D23 EXPO 2019 Superthread - dates announced!
- Thread starter ashley0139
- Start date
- Status
Quam
Earning My Ears
- Joined
- Aug 11, 2012
Thank you for sharing. We have a 8-12 stop on June 2. Would love to hear our your strategy worked. We had the same thought to start with lightsaber reservation and SR.
Have a great time tomorrow!
DLRExpert
and WDWExpert?
- Joined
- Jan 31, 2016
I would save SR for about an hour to an hour and a half after your arrival. Just keep a look out on the app. If you see it at 30 minutes or less get in line.
ME
Skyegirl1999
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Apr 11, 2016
I was there from 2-6. Some tips:
- Don’t check-in two hours before your window; everyone’s checking in then, so the line is long. Check in like an hour before (we went at 1 and it was empty, no wait whatsoever). The 8am groups will probably be different since no one wants to get there at 6am...
- If you want to go to the Cantina, be prepared for it to take a huge chunk out of your time. We went straight there, but the line was closed already. We lurked around for almost 40 minutes (checking out other stuff in view of the closed line “stick” - red for closed, green for open). When it opened, it was CHAOS and we jumped in and then waited another half hour to get in, and then it was pretty slow getting to order... so we weren’t out of there until 4:15! More than half our time. The cantina was my favorite, so it was worth it to me, but be prepared!
- For the love of Pete, don’t do the ride first! Or in the last overlapping hour (unless you’re there until midnight). Hour 3 was the sweet spot for every reservation period today.
Review:
Overall, it’s incredible! They really did an outstanding job in so many different areas - theming, layout, merchandise, just so much attention to detail... The CMs are adorable with their different outfits and hairstyles and backstories. The reservation period obviously kept things from being a zoo at the parks overall (maybe too much so, from Disney’s perspective?). Just a really great job.
A few caveats:
- The cantina is gonna be a problem. They had to have anticipated this? The “line is closed but we don’t want anyone standing around but the only way to see the line open and get a spot is to... stand around” system is not viable.
- Food options for kids are weird.
- I didn’t find the PlayDisney app thing very intuitive.
I think it would be helpful when people post reviews if they include their time slot. The ebb and flow is going to be very different at different times of the day, so that’s really valuable info. I can already tell that the experience of arriving at 2 is quite different than 8, for instance...
‘Til the Spire!
- Don’t check-in two hours before your window; everyone’s checking in then, so the line is long. Check in like an hour before (we went at 1 and it was empty, no wait whatsoever). The 8am groups will probably be different since no one wants to get there at 6am...
- If you want to go to the Cantina, be prepared for it to take a huge chunk out of your time. We went straight there, but the line was closed already. We lurked around for almost 40 minutes (checking out other stuff in view of the closed line “stick” - red for closed, green for open). When it opened, it was CHAOS and we jumped in and then waited another half hour to get in, and then it was pretty slow getting to order... so we weren’t out of there until 4:15! More than half our time. The cantina was my favorite, so it was worth it to me, but be prepared!
- For the love of Pete, don’t do the ride first! Or in the last overlapping hour (unless you’re there until midnight). Hour 3 was the sweet spot for every reservation period today.
Review:
Overall, it’s incredible! They really did an outstanding job in so many different areas - theming, layout, merchandise, just so much attention to detail... The CMs are adorable with their different outfits and hairstyles and backstories. The reservation period obviously kept things from being a zoo at the parks overall (maybe too much so, from Disney’s perspective?). Just a really great job.
A few caveats:
- The cantina is gonna be a problem. They had to have anticipated this? The “line is closed but we don’t want anyone standing around but the only way to see the line open and get a spot is to... stand around” system is not viable.
- Food options for kids are weird.
- I didn’t find the PlayDisney app thing very intuitive.
I think it would be helpful when people post reviews if they include their time slot. The ebb and flow is going to be very different at different times of the day, so that’s really valuable info. I can already tell that the experience of arriving at 2 is quite different than 8, for instance...
‘Til the Spire!
Jedi Mouse
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Apr 23, 2014
The Smugglers Run queue starts off long and then dies down, I would hit it sometime in hour three just prior to the next group coming in.
