!!! RSR I think has achieved more stability but that took probably a year.


You can pretty much guarantee Indy will break down during the day. I will book a maxpass for it midday banking on it to break down, and it usually does lol. That way I get a replacement fastpass for something else.


----------



## SOCALMouseMommy

Question about parking. Going tomorrow (Wednesday) with a 9am park opening.

Based on the below info, is showing up to either Mickey & Friends or Toy Story at 7:45am a good plan? We don’t want to get caught in a long line to enter from the people who lined up before parking opened. But also don’t want to wait too long in case security takes a while.

Copied from the original posts on the thread:
When does parking open?

Mickey and Friends Structure, Pixar Pals Structure, and the Toy Story Lot all open 90 minutes before official park opening time (30 minutes before Magic Mornings on Tue/Thur/Sat)


----------



## HydroGuy

midnight star said:


> You can pretty much guarantee Indy will break down during the day. I will book a maxpass for it midday banking on it to break down, and it usually does lol. That way I get a replacement fastpass for something else.


LOL, I do the exact same thing!


----------



## Varty Yo

136! Nice rebound after yesterday


----------



## julietcf14

So, yesterday we were at the park and had a rough start. Despite getting there 40min before open, we got stuck in the slowest security line. I thought I was going to have a coronary as I watched the guy spend 5 min checking one backpack. We got in one minute after 9am (opening) and then it took forever to get our tickets scanned (the program was a bit overrun with other people getting boarding passes). We got group 125 so we figured we wouldn’t be riding. Well, we got called at 7pm!!! The ride was amazing. Like nothing we have ever seen before!!
so thanks for all the tips on this forum! We wouldnt have gotten any group without the tips I got!!


----------



## ironband74

Varty Yo said:


> 136! Nice rebound after yesterday


They stopped calling at 7:30.  The only explanation I can think of it that is all the groups they gave out.  They clearly planned for an extra hour of downtime, but it never came.  Really good performance today with only the one 55 minute downtime. 

DHS had a rougher day.  It really does feel like the A-team came back to the West Coast.


----------



## ironband74

This is the chart:


----------



## Varty Yo

To think they could have easily crushed the record!!! haha


----------



## ironband74

Varty Yo said:


> To think they could have easily crushed the record!!! haha



To be fair, it is the best 9am opening day on record.  We'll see if they can keep it up.


----------



## montreid

Another great tuesday operation.   One would think if they blew through it like this with 3 hours left that they wouldn't do a surprise standby line opportunity just for publicity sake.   Would have been a very nice sendoff for the new CEO


----------



## theluckyrabbit

ironband74 said:


> You don't "get" anything until you have selected your party and click the second "Join Boarding Group" button.  It doesn't hold a spot for you while you select your party - no communication with the server occurs until that second button gets tapped.  At that point it sends the ticket/pass numbers to the server and processes them and hopefully returns your BG number to you.
> 
> This is why it is helpful to not have extra tickets in the app - seconds can make the difference between a low and high number, a regular and a backup, or a backup and nothing...


Good explanation -- I've added this to the FAQs.



ironband74 said:


> Hey, do we know what the ip is of the server the disneyland app connects to?  Seems like pinging that would give a better indication of latency in the application than just pinging a random speed test server nearby...


Very good question!



MonocularVision said:


> The endpoint’s for the virtual queue are all hosted on vqguest-svc.wdprapps.disney.com. Just tested and the server does respond to pings.
> 
> View attachment 476652


Bada Bing! Thank you!! 



becauseimnew said:


> I totally didn’t think about local crowd making the second parade busier, going to make it a point to go to the first one.


At DLR, local crowds make many things busier!



ironband74 said:


> So for those of you who aren't sure what we're talking about - one of the things we've been looking at is ping speed, or latency.  When you use a speed test app, you are usually getting a ping speed to some server that the speed tester has designated - maybe google or some other local server.  However @MonocularVision  here has rooted out the actual address of the server that the app has to communicate with in order to send the ticket info to get a group.  So if you download a ping app (just search for ping in the app store) and enter the address as noted in his post, you can see in real time how your ping to the only server that matters is doing.
> 
> From up here in NorCal, on my wifi, I'm seeing pings of around 50ms. Switching off my wifi (I'm in a pretty dead at&t zone in my house - 2 bars) I am seeing pings of around 500ms. Mr. Vision there is seeing pings from 13-38ms.
> 
> My family is going to think I'm nuts, but I'm definitely using this when we go.


Love this! 



MonocularVision said:


> Also important to note that the IP address you see will change. I just ran it again on Verizon this time and see different results. With how DNS caching and load balancers work, I would expect that whatever ping times you see in a ping app should reflect what occurs in the app within a reasonable time frame.


I love this thread! Thank you for this additional information!


----------



## theluckyrabbit

ironband74 said:


> This is the chart:
> View attachment 476761
> View attachment 476762


Updated and ready to go!


----------



## natebenma

ICYMI-

This morning, there was a major glitch at WDW/HS.  For the first time, people who were practicing from home were actually getting boarding group assignments.  They haven't started calling groups to the ride yet.  Remains to be seen what will happen today.   

Following the WDW No Spoilers thread


----------



## becauseimnew

natebenma said:


> ICYMI-
> 
> This morning, there was a major glitch at WDW/HS.  For the first time, people who were practicing from home were actually getting boarding group assignments.  They haven't started calling groups to the ride yet.  Remains to be seen what will happen today.
> 
> Following the WDW No Spoilers thread


Oh wow, so no need to tap in to the park?


----------



## natebenma

becauseimnew said:


> Oh wow, so no need to tap in to the park?



Not today, apparently!


----------



## Kellina

ironband74 said:


> To be fair, it is the best 9am opening day on record.  We'll see if they can keep it up.


Here's hoping!! I'll be there Sunday for my one and only shot at it!! But hey, we've never been to DL or DCA so it'll be fun no matter what happens!! Can't wait!


----------



## Kellina

ironband74 said:


> Not a silly question at all.  I had the same question.  Right now prevailing theory is 30ms or less is "good" but we haven't codified that yet.


So less is more? Thanks! I would think higher is better!!


----------



## ironband74

montreid said:


> Another great tuesday operation.   One would think if they blew through it like this with 3 hours left that they wouldn't do a surprise standby line opportunity just for publicity sake.   Would have been a very nice sendoff for the new CEO


They won't ever do a "surprise" standby because it would encourage people to stand around and line up hoping that it would happen again.  The whole point of this virtual queue is to prevent that sort of thing.  They are doing everything they can to prevent people from lining up and waiting for hours on end both at the beginning of the day and the end of the day.

This is encouraging, though, in that they are clearly putting out a target number of boarding groups that they feel is attainable for a given day and its conditions.  While they might not always hit the target, it's nice to know that even if you are the last BG issued, you've got a fighting chance.


----------



## ironband74

Kellina said:


> So less is more? Thanks! I would think higher is better!!


Right.  It's a measure of the amount of time it takes a small packet of information to go from your phone/computer to the server and back.  So the faster it goes, the less time it takes.


