READ POST 1 & 2 FIRST-Rise of the Resistance Boarding Group Planning and Information-*No Spoilers*

[Mzpalmtree]

i would hunt for a CM asap if u can’t get in after 5 mins. All BGs were gone before 6:20am (not sure exactly when)

See, I think this could potentially be a problem even if you find a cast member. We rode in the first week of the ride so our info may be outdated but we had an issue with one in our party showing as not being in the park and we were put off by cast members for about ten minutes. They wanted us to wait until the locating showed her as in the park. We went to at least two and were told to wait for her to show up. As fast as boarding groups are going recently I certainly hope they aren’t putting people off for ten minutes still. We will be going again at the end of the week and this has me concerned.

 

[TigerlilyAJ]

It's the busiest week of the year, if people would wait until the end of the night the line is very manageable

Normally I would agree, but I can't imagine that my family will still be able to stay pleasantly awake that long when "DHS day" of one's trip means waking up hours before dawn. We need to decide between doing RD and going back for an afternoon nap so we can return for the SW Galactic Spectacular at 8pm, or skipping RotR and its RD requirement the night we attend the show.
But yes, it's an option.
Thanks so much for all the reports, tips, and information, everyone. Especially those who have written about snags and tech fails. I'm sorry things didn't go well, but you have helped others plan and have more realistic expectations.
I should have my own report later this week.

 

[MIChessGuy]

This might have helped me. I had restarted my phone the morning on the way to the park. We arrived in the parking lot at 5:30am, in the park by 5:45am and worked our way quite far up the street.

I forgot to position us near the blue shirt CMs.

i went on timeanddate.com and counted down the seconds. I did not have my app open. About 3 seconds before 6am, they made the opening announcement and I immediately opened the app and went through the steps. I got BG25. My DH tried the refresh method and got stuck in that for 3+ mins. My DD opened the app like I did and was about a minute behind me.

We headed straight for MFSR and it was about a 30 min wait even though I thought we were quite far ahead.

Another helpful website is time.gov, which I believe is the 'official' time as maintained by the federal government.

 

[TheMaxRebo]

See, I think this could potentially be a problem even if you find a cast member. We rode in the first week of the ride so our info may be outdated but we had an issue with one in our party showing as not being in the park and we were put off by cast members for about ten minutes. They wanted us to wait until the locating showed her as in the park. We went to at least two and were told to wait for her to show up. As fast as boarding groups are going recently I certainly hope they aren’t putting people off for ten minutes still. We will be going again at the end of the week and this has me concerned.

from reading along here and seeing different experiences, seems like as long as someone in your party shows up and can join a boarding group, go ahead as soon as you can and then find a CM after the fact to get the rest of your party (that is in the park but didn't show up) added manually by then

 

[gtitan21]

Basically what i'm getting the sense of, is that when i'll be there in 2 weeks the park opens at 8am. Which means i can sleep in and arrive to the park about 7:45 and be confident enough to get a boarding pass. bottom line is to be inside before the park officially opens, correct?

 

[hiroMYhero]

Basically what i'm getting the sense of, is that when i'll be there in 2 weeks the park opens at 8am. Which means i can sleep in and arrive to the park about 7:45 and be confident enough to get a boarding pass. bottom line is to be inside before the park officially opens, correct?

Yes - with all members of your party.

 

[wdw&sonny]

Basically what i'm getting the sense of, is that when i'll be there in 2 weeks the park opens at 8am. Which means i can sleep in and arrive to the park about 7:45 and be confident enough to get a boarding pass. bottom line is to be inside before the park officially opens, correct?

Correct. As long as you are in the park when the BGs become available, it doesn't matter if you are the first one to enter the park or the 5,000th person. BUT, if there is a large crowd waiting to enter when you arrive, and they let people into the park 30 min early, you may not get in until many BGs have been claimed. You may get a back up BG or none at all.

 

[mom2rtk]

Does anyone think those 8 AM opens in mid-January will change? I know they adjusted early January already but I'm not sure if they're done. And honestly, I have no idea if the 8 AM open is a good or bad thing. I think I'd almost rather see it earlier since I fear it might attract more locals.

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Basically what i'm getting the sense of, is that when i'll be there in 2 weeks the park opens at 8am. Which means i can sleep in and arrive to the park about 7:45 and be confident enough to get a boarding pass. bottom line is to be inside before the park officially opens, correct?

yes, though persoanlly I would give myslef more than 15 minute cushin just not knowing on crowds, etc. - but yes, as long as you are all scanned in to the park prior to the park opening you are fine

 

[Miffy]

Agree with this. I am taking my son the weekend of January 24, which is the weekend after MLK. Hoping the crowds have died down some by then. Park is currently scheduled to open at 8 that Saturday, but we are going to make sure we are at the gates early enough to be near the front of the rope drop crowd for MFSR.