Jedi robes were $125 with the tunics being $50
Jedi Mouse
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Apr 23, 2014
Outside of the merch line, the entire park was dead this morning. Crowds were very reasonable all day.
We entered the park at 7:00 and even with a 3 hour hotel break, 4 hours in SWGE and leaving at 10:00 we rode 15 attractions, ate two sit down meals, built droids and watched Fantasmic.
theluckyrabbit
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jul 23, 2012
Just want to say how proud I am of everyone participating in this thread. It's been a long road toward opening day (and sometimes it felt like this day was never going to get here!), and we've all been working together to get as much good information out there for each other and to help each other along. Keep up the good work, DISers! Let's keep the facts, tips, and first hand reports rolling in!
Bianca and Bernard
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jul 12, 2015
You don't have to have a reservation at Savi's. You get in line; when you get to the front of the line, you let the Scrapper know you have an appointment with Savi (or say you're looking for scrap metal or have scrap metal to sell....you just don't mention lightsabers because there are too many First Order guys around). Hand over the credit card, get a card with your group color. Depending on the length of time waited, you can hang out there or go grab a drink or something quick and come back. Don't miss your group call, because if you do, you will have to wait until they work you into another grouping.
You pick which pin you want (which defines which lightsaber you are building). Then there is the experience.
They have a limited number of seats (14) and a limited number of shows (they want to hit 4 an hour; right now they are struggling with 2. People are taking a very long time choosing their pieces and building them...like the person who was snapchatting every.single.piece.with.a.verbal.description.of.each...and everyone else was done building and waiting on this one guy. And they have to reset everything between shows, replace the pieces in the cases that were used, etc.) DD had at least 8 people yell at her yesterday, because the line was closed...they simply had no place to put anyone. Disney really should have built it to run 2 shows, just like the cantina should have been just a bit bigger, or maybe had a walkway along with wall for people who just wanted to come in and take photos.
Currently, the only reservation required is the one to enter BSO. DD said they may change to a virtual queue or reservation system later, but for now, it's only 'take your money as long as there's space'.
gypsy_at_heart
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Aug 3, 2016
mom2rtk
Invented the term "Characterpalooza"
- Joined
- Aug 23, 2008
That's really not a hard and fast thing. In the MK, you can meet Cinderella at CRT and walk out and around the corner and find her at Fairytale Hall. At DL, Minnie can be meeting at her breakfast in the park while also being out in Town Square and Toontown.
abnihon
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Feb 29, 2016
Curious how it goes for other 8am groups but at this point I don’t think we’ll feel the need to arrive 2 hours early. We go next Wednesday. But may arrive a little before 8 or even a few min after. Going to skip the cantina, light sabers and droids. Plan is to ride the Falcon, get blue milk, maybe buy a Porg, soak in atmosphere, take lots of pics and give my son plenty of time for imaginative play with his lightsaber (we’re bringing our collapsible one. I assume they’re allowed in?).
Not sure we’ll eat there or not. Depends on lines. Menu doesn’t look like there’s anything my son will eat so we’ll plan to eat breakfast at GCH in AM.
So excited!!!
Not sure we’ll eat there or not. Depends on lines. Menu doesn’t look like there’s anything my son will eat so we’ll plan to eat breakfast at GCH in AM.
So excited!!!
TigerlilyAJ
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jul 19, 2011
OK, while many menu items are listed at Disney's website, I have checked at WDW Info, AllEars, and Disney, and NONE list the price for the kettle popcorn. Can someone please tell me how much the popcorn is, and maybe comment on the size? I'm trying to see if my party of six will need two or three servings. For comparison, at Radiator springs, we get two servings...but my popcorn lovers could easily mow through three if I bought it.
The headbands I've seen. Someone is trying to sell the $30 R2-D2 one for $65 + shipping on eBay. There is also a listing for a Jedi accessory kit...but I can't tell from the photo what the actual accessories are.
My DH is curious about the Jedi belts: leather or vegan? Do they hold lightsabers?
If you were there at the end of the day, I'd love to hear more of your stories. We seem to have lots of 8am and 11am windows here.