----------



## montreid

ironband74 said:


> They won't ever do a "surprise" standby because it would encourage people to stand around and line up hoping that it would happen again.  The whole point of this virtual queue is to prevent that sort of thing.  They are doing everything they can to prevent people from lining up and waiting for hours on end both at the beginning of the day and the end of the day.
> 
> This is encouraging, though, in that they are clearly putting out a target number of boarding groups that they feel is attainable for a given day and its conditions.  While they might not always hit the target, it's nice to know that even if you are the last BG issued, you've got a fighting chance.


You're right.   What I would do is make an in park announcement that additional backup groups will be made available in xxx minutes.   Then release them.  It was an exceptional day yesterday and I hope we have more of them....and with a plan to leverage that success.


----------



## midnight star

natebenma said:


> ICYMI-
> 
> This morning, there was a major glitch at WDW/HS.  For the first time, people who were practicing from home were actually getting boarding group assignments.  They haven't started calling groups to the ride yet.  Remains to be seen what will happen today.
> 
> Following the WDW No Spoilers thread


Oh no! They've had some glitches like this in the past. A few days after we rode it there, the boarding groups opened before park opening. Some people didn't know and then found out at park opening when they got super late groups or a back up. 

Situations like this, I really do feel bad for the guests in the park. That's really not their fault at all.


----------



## ironband74

midnight star said:


> Oh no! They've had some glitches like this in the past. A few days after we rode it there, the boarding groups opened before park opening. Some people didn't know and then found out at park opening when they got super late groups or a back up.
> 
> Situations like this, I really do feel bad for the guests in the park. That's really not their fault at all.


Yeah, that's a huge Gate 1 fail.  Hopefully suffer the same fate we don't.


----------



## KPeterso

natebenma said:


> ICYMI-
> 
> This morning, there was a major glitch at WDW/HS.  For the first time, people who were practicing from home were actually getting boarding group assignments.  They haven't started calling groups to the ride yet.  Remains to be seen what will happen today.
> 
> Following the WDW No Spoilers thread



I saw that on Facebook this AM. I will be interested to see if it happens on our end too. Hopefully, I will be able to play from work this AM.


----------



## PairOfDice

7:40 today


----------



## ballonewb

Walking through the gates by downtown Disney security.  Lines are busy at this gate


----------



## BigOHawk

KPeterso said:


> I saw that on Facebook this AM. I will be interested to see if it happens on our end too. Hopefully, I will be able to play from work this AM.


Where is this thread located?


----------



## PairOfDice

I’m glad I was able to see the DL lines get so long that they merge with CA lines an hour before opening today. On Friday I will get here extra early.


----------



## ironband74

With Thrill-data.com down, maybe I'll be productive today...


----------



## kappyfamily

So I noticed the DL app is new....


----------



## kappyfamily

Interesting.... I just went back on and it looks like it always has? But what I saw a bit ago was definitely different.


----------



## ironband74

kappyfamily said:


> So I noticed the DL app is new....


What did you see?


----------



## ten6mom

Didn’t get moving as early as we wanted. Currently in line with 21 minutes to park opening.


----------



## SOCALMouseMommy

In line at DL. Lines are moving slow. I think they are taking picture.


----------



## ironband74

Anyone know what time they started letting folks in this morning?


----------



## becauseimnew

ten6mom said:


> Didn’t get moving as early as we wanted. Currently in line with 21 minutes to park opening.


Good luck!!!


----------



## matthewthompson87

Practicing checked if I was in the park today, counter to WDW issues.


----------



## gerilyne

Trying from home, looks like regular passes were gone in 30 seconds or so.  When i checked at 9:00:37 it was onto backups.


----------



## BigOHawk

Regular BG's gone in about 50 seconds..


----------



## kappyfamily

ironband74 said:


> What did you see?


The map was still at the top but other than that it looked different. It had like five rides listed out under the map where you could “learn more”, ROTR was at the top but it said in caps something like “you will need a boarding pass to ride”. The park hours were no longer on the front page, which was frustrating me because that’s what I was looking for. But again, I logged out and then went back 5 minutes later and the old version was back....


----------



## ballonewb

ironband74 said:


> Anyone know what time they started letting folks in this morning?



810am


----------



## ten6mom

Group 5!!


----------



## SOCALMouseMommy

Group 10!

Edited to add we were across from the Jungle Cruise.


----------



## ironband74

Syndrome said:


> Interesting . I have yet to see any subtle verbiage changes (or haven’t noticed yet ) that says back-ups are in effect , besides the main pop-up.
> 2 days in a row now , I have seen back-ups start up at 45 seconds in when I didn’t “linger” on the 1st app launch. If I just kept trying to get a boarding group on the first launch , it would always get to about 2-3 minutes before the back-ups would show up .  Also trying the 15 second shut down and start up to eliminate caching , to see when “true” back-ups are starting .


For folks who are interested:


----------



## ironband74

Boarding has begun.  A good sign for today - best of luck to everyone!


----------



## ballonewb

Wanted to share the last three days that I got a boarding group with anyone going in the future

We arrived 45 mins early to the gates each day and allowed for 20 mins for security. 

I tried three separate areas of the park during my visit.  Bench’s by small world, train station, and the flag pole. 

I’m using a iPhone 11 Pro on Verizon.   

The way I did it was clicking the find out more on the home screen couple mins before park open.  Then I would click my status as soon as my phone showed park open.  

Day one got bg38.  Day two and three got bg4

Let me know if anyone has questions.


----------



## BigOHawk

ballonewb said:


> Wanted to share the last three days that I got a boarding group with anyone going in the future
> 
> We arrived 45 mins early to the gates each day and allowed for 20 mins for security.
> 
> I tried three separate areas of the park during my visit.  Bench’s by small world, train station, and the flag pole.
> 
> I’m using a iPhone 11 Pro on Verizon.
> 
> The way I did it was clicking the find out more on the home screen couple mins before park open.  Then I would click my status as soon as my phone showed park open.
> 
> Day one got bg38.  Day two and three got bg4
> 
> Let me know if anyone has questions.


Any confirmation this same method works on  Android OS? It seems that if I click Find Out More prior to park open, I get locked out and even after clicking My Status, the Join Boarding Group button there is intermittently active, sometimes requiring a back out or app reboot, etc. Playing from home of course....I think next month when there I'll just Force Quit app, clear cache a minute or two prior to open, relaunch app and NOT click Find out More until a few seconds after park open per Ironband's advice, which I really appreciate over the last several weeks!

It seems the above tips and tricks work well for IPhone and the latter is better for Android from what I can gather...


----------



## ironband74

So everyone here got a BG of 10 or less, and ya'll have been called before 9:30am.  

It's a good day to be a DISer at the park.  

Backups still available at 9:25...


----------



## ironband74

BigOHawk said:


> Any confirmation this same method works on  Android OS? It seems that if I click Find Out More prior to park open, I get locked out and even after clicking My Status, the Join Boarding Group button there is intermittently active, sometimes requiring a back out or app reboot, etc. Playing from home of course....I think next month when there I'll just Force Quit app, clear cache a minute or two prior to open, relaunch app and NOT click Find out More until a few seconds after park open per Ironband's advice, which I really appreciate over the last several weeks!
> 
> It seems the above tips and tricks work well for IPhone and the latter is better for Android from what I can gather...


I've seen some android users report success with this method..  For me if I get into FOM early, but tap MS after OPO, I typically will get an active button.  But the only thing that seems to work every time without fail is waiting to tap FOM until after OPO, so I'm sticking with that as a best practice for Android.


