HydroGuy
A Pirate's Life For Me
- Joined
- Jun 5, 2005
- Messages
- 18,415
There is an awesome thread going here right now called "Rise of the Resistance BOARDING GROUPS Superthread *No Ride Spoilers Please* *PLEASE READ POSTS 1-3*" https://www.disboards.com/threads/r...poilers-please-please-read-posts-1-3.3784461/ by the lovely and incomparable @dina444444
This thread currently has 5,883 posts over the last month and I have read every single post. If you read each one of them you know everything about the "How To" for ROTR. But that info is mostly spread out over the entire thread. And people keep asking "I am new here and please just tell me what to do". So I created this thread to consolidate all the current and excellent advice in that thread into one place. This thread is not intended in any way to replace Dina's thread. It is just to consolidate the key "how to" info. Before reading here please go to Dina's thread and read posts 1-3. Some of the info I have here duplicates posts 1-3. I felt duplication was important to get everything in one place.
This thread is also not intended as a place to debate the quality of the ROTR ride or the merits or lack thereof in the Boarding Group process. Please go to a different thread for that:
Rise of the Resistance - Failure Modes and Reliability Breakdown discussion...(SPOILERS!)
https://www.disboards.com/threads/r...bility-breakdown-discussion-spoilers.3790857/
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
This thread currently has 5,883 posts over the last month and I have read every single post. If you read each one of them you know everything about the "How To" for ROTR. But that info is mostly spread out over the entire thread. And people keep asking "I am new here and please just tell me what to do". So I created this thread to consolidate all the current and excellent advice in that thread into one place. This thread is not intended in any way to replace Dina's thread. It is just to consolidate the key "how to" info. Before reading here please go to Dina's thread and read posts 1-3. Some of the info I have here duplicates posts 1-3. I felt duplication was important to get everything in one place.
This thread is also not intended as a place to debate the quality of the ROTR ride or the merits or lack thereof in the Boarding Group process. Please go to a different thread for that:
Rise of the Resistance - Failure Modes and Reliability Breakdown discussion...(SPOILERS!)
https://www.disboards.com/threads/r...bility-breakdown-discussion-spoilers.3790857/
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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