Yes, again, any info on the prices of anything you need to add to your $100 droid would be appreciated. I've gone to those merch links, and they don't have droid add-ons. They're also very technical in the names of the items, not descriptive, and don't have photos of the items. So I would love anyone posting photos of specific items they bought with the price, like the Jedi tunics, robes, etc., in case there is variation in say, a $100 robe vs. a $125 robe. Or are they all the same price?Do you know how much the droid personality chips are?
Thanks!
The headbands I've seen. Someone is trying to sell the $30 R2-D2 one for $65 + shipping on eBay. There is also a listing for a Jedi accessory kit...but I can't tell from the photo what the actual accessories are.
My DH is curious about the Jedi belts: leather or vegan? Do they hold lightsabers?
If you were there at the end of the day, I'd love to hear more of your stories. We seem to have lots of 8am and 11am windows here.
Gaugersaurus
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jan 11, 2018
Here’s my experience/impressions from the 8pm-midnight reservation.
I got to the parks around 5:30pm and walked right into launch bay for merchandise. Most of the opening day exclusive stuff was gone by that time but they still had plenty of “on planet” stuff available. Check-in was really quick, the line forms outside launch bay and they let us in about 5:45-5:50. After getting my wrist band I did quite a few attractions (Astro blasters, Star tours, thunder Mtn, pirates was a walk on, and haunted mansion) then got in line by hungry bear around 7:15-7:20 and was about halfway up the ramp that leads to the restrooms/downstairs seating. Around 7:30 they led us into the forest a but then stopped us about halfway to the resistance area. About 7:50 they lead us up to the resistance area where the X-Wing is and held us there until 8.
From there I walked purposely towards Savi’s as my one goal was to build a lightsaber. The line forms quickly but it only took about 20 mins for me to choose my style and pay. It is very important to make sure they give you a return time when handing out your card and don’t miss that time. I was told to come back at 9 and wait for my build group to be called. I ended up getting into the build room around 10pm. I will say that these lightsabers are very heavy duty and not something I would personally get for a child. They have a good amount of weight to them and the parts seem pretty high quality for “scrap metal”. The experience and quality definitely make this worth the $200 price tag. If you want one this is definitely the go sooner item as I can only see the price going up as Disney realizes what demand is like. They stopped allowing people who didn’t have an “appointment” into the area at about 8:45. Here’s a photo of my elemental hilt without the blade.
From there I ventured out into the rest of the land. Walked through droid depot and contemplated getting a droid as well but ended up putting it off for my next visit. Droid backpacks are about $50 and the personality chips are $12-15(I can’t remember exactly) there are three different chips from what I saw, resistance, first order, and scoundrel.
The line for the cantina was absolutely ridiculous, I would skip it during the reservation period as I was talking to a couple later in the night that had been and said its hard to get a table and had to get service as well. They pack it full so I imagine it’s like trader sams gets at peak times.
There was a short line to get into Dok’s Den and the store itself is very small. To me the holocrons aren’t worth the $50 price tag as they’re just plastic and without a kyber crystal you don’t get the full functionality.
I was disappointed in the one food item I had. I got the turkey jerky from ronto and it was extremely dry and hard to chew. They give 3 good size pieces but my jaw started to hurt after I had about half of the first piece due to the amount of chewing involved.
Seeing the Falcon in person was life changing, it really is the most beautiful piece of junk in the galaxy. The line was about 75 mins at the start of the reservation period and died down to about 20-30 by 10:30-11pm. Single Rider is absolutely the way to go if you don’t mind skipping the entire queue and not being able to be selected by a CM as pilot (you can still trade to it with someone in your flight crew doesn’t want pilot). With single rider you pretty much walk on until you get to the place where you’re assigned roles I don’t think I waited more than 2 minutes when the standby wait was posted as 30. For those who want to just enjoy the ride make sure you get gunner or engineer and don’t press the button to activate your console. The 8-midnight time slot is allowed to get into line until park close so there’s some advantage there for having the last time slot.
The belts themselves don’t hold lightsabers they have a belt clip accessory at Dok’s for $17. For robes I think youth sizes are $100 and adult sizes are $124. I didn’t check the price of tunics.