----------



## ironband74

Backups are gone now.  72 and up are backups.


----------



## becauseimnew

What is up with DLR today. RSR, incredicoaster, Matterhorn & Space are all down.


----------



## ballonewb

becauseimnew said:


> What is up with DLR today. RSR, incredicoaster, Matterhorn & Space are all down.



Pirates was down 15 mins ago as well


----------



## ironband74

becauseimnew said:


> What is up with DLR today. RSR, incredicoaster, Matterhorn & Space are all down.



Wild.  Space looks to be back up...but I guess they reallocated all hands to work on ROTR


----------



## dismsn

ballonewb said:


> Wanted to share the last three days that I got a boarding group with anyone going in the future
> 
> We arrived 45 mins early to the gates each day and allowed for 20 mins for security.
> 
> I tried three separate areas of the park during my visit.  Bench’s by small world, train station, and the flag pole.
> 
> I’m using a iPhone 11 Pro on Verizon.
> 
> The way I did it was clicking the find out more on the home screen couple mins before park open.  Then I would click my status as soon as my phone showed park open.
> 
> Day one got bg38.  Day two and three got bg4
> 
> Let me know if anyone has questions.


Thanks! I'll try that tomorrow.

Yesterday, sat on the benches under monorail track beside Matterhorn and clicked "find out more" and husband (who tried to avoid helping get BG but reluctantly decided to help) got BG 42.  Ride was down after BG called.  Ate lunch, still down after that, went to Oga's and it was finally back up.  Took about 50 minutes from scanning us in to walking off ride.  Daughter had to leave at 2 and we finished ride just in time.


----------



## bethwc101

I know you can either all be signed in to the same account or different accounts when multiple users are trying, but has one proven to be more successful than the other or does it seem irrelevant.


----------



## ironband74

bethwc101 said:


> I know you can either all be signed in to the same account or different accounts when multiple users are trying, but has one proven to be more successful than the other or does it seem irrelevant.


It appears to be irrelevant.  The message the app sends to the server only contains the ticket/ap numbers and does not include any account information.  The important thing is that the tickets selected are consistent between the various devices/accounts being used.


----------



## JJ2017

So we've never been to DL.  I know we can be let in early as part of this Rise process and we plan to do just that.  But now I'm trying to figure out the best place to wait it out with my family until BG attempt time.  Would love to take in the scenery. Can we take pics at the castle or is it so crazy in that area?  It will be a non EMH day and also, Indiana Jones is high on our riding priority list.  Of course, this all depends on what time we actually get to the gates/thru security, etc.


----------



## SOCALMouseMommy

becauseimnew said:


> What is up with DLR today. RSR, incredicoaster, Matterhorn & Space are all down.


Pirates was also down at park open.


----------



## ballonewb

JJ2017 said:


> So we've never been to DL.  I know we can be let in early as part of this Rise process and we plan to do just that.  But now I'm trying to figure out the best place to wait it out with my family until BG attempt time.  Would love to take in the scenery. Can we take pics at the castle or is it so crazy in that area?  It will be a non EMH day and also, Indiana Jones is high on our riding priority list.  Of course, this all depends on what time we actually get to the gates/thru security, etc.



If you have early morning access we really enjoyed it from small world.   The second best was on the benches on top of the train station


----------



## ten6mom

I don’t have any super techy advice but we got into line in the Esplanade around 0835 or so and got in with about 12 minutes to spare.  We went ahead and got FP for Star Tours (partly to ensure both of us were “in” the park) and waited upstairs at the train station. We just watched our phone switch to 0900 and I got it first with an iPhone 7plus (my friend also had an iPhone 7 Plus). We did put DoNotDisturb on and we closed all other apps prior. Nothing else fancy.


----------



## ironband74

It looks like the A team ate their Wheaties and took advantage of the extra downtime last night.  42 groups called in less than 2 hours...Though we do have the opening salvo included that means we're seeing a 42 group spread and I'm pretty sure we've not seen that before...and there is still 18 minutes before we hit that 2 hour mark. 

Hopefully this confidence is not misplaced.


----------



## SOCALMouseMommy

ironband74 said:


> It looks like the A team ate their Wheaties and took advantage of the extra downtime last night.  42 groups called in less than 2 hours...Though we do have the opening salvo included that means we're seeing a 42 group spread and I'm pretty sure we've not seen that before...and there is still 18 minutes before we hit that 2 hour mark.
> 
> Hopefully this confidence is not misplaced.


So my mom and I both rode separately with  rider switch. They are moving people through efficiently. We were both off 30 after entering the queue. One ride element was not working but all the rest were in working order.


----------



## ironband74

They hit a spread of 1-45 at the 2 hour point.  Haven't called another group since.  Hopefully that's just them letting the queue die down a little and they didn't tax the system to the breaking point...

Edit:  nope, it's still moving, but at a more typical pace...


----------



## deejdigsdis

BigOHawk said:


> Any confirmation this same method works on  Android OS? It seems that if I click Find Out More prior to park open, I get locked out and even after clicking My Status, the Join Boarding Group button there is intermittently active, sometimes requiring a back out or app reboot, etc. Playing from home of course....I think next month when there I'll just Force Quit app, clear cache a minute or two prior to open, relaunch app and NOT click Find out More until a few seconds after park open per Ironband's advice, which I really appreciate over the last several weeks!
> 
> It seems the above tips and tricks work well for IPhone and the latter is better for Android from what I can gather...


 
Android user here.  I have the same experience.  I can't hit Find Out More until park opening, otherwise I get a gray button, and My Status won't show the option to join a BG that way either.  All this while experimenting from home since my trip a month ago.  When I was actually there, I watched the clock just in the upper corner of my phone and as soon as it turned 9:00 I hit Find Out More and joined a BG with no problem, getting BG 1.


----------



## ironband74

And now they seem to be pulling the lunchtime acceleration maneuver in a bid to reach backups before 1pm with a 9am open.  I know we reached backups at 1pm before, but I think that was on an 8am open day.

Edit:  Confirmed, last time (and first time) that happened was Friday 2/14, groups 8-79 were all called by 1pm, but boarding started at around 8:40ish.


----------



## harmon54

Any recent success getting boarding groups when you are in Fantasyland?  What about back at your hotel?  I will most likely be one of these places and was wondering if it is better not to risk it and just stay near the front of the park entrance?


----------



## Skyegirl1999

harmon54 said:


> Any recent success getting boarding groups when you are in Fantasyland?  What about back at your hotel?  I will most likely be one of these places and was wondering if it is better not to risk it and just stay near the front of the park entrance?


You can get one from anywhere you have good service.  There have been plenty of reports from people in Fantasyland and at hotels.


----------



## ironband74

All 71 regular groups called by 1:11pm  just past the four hour mark.  On to the the backups.  May Mando keep the Jawas silent today.


----------



## montreid

ironband74 said:


> All 71 regular groups called by 1:11pm  just past the four hour mark.  On to the the backups.  May Mando keep the Jawas silent today.


Outpacing the WDW despite 3 hours ahead and their open BG error this morning -- their spread only 12 at the moment too.   weird on what's happening over there and hopefully not a canary to West coast recruits.