Because this is a one park trip solely to see Galaxy's Edge, we basically have one shot to get a boarding group. You can bet that if I have any kind of technical issues that prevent me from getting a BG, I will be at guest services registering a complaint. It's one thing to get a higher number or backup BG due to the luck of the draw when everything is working fine, but if there is any kind of technical issue, I think it is on Disney to rectify that situation.

I was there Dec 13 and 14 when the system was different. Those who got there earlier actually had a better chance of getting a BG because the BGs opened when the tapstiles opened, not at the official park opening time. So even if you had a glitch with your phone, there weren't already several thousand other people in the park with you and it was easy to find a CM.

They started the current system a few days after we left, so that now if you're there before the official park opening, you get into the park, but you're in the same boat with everyone else who got there and tapped in before the official park opening.

I understand why a lot of people prefer the new system, since it means one doesn't have to get up at 3:30 a.m. and rush to the park (yeah, I did that and was glad I did). However, the new system has eliminated the advantage for those people who are at the front of the line before the tapstiles open.

The real solution would be if Disney IT would do whatever it would take to make sure that 99.999999% of smartphone MDX apps would work properly when the BGs become available.

@Nole95--Make sure that everyone in your party who has a smartphone has everyone else linked on their account and all of you should try for the BG as soon as they become available. My sister was the successful BG getter. Also, do as others have suggested and power down and restart your phone(s) that morning. Also make sure you all know the password(s) for your MDX account(s). I didn't, and as soon as I entered the park, my MDX switched over to the log-on screen. Ack! Fortunately my sister got the BG, so all was OK.

Stand near a blue-shirted CM. There are a lot of them in the front of the park and any of them can help you if something goes awry.

I'm sure you'll be able to get a BG for RotR. SWGE is so well done and RotR is not to be missed. So . . . you won't miss it!

 

[Miffy]

Basically what i'm getting the sense of, is that when i'll be there in 2 weeks the park opens at 8am. Which means i can sleep in and arrive to the park about 7:45 and be confident enough to get a boarding pass. bottom line is to be inside before the park officially opens, correct?

I don't know where you're staying, @gtitan21, but give yourself some extra leeway unless you're at a Boardwalk-area resort and know how long it'll take you to walk over to DHS. We took Uber both mornings we went 2 weeks ago and we had to wait 20 minutes for the car to arrive at our resort. Now it might even be more difficult, since more and more people know about getting to DHS early.

Also, note to everyone taking rideshare--Keep an eye on the road signs. Our Uber driver on Dec 14th wasn't paying attention and was going to drive right by the turnoff to DHS. Fortunately my sister and I were watching and told him what road to take . . . because we'd been in an Uber a couple of days earlier that took us to DAK instead of to AKL, so we were hyperaware.

I'd plan to be at DHS by 7:30 at the latest--assuming the park does open at 8 and they don't change that to an earlier time. No telling how long the lines at security will be. There've been a few days when even the no-bag line moved pretty slowly. You want to be tapped in and in the park before the official park opening time. And enjoy RotR! It's amazing!

 

[only hope]

There are probably people who know more than me, but I am pretty sure they know u have left the park once you leave. Not by “location services” as others have suggested but by RFID as you leave the park with your media - park ticket/magic band similarly how they know you were on a ride when your photo shows up in your photopass without ever tapping. I don’t think folks realize how much info is being tracked as you wear your magic bands. For example, I believe this is how they know when the parks reach capacity. In the old days, you would have to exit thru a turnstyle that counted the number of folks that have left.

Now, if my theory is true, you could I suppose tap in and then dispose of your magic band in the park. I have dozens of them so it wouldn’t be a big deal for me to lose one. Maybe that would work? But I bet u have issues when u tap back in.

You expressed my concerns much, much better than I did. As an aside comment, I just assume we are being tracked with our MBs. I assume they are collecting data on how long we are in the park, where we eat in the park, if we go into the shops, what rides we ride, etc. What I was trying to say about "location services" is that I assume Disney knows if we are in the park or not. I could be wrong. I would love to know if someone out there knows.

I’ve read many times over the years that they do not actively track locations. Locations are tracked every time you tap in for something. If you have a magicband with a functioning battery, your location is also tracked when you pass beacons (if that’s the right word)- like the ones on rides that will automatically add photos/videos to your account. But there is nothing tracking where you are every second. This is why magicband data can not be used to find a missing child. There could be a beacon at the exit to track those with magicbands with functioning batteries who leave; I have no idea.

I am sorry, I have read this whole post but still confused a little.. I have read that same family members are logged into same account and that the system only lets one person get a BG for the family (which I undetstand if you select all in your party)...But I have also read that a family had several seperate BG # and they were able to be moved to the lowest of the group. Our family is going 2nd week of January and I am trying to figure this out. Is it best to have each family member try for a BG for just themselves and then go to a CM and ask to have us put into the lowest one or is that a chance I am taking? Or just have each of the family members select whole party and see who gets them first. Trying to get the best odds of a lower BG but won't risk not getting to ride together.
Thanks for a great thread, I have learned a lot.

