New Jedi Training Sign Up Test Outside the Park

[trara1375]

Following

 

[lovethattink]

This was the highlight of our last DL trip and my DS is really looking forward to it again. I do think the sign up is a better system. He got picked the first time we tried in DL, but seeing the sad faces on the kids who didn't get picked was not fun.

At WDW it's best to sign them up. Even if it rains out there might be something special for those signed up!

 

[GillianP1301]

I personally hope they don't change this to outside the gate sign up going forward. I like getting an early H&V ADR and getting a jump start on the rope jumpers. My thinking is I'd much rather sit and eat for 45 minutes than stand at a turnstile for the same amount of time since we need to eat anyway.

We plan on doing JTA again this August, so I guess I'll just wait and see how it pans out. I think they will have to come up with a way to accommodate those already in the park (with pre-opening ADRs), otherwise I can see a big drop in H&V early diners.

 

[lillygator]

we also have an early HV reservation....wonder how this will pan out.

 

[Robo]

we also have an early HV reservation....wonder how this will pan out.

Since the outside-the-gates signup is no longer being done, its a moot point.

But, I did talk about this very situation earlier in this thread (post #26) before we found out that it was just a one-time test.

 

[GillianP1301]

Thinking about this a bit more, my preference really would be to see this go to advance signup like Pirates League or BBB. They would need to charge, to avoid high levels of no shows, but I would gladly pay a little extra for this and they could easily turn it into a "package" of some sort with things to keep, like a light saber or something. The mad rush from rope drop to the sign up was not anywhere near a magical experience, at all. To me, if they can find a way to avoid that, all the better. I just hope their answer isn't line up for an hour outside the gate, that's making it even worse, IMO. Plus, I really don't see that as a sustainable solution. If they went that way and once it became known, I think the line would become too much to manage in the turnstile/entrance area.

 

[Robo]

I just hope their answer isn't line up for an hour outside the gate, that's making it even worse, IMO.

As mentioned above, that would put a big damper on early breakfast ADRs.

 

[BethanyLynnFit]

Thinking about this a bit more, my preference really would be to see this go to advance signup like Pirates League or BBB. They would need to charge, to avoid high levels of no shows, but I would gladly pay a little extra for this and they could easily turn it into a "package" of some sort with things to keep, like a light saber or something. The mad rush from rope drop to the sign up was not anywhere near a magical experience, at all. To me, if they can find a way to avoid that, all the better. I just hope their answer isn't line up for an hour outside the gate, that's making it even worse, IMO. Plus, I really don't see that as a sustainable solution. If they went that way and once it became known, I think the line would become too much to manage in the turnstile/entrance area.

We haven't done Pirates League or BBB, so I'm not sure that gives me much authority to give my opinion, but I think that's a great idea. I would gladly pay as well, especially if you could get light sabers, jedi robes, etc. It would be so nice to plan it ahead of time. The mad dash is definitely crazy, and I had so much anxiety hoping that we could 1.) get signed up period 2.) get the time slot that would work best with our FP and ADRs.

 

[texasgingerbread]

The mad dash is definitely crazy, and I had so much anxiety hoping that we could 1.) get signed up period 2.) get the time slot that would work best with our FP and ADRs.

Was it as bad as you thought? Should I worry?

 

[NY Pirate Princess]

ACK. Just screened Star Wars A New Hope for my 6 year old and she absolutely loved it. I wanted to get her ready for the December release and our 2016 spring trip. I hope whatever chaos this causes is over long before then!

 

[BethanyLynnFit]

Was it as bad as you thought? Should I worry?

We made the "mad dash" with a 4 year old and a 5 year old (almost 6). I piggybacked the 4 year old, and my husband took the 5 year old by the hand and we walked as fast as we could to the sign up. The 5 year old fell along the way, but he was fine, we actually were all laughing because the whole thing was pretty silly. That being said, it was Spring Break when we went so things were slightly busy but not super crazy.

We are going back this October and honestly, we are ready to do it again!

So, yes it was crazy, but we were prepared for it and are prepared to do it again!

 

[GillianP1301]

We made the "mad dash" with a 4 year old and a 5 year old (almost 6). I piggybacked the 4 year old, and my husband took the 5 year old by the hand and we walked as fast as we could to the sign up. The 5 year old fell along the way, but he was fine, we actually were all laughing because the whole thing was pretty silly. That being said, it was Spring Break when we went so things were slightly busy but not super crazy.

We are going back this October and honestly, we are ready to do it again!

So, yes it was crazy, but we were prepared for it and are prepared to do it again!

Same with us! We made the mad dash with my son (then 6) in a stroller. That was a mistake. We were at the very front of the group at the rope when it dropped and people kept passing us in the stroller and I was being nice and not wanting to hit them, so we ended up shuffled back 5 or 6 rows deep. We still got there and were able to get the 2nd show of the day (was hoping for 1st). So I would definitely recommend not having the stroller, either leave it with the other parent (if you can) or park it somewhere. Had we not had that, I'm sure we would've been one of the first to the sign up.

We also did an 8:05 H&V ADR and that work perfectly because we were done and out at the first rope by the restaurant 5 minutes before the first person came in the turnstile. As soon as that person was let in, our rope dropped and it was easy to get to the 2nd rope ahead of the big rush. This was last summer while the Frozen show was going on, not sure if the process is the same or not.

I was definitely stressed about getting there in time, but it did work out and although not fun at all, wasn't as horrible as I thought it was going to be. We'll be trying again this August, thankfully stroller free this year.