----------



## PairOfDice

becauseimnew said:


> What is up with DLR today. RSR, incredicoaster, Matterhorn & Space are all down.



it was a rough morning at CA with RSR and Incredicoaster down. It took a while for them to get back up and running and FP for RSR we’re going fast.


----------



## ironband74

montreid said:


> Outpacing the WDW despite 3 hours ahead and their open BG error this morning -- their spread only 12 at the moment too.   weird on what's happening over there and hopefully not a canary to West coast recruits.


I haven't analyzed it yet, but it really feels like a good day here is a bad day there and vice versa lately.   I wonder if the A-Team is traveling back and forth.   Could be a total coincidence, though.


----------



## OUmd

This is a big thread and probably has been answered, but I thought I would try.

On DCA early morning hours can we enter DCA and get a boarding pass while in DCA when DL opens? Or do we have to go through the gates at DL first and then go to DCA?


----------



## ironband74

OUmd said:


> This is a big thread and probably has been answered, but I thought I would try.
> 
> On DCA early morning hours can we enter DCA and get a boarding pass while in DCA when DL opens? Or do we have to go through the gates at DL first and then go to DCA?



That is addressed in the first couple of posts.  But long story short you have to scan your tickets in to DL before you can get a boarding pass.


----------



## ironband74

Well, we've been down for 45 minutes stuck at 97.

Hand me the hydro-spanner.  No!  This one goes here.  That one goes there!


----------



## ironband74

OK, looks like we're back up after about a 70 minute downtime.  Hopefully it sticks!


----------



## Gaugersaurus




----------



## Congo Queen

harmon54 said:


> Any recent success getting boarding groups when you are in Fantasyland?  What about back at your hotel?  I will most likely be one of these places and was wondering if it is better not to risk it and just stay near the front of the park entrance?


Last week, my sister got BG17 when she was not just in Fantasyland but pretty deep within the Peter Pan queue.  She had just passed the metal turnstile and was rounding the final switchback before mounting the boarding platform and was worried that she might actually be on the ride as the clock struck 9am.  But then the line slowed down and she was able to hit join a boarding group right at stroke on 9, got her BG and then got right on PP.  She was using an iphone on AT&T.


----------



## aquamanalaska

harmon54 said:


> Any recent success getting boarding groups when you are in Fantasyland?  What about back at your hotel?  I will most likely be one of these places and was wondering if it is better not to risk it and just stay near the front of the park entrance?


My DW scored me a Boarding Group from Washington State from our kitchen. We are out of state APs. I have a flip phone and did not want to run to the Kiosk again.


----------



## Varty Yo

i wonder if 147 will be the final for today


----------



## ironband74

OK, that looks to be it for tonight.  147 groups called, one downtime of about 70 minutes.  Best 9am opening ever.  2nd best day ever.  

So we're seeing improvement for sure.  

Chart to follow.


----------



## ironband74

Wait, he's holding a thermal detonator!

Disney gets tricksy and calls 148...


----------



## Varty Yo

Nope lol


----------



## ironband74

Why they waited 20 minutes between 147 and 148 is beyond me.  I think we're done now...but I'm not posting any chart until they say boarding concluded...


----------



## montreid

148 last group standing.....we shall see


----------



## SOCALMouseMommy

ironband74 said:


> Why they waited 20 minutes between 147 and 148 is beyond me.  I think we're done now...but I'm not posting any chart until they say boarding concluded...


Have they ever kept the ride open this late? Park closing at 10.


----------



## ironband74

Many  Bothans died to bring you this chart...


----------



## ironband74

SOCALMouseMommy said:


> Have they ever kept the ride open this late? Park closing at 10.


They have...but the details elude me.  I want to say they called up until 9pm one night.  Since it is a one hour return, that would still allow them to shut down a little after 10.  It was a weird flex to call an extra group, but I'm sure the people in that group aren't complaining!


----------



## SOCALMouseMommy

ironband74 said:


> They have...but the details elude me.  I want to say they called up until 9pm one night.  Since it is a one hour return, that would still allow them to shut down a little after 10.  It was a weird flex to call an extra group, but I'm sure the people in that group aren't complaining!


I bet not! I wonder if that was the last backup boarding group and they decided to just finish them off.


----------



## ten6mom

Curious whether anyone else has heard this or similar:

I heard someone say this evening that Disney is “cracking down” on people who are in groups where all the people in a group of linked tickets try to get a boarding group at the same time (which is what everyone has of course been doing). She indicated that they’re starting to block all the group members from obtaining a BG and that just one person from each group of linked tickets should try.

This came up as I was regaling my group with our heroic efforts this morning so I thought it interesting. Anyone else have an opinion on that?


----------



## socaldisneylover

I suppose it gives those in larger groups more of an opportunity to get into a boarding group, but I don't see how Disney can prevent it.


----------



## theluckyrabbit

natebenma said:


> ICYMI-
> 
> This morning, there was a major glitch at WDW/HS.  For the first time, people who were practicing from home were actually getting boarding group assignments.  They haven't started calling groups to the ride yet.  Remains to be seen what will happen today.
> 
> Following the WDW No Spoilers thread


Gack! Or should I say, "Doh!"



kappyfamily said:


> The map was still at the top but other than that it looked different. It had like five rides listed out under the map where you could “learn more”, ROTR was at the top but it said in caps something like “you will need a boarding pass to ride”. The park hours were no longer on the front page, which was frustrating me because that’s what I was looking for. But again, I logged out and then went back 5 minutes later and the old version was back....


Very interesting... if it should happen again, please post a screen shot!



ten6mom said:


> Group 5!!


Way to go! AND... you knew to be INSIDE the DL gates! 



SOCALMouseMommy said:


> Group 10!
> 
> Edited to add we were across from the Jungle Cruise.


Yay! I'll bet your mom was excited!



ironband74 said:


> All 71 regular groups called by 1:11pm  just past the four hour mark.  On to the the backups.  May Mando keep the Jawas silent today.


Apparently, the Jawas got loose in the galaxy and started wreaking havoc on the other rides.



ironband74 said:


> I haven't analyzed it yet, but it really feels like a good day here is a bad day there and vice versa lately.   I wonder if the A-Team is traveling back and forth.   Could be a total coincidence, though.


If this keeps up, the A-Team will have more than enough miles to fly their families first class to any destination of their choice -- IF they can ever get any vacation time!



OUmd said:


> This is a big thread and probably has been answered, but I thought I would try.
> 
> On DCA early morning hours can we enter DCA and get a boarding pass while in DCA when DL opens? Or do we have to go through the gates at DL first and then go to DCA?


As the title says, see posts 1-4 for the answer! Go to page one, post two: FAQs, "How do I join a boarding group?" Also read post 4 for very helpful "How To" tips. You'll find the information you need right there!


----------



## theluckyrabbit

Welcome, all newcomers to this Superthread! Please take a moment to look at the first page and to read posts 1-4! You'll find very helpful information there which will answer most questions. If you still have questions after reading those posts, ask here!


----------



## theluckyrabbit

ironband74 said:


> Many  Bothans died to bring you this chart...
> View attachment 477090View attachment 477089View attachment 477091


Updated!


----------



## ten6mom

socaldisneylover said:


> I suppose it gives those in larger groups more of an opportunity to get into a boarding group, but I don't see how Disney can prevent it.