Only one boarding group can be booked for each person per day. Multiple people can attempt to book bg for the same people at the same time, and this is the best strategy. Some people are able to grt to the boarding group reservation page and finish booking before others in their group can even get the boarding group page to open. Sometimes one or more members of the group don’t show up as being in the park. In this case, it’s best for that person to book everyone they can while others in the group attempt to book the rest. If only part of the group was able to get a bg, or the group ends up with two numbers far apart due to a second person booking for the group members who could not be booked at first, then go to a guest experience team member to have everyone put in the same group. If you can’t book at all, also go to a guest experience cast member. They are the ones in blue; most are at blue kiosks with a blue umbrella. There’s several on the first street at park opening but they usually have long lines. It can be faster to find one elsewhere in the park. I think there’s one on the way to the main Galaxy’s Edge entrance and one in Toy Story Land.

 

[CT Disney]

So, if you were trying to get a BG for two people and your initial attempt showed only one of those people in the park...would you back out (refresh) and try again? Or would you grab the BG for just the one person and find a CM to help you get the second person in that same BG?

Someone needs to make a flowchart of all eventualities

 

[gtitan21]

Appreciate the feedback. I have no problem with getting there earlier. Last year, this same week was the slowest of the year it seemed. 90 minute peak for FOP and i only saw 7DMT get over an hour on the weekend. I know this isn't much to compare as it's a brand new ride and the hype is still there. But with school back in session, the marathon over, and it being a month old, i've got my fingers crossed i can do the unthinkable... 2 BG in one day! lol

 

[mandis77]

Does anyone think those 8 AM opens in mid-January will change? I know they adjusted early January already but I'm not sure if they're done. And honestly, I have no idea if the 8 AM open is a good or bad thing. I think I'd almost rather see it earlier since I fear it might attract more locals.

I am wondering too. I'm at DHS 1/31 and right now it's showing 8am opening. It was already readjusted from 9am so wondering if we are done. As of now we plan on being there by 7:30 at earliest. But, I wouldn't mind an earlier opening either.

 

[Miffy]

So, if you were trying to get a BG for two people and your initial attempt showed only one of those people in the park...would you back out (refresh) and try again? Or would you grab the BG for just the one person and find a CM to help you get the second person in that same BG?

Someone needs to make a flowchart of all eventualities

Grab, definitely. Then find a CM to put the other person in your BG. If you've got a BG, do NOT give it up!

 

[Miffy]

Appreciate the feedback. I have no problem with getting there earlier. Last year, this same week was the slowest of the year it seemed. 90 minute peak for FOP and i only saw 7DMT get over an hour on the weekend. I know this isn't much to compare as it's a brand new ride and the hype is still there. But with school back in session, the marathon over, and it being a month old, i've got my fingers crossed i can do the unthinkable... 2 BG in one day! lol

That'd be great, but, just to let you know, so far, they've allowed people only 1 BG per day.

 

[hiroMYhero]

Or would you grab the BG for just the one person and find a CM to help you get the second person in that same BG?

Do this as it allows you to join a lower numbered BG.

 

[jackieleanne]

Appreciate the feedback. I have no problem with getting there earlier. Last year, this same week was the slowest of the year it seemed. 90 minute peak for FOP and i only saw 7DMT get over an hour on the weekend. I know this isn't much to compare as it's a brand new ride and the hype is still there. But with school back in session, the marathon over, and it being a month old, i've got my fingers crossed i can do the unthinkable... 2 BG in one day! lol

Really? I was there this time last year and we often saw FOP with times of over 210 minutes. We stayed 2 weeks and it often hit that thankfully we had fast passes.

 

[elaine amj]

MFSR is extremely crazy this week. I was about 3/4 of the way up the street (so not that far back) and the moment they let us start moving, my family was efficiently weaving through the hordes and in the trek to MFSR we passed a LOT of people (we can move pretty quick). And still, we ended up waiting 30 mins for MFSR.

Is it just me or does the wait for MFSR seem extra crazy the past few days? Seems like if you're anywhere near the back of the pack at rope drop you're in for a long wait.

Basically what i'm getting the sense of, is that when i'll be there in 2 weeks the park opens at 8am. Which means i can sleep in and arrive to the park about 7:45 and be confident enough to get a boarding pass. bottom line is to be inside before the park officially opens, correct?

Park opened today at 6am. We didn’t leave Fort Wilderness until 5:05am, arrived at 5:20am, parked and at the gates about 5:30. Bag check and tapped in about 5:40am. Worked our way3/4 of the way up the street and stopped at 5:45am. Worked out ok with a BG of 25 but ended up with a 30 min wait for MFSR. So waking up early still has advantages.