Offsite guests could get in the front part of the park, but you had to scan again to get to the different lands/areas.
Thanks! Were onsite guests allowed in to the front of the park before the start of EMH, or was everyone let in at the EMH starting time, with offsite guests held in the front of the park and onsite guests allowed to go into the areas/lands?
I'm trying to think through what rope drop will look like come October 1. I can imagine several possibilities. Assume a MK opening time of 9:00. Arranged in order of best for onsite guests to worst for onsite guests:
(1) Onsite guests are let into the park well before 8:30, and then let into the various lands at 8:30. Offsite guests are not allowed into the park until 9:00. (This allows onsite guests to ride multiple rides before the offsite guests make their way into the back of the park. And, after riding their first ride or two, onsite guests will also have a head start in beating the crowds to Adventureland and Frontierland when they open at 9:00.)
(2) Onsite guests are let into the park well before 8:30, and then let into the various lands at 8:30. Offsite guests are allowed into the park at 8:30, but held in the hub until 9:00. (The head start is now greatly reduced.)
(3) Everyone is let into the park well before 8:30. At 8:30, onsite guests can scan into the various lands. Offsite guests are held in the hub until 9:00. (With the hub more crowded, and the need to scan each guest to determine onsite status before allowing them out of the hub, this will greatly slow down the process and result in many onsite guests not getting much of an advantage at all.)
(4) Everyone is let into the park at 8:30. Offsite guests must remain in the hub until 9:00. Onsite guests can go straight to the rides after scanning in again at the various lands. (This slows everything down even more. By the time many onsite guests even make it to their first ride line, the floodgates might have opened.)
(5) Everyone is let into the park well before 8:30 and held in the hub. Rope drop for everyone at 8:30. Offsite guests will be turned away from rides if they try to scan in before 9:00. (The lines will be filled with offsite guests hoping to time it so that they reach the front at or just after 9:00, which will make the lines very long. Little advantage now for onsite guests.)
(6) Everyone is let into the park at 8:30. Offsite guests will be turned away from rides if they try to scan in before 9:00. (Even worse for onsite guests. Perhaps no real advantage at all for most of them.)
As someone who stays onsite, I'm hoping for at least (2), if not (1). But I fear that we will get something worse.