That’s kind of what I was thinking. I think a reasonably large group of my friends will be regift this morning so it’ll be interesting to see what they end up with.


----------



## ironband74

ten6mom said:


> Curious whether anyone else has heard this or similar:
> 
> I heard someone say this evening that Disney is “cracking down” on people who are in groups where all the people in a group of linked tickets try to get a boarding group at the same time (which is what everyone has of course been doing). She indicated that they’re starting to block all the group members from obtaining a BG and that just one person from each group of linked tickets should try.
> 
> This came up as I was regaling my group with our heroic efforts this morning so I thought it interesting. Anyone else have an opinion on that?



I would say that all evidence points to the contrary at this point, and Disney is silent on the matter.


----------



## Gaugersaurus

ten6mom said:


> Curious whether anyone else has heard this or similar:
> 
> I heard someone say this evening that Disney is “cracking down” on people who are in groups where all the people in a group of linked tickets try to get a boarding group at the same time (which is what everyone has of course been doing). She indicated that they’re starting to block all the group members from obtaining a BG and that just one person from each group of linked tickets should try.
> 
> This came up as I was regaling my group with our heroic efforts this morning so I thought it interesting. Anyone else have an opinion on that?


Sounds to me like someone is trying to create less competition for themselves much like the article posted a little while ago saying that trying from multiple phones will give you an error. Also I would think its very unlikely as just coding that type of check would be quite difficult.


----------



## ironband74

Gaugersaurus said:


> Sounds to me like someone is trying to create less competition for themselves much like the article posted a little while ago saying that trying from multiple phones will give you an error. Also I would think its very unlikely as just coding that type of check would be quite difficult.


I don't think it would be that _difficult_ from a technical standpoint

(recode Gate 2 to say "If already in a boarding group, nuke their boarding group, put those tickets on a blacklist, re-release their BG to someone who is "playing fair" and send a message saying that you were removed from your boarding group because you cheated and didn't follow a rule that we never posted or said was a rule but should have known was a rule because you know we are trying to be fair here and the fact that you are using multiple phones is just not fair, so NO SOUP FOR YOU!")

But what would be the benefit of cracking down on people breaking a rule that is not posted anywhere as a rule? 

Now, if when I tap find out more tomorrow a big warning pops up saying "WARNING!  IF MORE THAN ONE PERSON TRIES TO GET A BOARDING GROUP FOR YOUR PARTY, YOU WILL BE LOCKED OUT OF THE ATTRACTION ALL DAY.  YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.  LONG LIVE THE FIRST ORDER!!!!" then I might change my tactics.  Until then...business as usual.


----------



## whacked

Some observations from using the system for last Sunday through yesterday.

1.  I have T-mobile.  My phone is an I-phone 10 and my wife has an I-phone SE.

2.  T-Mobile has very good coverage almost everywhere in Disneyland.  The coverage is crap in CA.

3.  We had 4 people with us but the other couple we were with did not have smart phone so we linked their passes on our phones.

4.  We did use Maxpass on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday, but not Wednesday.

5.  We managed to get passes of varying numbers all 4 days we tried.

5.  We used a very accurate watch.  If you hit the app early, it takes extra time to get a BG, and if the park is very full this may be an issue.  If the park is very full and your watch/timekeeping device is not accurate you are unlikely to get a BG.  

6.  Sunday was a very busy day, and we got a late (but not backup) boarding group.

7.  Monday was a busy day, and we got an early boarding group.  We were worried because we booked a tour.  interestingly, booking a tour cannot get you a BG, but if you get an early BG, they do have the power to change the ticket so you are able to board later.  They changed the BG for us at the end of the tour, but told us they were able to do this before the tour started.

8.  Both of our phones were able to get boarding passes.  Mine 10 got 3 of the boarding passes and my wife's SE got the other one.  I believe this has more to do with the back end system of Disney rather than the phone, though I think if you have a really old phone it might be slower.  

9.  We didn't bother clearing caches, but I we did restart the app about 1 minute before the official opening.

10.  Many people have no clue what's going on when half the people in the park stop moving and stare at their phones 60 seconds before the park opening, and then start cheering about one minute later.  If you read this board, you are ahead of all of them.  We saw people asking for the standby line for RotR despite signs put out everywhere about one minute after the park opening that said all boarding groups were gone for the day.

11.  On Sunday and Monday (the busy days) we were standing near people that appeared to know what they were doing that did not get boarding passes.  I did ask what carrier they had and all were ATT.  This was a random very small sample so is not statistically useful, but it appears that a ton of people have ATT and other carriers that use ATT towers.  I wonder if these may get overwhelmed briefly when BG's go live.  I would also speculate with no true data points that this is most likely to happen when the park is very full.  

12.  It is also possible that we were just very lucky, though we have friends in the park that used the same strategies we did and they received BG's every time they tried, including 8! yesterday.

13.  I do not believe that the speculation that Disney is checking to see how many different phones people are using to get BG's is accurate at this time.  Both our party and our friend's parties were using multiple phone with the same passes scanned in and different phones were getting boarding groups on different days.

14.  A BIG shout out to those maintaining this thread.  It has been beyond useful.  

15.  Yes, it's totally worth the hassle to get a boarding group.  No spoilers, but I would term this an experience, not just a ride.  We experienced it 5.5 time in 4 days.  the 0.5 was a breakdown with a walk off mid ride. The extra ride on one day was pixie dust that probably should not have happened, and I won't explain it so it might happen to someone else.


----------



## montreid

Early gremlin activity on the east coast already today   

Hopefully another west coast successful operation today for our recruits.   Going to be hard to top typical thursdays!


----------



## Gaugersaurus

ironband74 said:


> I don't think it would be that _difficult_ from a technical standpoint
> 
> (recode Gate 2 to say "If already in a boarding group, nuke their boarding group, put those tickets on a blacklist, re-release their BG to someone who is "playing fair" and send a message saying that you were removed from your boarding group because you cheated and didn't follow a rule that we never posted or said was a rule but should have known was a rule because you know we are trying to be fair here and the fact that you are using multiple phones is just not fair, so NO SOUP FOR YOU!")
> 
> But what would be the benefit of cracking down on people breaking a rule that is not posted anywhere as a rule?
> 
> Now, if when I tap find out more tomorrow a big warning pops up saying "WARNING!  IF MORE THAN ONE PERSON TRIES TO GET A BOARDING GROUP FOR YOUR PARTY, YOU WILL BE LOCKED OUT OF THE ATTRACTION ALL DAY.  YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.  LONG LIVE THE FIRST ORDER!!!!" then I might change my tactics.  Until then...business as usual.


I was speaking more from a standpoint of blocking multiple attempts from the same ticket at the same time on different devices. I do agree with you though, if they made it as simple as "nuking" their boarding group if someone tries while they already have one then they would just swap out the function that returns the "already in a BG" message.

At the risk of boring everyone else I think the code would look something like this (please excuse formatting and syntax):

FUNCTION Join BG()
Function select party () -> re-purposed code from Maxpass (this would be "Gate 1" checking if in the park or not)
IF has BG = false then
assign BG
else msg "you already have a BG"


----------



## ironband74

Today will be interesting.  If the A-Team theory is correct, with DL coming off two great days and DHS having a very rough go and in a decline...I would expect the A-Team to be in transit today.  DHS is not doing well today and will be lucky to get through their regular groups (nearing the noon hour and they have only called 20 groups on the day...)  It would be nice to hit another all-time high for a 9am open, but that might be asking for too much.