I got to the parks around 5:30pm and walked right into launch bay for merchandise. Most of the opening day exclusive stuff was gone by that time but they still had plenty of “on planet” stuff available. Check-in was really quick, the line forms outside launch bay and they let us in about 5:45-5:50. After getting my wrist band I did quite a few attractions (Astro blasters, Star tours, thunder Mtn, pirates was a walk on, and haunted mansion) then got in line by hungry bear around 7:15-7:20 and was about halfway up the ramp that leads to the restrooms/downstairs seating. Around 7:30 they led us into the forest a but then stopped us about halfway to the resistance area. About 7:50 they lead us up to the resistance area where the X-Wing is and held us there until 8.
From there I walked purposely towards Savi’s as my one goal was to build a lightsaber. The line forms quickly but it only took about 20 mins for me to choose my style and pay. It is very important to make sure they give you a return time when handing out your card and don’t miss that time. I was told to come back at 9 and wait for my build group to be called. I ended up getting into the build room around 10pm. I will say that these lightsabers are very heavy duty and not something I would personally get for a child. They have a good amount of weight to them and the parts seem pretty high quality for “scrap metal”. The experience and quality definitely make this worth the $200 price tag. If you want one this is definitely the go sooner item as I can only see the price going up as Disney realizes what demand is like. They stopped allowing people who didn’t have an “appointment” into the area at about 8:45. Here’s a photo of my elemental hilt without the blade.
From there I ventured out into the rest of the land. Walked through droid depot and contemplated getting a droid as well but ended up putting it off for my next visit. Droid backpacks are about $50 and the personality chips are $12-15(I can’t remember exactly) there are three different chips from what I saw, resistance, first order, and scoundrel.
The line for the cantina was absolutely ridiculous, I would skip it during the reservation period as I was talking to a couple later in the night that had been and said its hard to get a table and had to get service as well. They pack it full so I imagine it’s like trader sams gets at peak times.
There was a short line to get into Dok’s Den and the store itself is very small. To me the holocrons aren’t worth the $50 price tag as they’re just plastic and without a kyber crystal you don’t get the full functionality.
I was disappointed in the one food item I had. I got the turkey jerky from ronto and it was extremely dry and hard to chew. They give 3 good size pieces but my jaw started to hurt after I had about half of the first piece due to the amount of chewing involved.
Seeing the Falcon in person was life changing, it really is the most beautiful piece of junk in the galaxy. The line was about 75 mins at the start of the reservation period and died down to about 20-30 by 10:30-11pm. Single Rider is absolutely the way to go if you don’t mind skipping the entire queue and not being able to be selected by a CM as pilot (you can still trade to it with someone in your flight crew doesn’t want pilot). With single rider you pretty much walk on until you get to the place where you’re assigned roles I don’t think I waited more than 2 minutes when the standby wait was posted as 30. For those who want to just enjoy the ride make sure you get gunner or engineer and don’t press the button to activate your console. The 8-midnight time slot is allowed to get into line until park close so there’s some advantage there for having the last time slot.
The belts themselves don’t hold lightsabers they have a belt clip accessory at Dok’s for $17. For robes I think youth sizes are $100 and adult sizes are $124. I didn’t check the price of tunics.
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DisneyJamieCA
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jun 21, 2007
As people go in the coming days, will you report back on photopass photographers? Are there many? How are lines? Thanks!
Gaugersaurus
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jan 11, 2018
I wasn’t really looking but they had PhotoPass in front of the Flacon with 2 photographers. The line can get pretty long, I went at the end of the day and only waited about 5 mins.
Skyegirl1999
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Apr 11, 2016
No, yesterday they were having you line up and then giving you an “appointment.” Aka a reservation; they were giving people times. We confirmed that they’d have us come back at that time. Appointments were gone early in our time slot.
(Eta: We didn’t actually do it, but we stopped and inquired. I think PPs point was that without an appointment, she couldn’t just walk up in the last hour and make a lightsaber.)
Last edited:
Skyegirl1999
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Apr 11, 2016
Kylo’s ship, the Falcon, and a droid spot all had Photopass. Maybe there were more, but those are the three we saw.
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