For those in the park, May the Force be with you.


----------



## ten6mom

My friend and I just tried again and this time we were near the hub. Today she got in for group 8!


----------



## gerilyne

Looks like initial boarding groups were gone at 9:00:34 based on my watch.  I was able to get the boarding group button on my first attempt, the 2nd everything was grayed out and then on the third attempt it was at backups.  

Looking forward to one more week of practice before trying it for real


----------



## montreid

Backups at ~:00:50 -- but i maybe off a little and late since on the exact timing ---

Edit --  :00:34 -- wow!


----------



## ironband74

And all backups gone by 8:01:30

First backup is 72 today.  Expect to board at group 1, hopefully starting soon!


----------



## scunnin3

Arrived at 7:37 am from DLH to lines to EMH nearly to DCA. Entered the park quickly (they didn’t take photos of our group). Followed steps and got boarding group 14. We were behind the Matterhorn near galactic grill. A group of families worked together with atomic clock and counting down together. I’m on AT&T and didn’t use WiFi.


----------



## ironband74

ten6mom said:


> My friend and I just tried again and this time we were near the hub. Today she got in for group 8!


That's a great grab for today when everything was gone in 90 seconds.


----------



## becauseimnew

It is crazy busy today. We got there at 8:05, DD and I went through bag check, DD2 & DH went through the no bag line, got in the MM lines and by the time they got to the front it was open for everyone. We go in the park by 8:40, we turned around and exited and made our way to DCA. I was able to get up BG47


----------



## ironband74

OK, now boarding!  Good luck.


----------



## inluvwithbuzz

Got backup boarding group 116 today. It was our first time trying. And our only day at the park. Needing lots of prayers and good luck vibes today.


----------



## montreid

inluvwithbuzz said:


> Got backup boarding group 116 today. It was our first time trying. And our only day at the park. Needing lots of prayers and good luck vibes today.


Sending request for Mando to patrol early


----------



## Vysecity

inluvwithbuzz said:


> Got backup boarding group 116 today. It was our first time trying. And our only day at the park. Needing lots of prayers and good luck vibes today.



Best of luck!


----------



## ironband74

This is interesting...quick and dirty overlay of DHS vs DL (DL in color, DHS in Black and White) boarding groups called.


Don't stare at it too long or you'll get a headache, but it is interesting how after opening weekend there is general agreement in the trends until just before president's day weekend when the trends diverge and become almost inverse of one another.  This is the basis for the A-Team hypothesis.


----------



## whacked

becauseimnew said:


> It is crazy busy today. We got there at 8:05, DD and I went through bag check, DD2 & DH went through the no bag line, got in the MM lines and by the time they got to the front it was open for everyone. We go in the park by 8:40, we turned around and exited and made our way to DCA. I was able to get up BG47




Unfortunately it's not that busy today.  getting in the parks early for a shot at RotR BG has just brought huge numbers of guests in to the park early.  It really blows up touring for people like me that used to get to the park early and have the park myself in the am.  arriving early means much less now than it did before RotR boarding groups, as almost everyone is arriving early.


----------



## montreid

Just flip it then - post fireworks the parks empty out quickly and a lot of rides easier to get on; especially last hour.


----------



## SOCALMouseMommy

whacked said:


> Unfortunately it's not that busy today.  getting in the parks early for a shot at RotR BG has just brought huge numbers of guests in to the park early.  It really blows up touring for people like me that used to get to the park early and have the park myself in the am.  arriving early means much less now than it did before RotR boarding groups, as almost everyone is arriving early.


I am not there today but yesterday it was BUSY, much more crowded than I expected. Not sure what’s up this week, I sort of expected lower crowds since it’s not spring break yet and the Presidents’ Day/ski week breaks were over.


----------



## Gaugersaurus

SOCALMouseMommy said:


> I am not there today but yesterday it was BUSY, much more crowded than I expected. Not sure what’s up this week, I sort of expected lower crowds since it’s not spring break yet and the Presidents’ Day/ski week breaks were over.


I have a coworker who was there yesterday for their son's band performance or something maybe that's contributing to more crowds this week?


----------



## whacked

SOCALMouseMommy said:


> I am not there today but yesterday it was BUSY, much more crowded than I expected. Not sure what’s up this week, I sort of expected lower crowds since it’s not spring break yet and the Presidents’ Day/ski week breaks were over.




I as there yesterday as well.  I think part of the extra crowd was RsR and Incredicoaster being down in DCA.  We tried to hop over and the line for TSMM was really long very early in the day.  I think the crowds are larger than normal mid week days this time of year, but Sunday and Monday were slammed by comparison.  I shudder to think what will happen next week when a new parade premiers AND food and wine starts up.  While I would like to have gone during food and wine, not this year.


----------



## whacked

As a side note, the "flex" gate price of a one day ticket last Sunday was over $150!!!   Brutal.


----------



## montreid

Spring break will be brutal with the SoCal promo in full effect along with most passes for regulars.   Then there's the visitors  

In other news -- 30 group spread     nice two hours.  15/hour


----------



## SOCALMouseMommy

whacked said:


> I as there yesterday as well.  I think part of the extra crowd was RsR and Incredicoaster being down in DCA.  We tried to hop over and the line for TSMM was really long very early in the day.  I think the crowds are larger than normal mid week days this time of year, but Sunday and Monday were slammed by comparison.  I shudder to think what will happen next week when a new parade premiers AND food and wine starts up.  While I would like to have gone during food and wine, not this year.


Food and Wine makes things so crazy. Spring Break is tough.


----------



## scunnin3

I don’t know what time we were called (stuck on pirates for almost an hour). But in line at 10:16 and off at 11:04.


----------



## ironband74

montreid said:


> In other news -- 30 group spread     nice two hours.  15/hour


Yesterday's first 2 hours was 45 groups.  Today's first 2 hours is 33.  Not bad, but definitely not setting any records.


----------



## ten6mom

scunnin3 said:


> I don’t know what time we were called (stuck on pirates for almost an hour). But in line at 10:16 and off at 11:04.


We were stuck on Pirates too!! Was it really almost an hour?  That was a new one for me. We got stuck at the octopus.


----------



## scunnin3

ten6mom said:


> We were stuck on Pirates too!! Was it really almost an hour?  That was a new one for me. We got stuck at the octopus.


We were stuck before the first drop for 10-15 minutes then the ride ran correctly then we were stopped at the incline for 10-15 more. They powered down the ride and restarted and we were able to finish. However, when we exited they didn’t reload the boat.


----------



## ironband74

And...Lunch Time acceleration maneuver...execute!


----------



## ironband74

First 3 hours today...49 groups.


----------



## superdeluxe

And it’s down.  We’re 49


----------



## LizzyS

**Thank you, thank you, thank you** to all of you in this thread for sharing your experiences.

We got boarding group 28 on Sunday (Verizon Droid Turbo 2 in front of Main Street Station) and 19 on Tuesday (Sprint Samsung Galaxy S6 outside of SW Launch Bay in Tomorrowland-MM that morning).  The ride is amazing and we were off of it by 10am on Sunday and just before 11am on Tuesday.

We sat on the screen past "Find out more" for about 5 minutes prior to park opening and hit "My Status" at exactly 8am and proceeded from there.


----------



## ironband74

superdeluxe said:


> And it’s down.  We’re 49


I told them not to do the lunch time acceleration, but did they listen?  

Down for 50 minutes so far...hopefully it comes back up in the next 20 or so. But if the A-Team is in transit, I fear it will take them closer to 90.


----------



## becauseimnew

superdeluxe said:


> And it’s down.  We’re 49


We’re 47. Anyone know how long they’ll extend the window?


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## superdeluxe

becauseimnew said:


> We’re 47. Anyone know how long they’ll extend the window?



The CM says we can come back anytime.  We are currently cooling down at our hotel.


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## ironband74

becauseimnew said:


> We’re 47. Anyone know how long they’ll extend the window?


I think folks have reported that after a significant downtime they have been allowed on pretty much anytime after the attraction comes back up.  Screenshot your BGs just in case, and maybe talk to a CM to get an "official" word.


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## MinnieInVA

ironband74 said:


> I think folks have reported that after a significant downtime they have been allowed on pretty much anytime after the attraction comes back up.  Screenshot your BGs just in case, and maybe talk to a CM to get an "official" word.


What I experienced this past Saturday: I had BG 20, and the jawas struck at BG 19. My BG arrival time had already passed by the time the ride started again. I did screenshot my BG just in case, but the app still showed a link for my entry code even after my BG window was over. The link worked when the ride re-started, so I didn't need my screenshots. YMMV.


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## whacked

becauseimnew said:


> We’re 47. Anyone know how long they’ll extend the window?



when we were there last Sunday, there were several times the ride crashed.  Take a look at your boarding status about once an hour to see what they're boarding.  It seemed like they would occasionally raise the boarding group number, but the window of "Now boarding" groups was very broad.  The lower numbers stayed up a long time.  As suggested, keep screen shots of the BG passes as insurance.


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## Syndrome

whacked said:


> I shudder to think what will happen next week when a new parade premiers AND food and wine starts up.  While I would like to have gone during food and wine, not this year.



The new parade premiers tomorrow, as does F&W . Also Soarin over California tomorrow as well .
Add ROTR into the mix,  and ................... Friday , and this weekend are going to be baaaaaaad !
They had soft openings of the parade today at 1 , and its scheduled for 5 as well .

We will be on property tomorrow , but are not going to the parks till Sunday and the following week . Should be .......interesting !


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## superdeluxe

We screenshotted just in case,  we plan on going after the parade.


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## dismsn

We were BG 50 today.  Tried to enter shortly after our BG called (about 12:15) and ride was down.  Had an Art of the Craft tour at GC at 1 PM and our ride boarding time was until 2:15. Didn't make it back to the ride until about 2:30 and they let us in with no issues.  Did receive notice our boarding time expired which made me nervous.  I had screen shots if needed.


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## ironband74

So the afternoon is fairly average.  Looks like we had a 65 minute downtime, followed by 35 minutes up, 20 minutes down, about a half hour of limping along, and now we're back at a normal call rate.  Hopefully with the early afternoon Jawa raids out of the way they can make a run over the next 5 hours for an above average day.  The first 3 hours we called 49, second three hours we called 18.  But for the last half hour we're back on a 12g/hr slope.

We do seem to see a lot of breakdowns immediately following an acceleration in calls. I figured that the typical lunch time acceleration is just due to many folks eating and not rushing over right after their number comes up, but it does make me wonder if they do short "sprints" from time to time when they try and push the load rate and sometimes they trip and fall in their haste and the system goes down.

All that said, I'm glad to see that they are continuing the trend of keeping the downtimes from stretching into multiple hours. 

Meanwhile poor DHS has limped along all day and even with our afternoon efficiency issues we have lapped them again.  If there is an A-team, and they are headed there for the weekend, here's hoping they can right the ship.


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## ironband74

Syndrome said:


> Add ROTR into the mix,  and ................... Friday , and this weekend are going to be baaaaaaad !


As I usually make only one trip a year between Christmas and New Year...I don't believe in "baaaaaad" when it comes to Disneyland.  But I get what you're saying.  I thrive on the crowds.  My wife hates them, though.

I've told a few people about my plans to go the week after Easter and they are like "Are you crazy?  It's going to be super packed!" and I'm like:


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## montreid

Just stay nearby for AM ROTR ; afternoon hotel nap ; stack all the FP in the evening and evening run the tables


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## dismsn

We were BG 50 today.  Tried to enter shortly after our BG called (about 12:15) and ride was down.  Had an Art of the Craft tour at GC at 1 PM and our ride boarding time was until 2:15. Didn't make it back to the ride until about 2:30 and they let us in with no issues.  Did receive notice our boarding time expired which made me nervous.  I had screen shots if needed.


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## dina444444

dismsn said:


> We were BG 50 today.  Tried to enter shortly after our BG called (about 12:15) and ride was down.  Had an Art of the Craft tour at GC at 1 PM and our ride boarding time was until 2:15. Didn't make it back to the ride until about 2:30 and they let us in with no issues.  Did receive notice our boarding time expired which made me nervous.  I had screen shots if needed.


The barcode on the boarding group is the same barcode on your ticket.


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## ironband74

dina444444 said:


> The barcode on the boarding group is the same barcode on your ticket.


Excellent point.  I often forget that.


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## ironband74

The first 3 hours we called 49 
Second three hours we called 18 
Third three hours we called 44

Now the final push...Tell Mando to keep a weather eye out...


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## HydroGuy

ironband74 said:


> The first 3 hours we called 49
> Second three hours we called 18
> Third three hours we called 44
> 
> Now the final push...Tell Mando to keep a weather eye out...


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## montreid

inluvwithbuzz said:


> Got backup boarding group 116 today. It was our first time trying. And our only day at the park. Needing lots of prayers and good luck vibes today.


Hope you stuck it out for the ride this evening!


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## ironband74

8:30 and 141 has been called.  Do they stop here or keep going?  The suspense...


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## Varty Yo

Im guessing 141 is the end


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## ironband74

I think you're right...but want to make sure they don't surprise us with a 142 in 20 minutes...


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## ironband74

OK, at 8:50 I'm calling it.  Even so, 141 makes it the second best 9am opening day behind yesterday's 148, and ties for 5th best all time.  Mando has earned a bonus.


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## ironband74

Commander, tear this ship apart until you've found this chart!


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## michellelars

Ok I am finally caught up on this thread. So much good info! I saw a few people say they got BG’s outside of Plaza Inn, has anyone had any luck getting a BG inside the restaurant? We have reservations for the Minnie breakfast Saturday at 7:10, so we will most likely still be inside eating. How early will they let us in for that? Also trying to figure out when we should plan to leave our hotel, staying at the Fairfield Inn. Usually takes us a while to get through security with all our minions and bags. Sometimes we split up.. just not sure what to expect with the crowds lately. I was thinking we should leave the hotel around 6:20?


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## Mathmagicland

michellelars said:


> Ok I am finally caught up on this thread. So much good info! I saw a few people say they got BG’s outside of Plaza Inn, has anyone had any luck getting a BG inside the restaurant? We have reservations for the Minnie breakfast Saturday at 7:10, so we will most likely still be inside eating. How early will they let us in for that? Also trying to figure out when we should plan to leave our hotel, staying at the Fairfield Inn. Usually takes us a while to get through security with all our minions and bags. Sometimes we split up.. just not sure what to expect with the crowds lately. I was thinking we should leave the hotel around 6:20?


Saturday will be a Magic Morning for DL, opening at 7 for those eligible, so security and entrance might be a little crazier as folks will be arriving early for that plus the regular Saturday folks who want to try for RotR.   It looks to be approx 10 min walk from the Fairfield, Maybe 15 with minions - I think you’d be OK with a 6:20 departure at the latest. Earlier can never hurt, might depend on number & ages of your kids, is there a stroller, etc, as maneuvering the entrance Plaza crowds could be a bit tricky.   

I’d also suggest asking a cast member after security if there’s a separate entrance for the breakfast reservation & where that is, as entrance lines have been moved around with all of the Rise of he Resistance interest.


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## kappyfamily

michellelars said:


> Ok I am finally caught up on this thread. So much good info! I saw a few people say they got BG’s outside of Plaza Inn, has anyone had any luck getting a BG inside the restaurant? We have reservations for the Minnie breakfast Saturday at 7:10, so we will most likely still be inside eating. How early will they let us in for that? Also trying to figure out when we should plan to leave our hotel, staying at the Fairfield Inn. Usually takes us a while to get through security with all our minions and bags. Sometimes we split up.. just not sure what to expect with the crowds lately. I was thinking we should leave the hotel around 6:20?


I also will have a 7:10 breakfast but the following week. Please report back if you can about what time they let you in and if there’s a separate early ADR Gate. Thank you!


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## theluckyrabbit

whacked said:


> ... 14.  A BIG shout out to those maintaining this thread.  It has been beyond useful...





LizzyS said:


> **Thank you, thank you, thank you** to all of you in this thread for sharing your experiences...


You (and everyone reading along here) are very, very welcome! We're all in this together -- the more information we can share in this thread, the more hope for success we can give DISers! 
And THANK YOU to everyone who has reported back on their experience and who is contributing faithfully to this superthread! You are very much appreciated!



MinnieInVA said:


> What I experienced this past Saturday: I had BG 20, and the jawas struck at BG 19. My BG arrival time had already passed by the time the ride started again. I did screenshot my BG just in case, but the app still showed a link for my entry code even after my BG window was over. The link worked when the ride re-started, so I didn't need my screenshots. YMMV.


This is helpful. Thank you for posting!



dina444444 said:


> The barcode on the boarding group is the same barcode on your ticket.


Good to know!


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## theluckyrabbit

ironband74 said:


> Commander, tear this ship apart until you've found this chart!
> View attachment 477362View attachment 477361View attachment 477360


First page updated!


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## theluckyrabbit

Friends of the Resistance: channel the Force and send pixie dust to @EmJ -- we miss you here, Girl, and hope to see you back in action soon! Hang in there, the Resistance needs you!


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## LilyJC

kappyfamily said:


> I also will have a 7:10 breakfast but the following week. Please report back if you can about what time they let you in and if there’s a separate early ADR Gate. Thank you!



The leftmost line (facing the DL gates) has been the “character breakfast” entrance. Definitely check the signage before having everyone hop in line, but it’s been pretty consistent.


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## montreid

theluckyrabbit said:


> Friends of the Resistance: channel the Force and send pixie dust to @EmJ -- we miss you here, Girl, and hope to see you back in action soon! Hang in there, the Resistance needs you!


Sending good thoughts.


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## ironband74

montreid said:


> Sending good thoughts.


Right there with you, boss!


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## ferfbond

In line and ready for the gates to open! Have read this thread faithfully and daily. I feel prepared and nervous! All the fingers crossed!

ETA: Gates have opened! 7:11Aam


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## whacked

michellelars said:


> Ok I am finally caught up on this thread. So much good info! I saw a few people say they got BG’s outside of Plaza Inn, has anyone had any luck getting a BG inside the restaurant?



This depends on your individual cell phone type and your carrier, so the experience of other people is only relevant if they have the same phone and carrier.  Look at your phones coverage (bars of reception) to figure out if you have coverage.  If you have coverage outside, but don't have it in the restaurant, ask a cast member if you can step outside just before official opening.  They should understand, and you'll only need a couple of minutes.  As an example, my iPhone 10 had excellent coverage with T-Mobil just about anywhere in Disneyland that was not very deep in an interior line, but coverage is terrible in the majority of DCA.


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## ImDMous

I have a friend in line this morning and will be trying from work for her.  We'll be there tomorrow .  Seems like crowds are high this morning and tomorrow will be worse I'm sure.  Good Luck everyone!!


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## dina444444

ImDMous said:


> I have a friend in line this morning and will be trying from work for her.  We'll be there tomorrow .  Seems like crowds are high this morning and tomorrow will be worse I'm sure.  Good Luck everyone!!


It's the first day of F&W and the start of the new parade, I expect it to be pretty busy this weekend.


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## ImDMous

dina444444 said:


> It's the first day of F&W and the start of the new parade, I expect it to be pretty busy this weekend.



Yup, should be pretty crazy.  We've both gotten BGs before though so I think we'll be fine.  Can't wait to eat our way through DCA.


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## ferfbond

47!!! 

ETA: those are tears of joy! Thank you all soooooo much!


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## becauseimnew

BG 41! I’ve been waiting 5 seconds to hit the button because I’m in a conference until noon. I didn’t get to ride with the family yesterday. And they rode during the time it kept breaking down so I’m guessing they missed some of it. Hoping for a good day.


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## becauseimnew

ImDMous said:


> I have a friend in line this morning and will be trying from work for her.  We'll be there tomorrow .  Seems like crowds are high this morning and tomorrow will be worse I'm sure.  Good Luck everyone!!


It was actually a lot better then yesterday’s 9AM opening.


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## montreid

becauseimnew said:


> BG 41! I’ve been waiting 5 seconds to hit the button because I’m in a conference until noon. I didn’t get to ride with the family yesterday. And they rode during the time it kept breaking down so I’m guessing they missed some of it. Hoping for a good day.


This is a good number.   Even if rocking it, 41 is solid for a noon time entry.   I was mid 30s last time and pushed the 2 hour boarding limit cause they were in hyperspace mode.


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## ironband74

New version of the Android app.  This popped up when iI was have been selecting my party.   So I guess check for updates first thing in the morning!


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## Mathmagicland

Backups still available at 8:15


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## harmon54

Got a message to update my app also while playing at home.  Made note to make sure app is updated before I try at the park!


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## dina444444

Backups are gone and start with 72


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## gerilyne

I also got the pop up to update my app. I feel like I broke the first rule of boarding groups.  Always check for updates


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## carouselDL

BG 13!!! Got to Harbor security around 6:45, no lines. Jumped into a line that was just opening up. I can't remember when the gates opened, but we were held at the hub until 7:55. Got on Dumbo and frantically counted the seconds while trying to also enjoy the view  I was worried about being solo with only one phone (AT&T), but obviously it worked out!


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## WebmasterMaryJo

New thread has been created. Please go to the new thread at this link.


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