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

[SouthFayetteFan]

Our dates are Jan 20-24 so we are hoping for lower crowds after the 20th. We plan on getting there 1.5-2 hours prior to posted park opening. How are the crowds after MLK day?

If you arrive 1.5-2 hours prior to park opening in late January you should be fine. You'll still be in the lottery for BGs at 8am (or 7am if they adjust the open time). So you'll probably get something between 1 and 80. Obviously this will become much more clear in the next 3 weeks as we get actual data to analyze.

 

[Opie100]

7pm - BG 196

So backup distro started today at official open + 75 mins and backup distro ended at official open plus 5hrs 15mins. I wonder what time the last BG will be distributed tomorrow.

 

[Minnie368]

Looking for some advice on this plan... We are arriving Jan 3 but going to US/IOA for the weekend so Monday will be our first wdw day. I had planned to RD Epcot with morning EMH 8-9am and have a 10am ADR at GG with FP+ 10:30-1:30, the only one I care about being TT at 10:30. We were thinking of going to DHS around 6:30, tapping in, and then immediately leaving to head to EPCOT either driving or using Skyliner and we would hopefully get there by 7:30 for Epcot RD, trying to get a boarding group while en route. Hopefully we could wait a little past 7am and get a later day BG so we can finish Epcot around lunchtime and head back to DHS. We could finish out the day there with an end of day ride on MFSR, hopefully with a shorter line. We have two other days at DHS, so getting a BG this day isn’t critical if we would happen to have technical difficulties. Will getting to Epcot by 7:30 be good enough to be close to front RD crowd? We usually get to parks about an hour before opening time so this will be later than usual for us. Any other thoughts on this plan?

 

[hiroMYhero]

Our dates are Jan 20-24 so we are hoping for lower crowds after the 20th. We plan on getting there 1.5-2 hours prior to posted park opening. How are the crowds after MLK day?

Is there a reason you want to arrive up to 2 hours before official park open?

Arriving that early doesn’t give you any type of advantage for joining a Boarding Group. The only thing it does is puts you in a position to head to MFSR at the front of the horde only if Boarding Group joining goes well.

 

[yulilin3]

7pm - BG 196

So backup distro started today at official open + 75 mins and backup distro ended at official open plus 5hrs 15mins. I wonder what time the last BG will be distributed tomorrow.

tomorrow DHS will not close at midnight

 

[disfanforlife]

We are going down March 14-18. I have read the whole thread and appreciate everyone’s input and data points. Usually we are there the first week of March so no idea how much busier it will be. I know Spring break will make it busier but not every school is off the same week. I am going to keep following along here until then. In the meantime, my plans are to go with my DD and hour before park opening.

 

[yulilin3]

We are going down March 14-18. I have read the whole thread and appreciate everyone’s input and data points. Usually we are there the first week of March so no idea how much busier it will be. I know Spring break will make it busier but not every school is off the same week. I am going to keep following along here until then. In the meantime, my plans are to go with my DD and hour before park opening.

Remember MMRR is opening March 4th

 

[disfanforlife]

Remember MMRR is opening March 4th

Oh yes, I am excited for that! Hope to get a FP.

 

[yulilin3]

Oh yes, I am excited for that! Hope to get a FP.

well, just keep in mind fp may not be available for it

 

[disfanforlife]

well, just keep in mind fp may not be available for it

True, if that is the case we can head there first as soon as we get our BG.

 

[ray3127]

This is our plan! We are hoping that so many people will be tired from this evenings festivities, that we will be able to not have quite as much craziness tomorrow morning.

anyone else going tomorrow morning?

Yes! We did the 6:30 fireworks show at Epcot and are back at Beach Club getting ready for bed (kids are too young to stay up anyway). Going to be nice and rested for Hollywood Studios bright and early!

 

[Madame]

Got backup 207 around 10:30 this morning. We have a sick kiddo and skipped RD, but I saw that BGs were still open so we took the SL over just to tap in. Will report back if our group is called today.

BG called at 7:45.

 

[wdw&sonny]

Looking for some advice on this plan... We are arriving Jan 3 but going to US/IOA for the weekend so Monday will be our first wdw day. I had planned to RD Epcot with morning EMH 8-9am and have a 10am ADR at GG with FP+ 10:30-1:30, the only one I care about being TT at 10:30. We were thinking of going to DHS around 6:30, tapping in, and then immediately leaving to head to EPCOT either driving or using Skyliner and we would hopefully get there by 7:30 for Epcot RD, trying to get a boarding group while en route. Hopefully we could wait a little past 7am and get a later day BG so we can finish Epcot around lunchtime and head back to DHS. We could finish out the day there with an end of day ride on MFSR, hopefully with a shorter line. We have two other days at DHS, so getting a BG this day isn’t critical if we would happen to have technical difficulties. Will getting to Epcot by 7:30 be good enough to be close to front RD crowd? We usually get to parks about an hour before opening time so this will be later than usual for us. Any other thoughts on this plan?

You can’t tap in and leave and get BG en route to EP. You and everyone planning to ride RotR had to be IN HS to get the BG, then you can leave.

 

[hiroMYhero]

You can’t tap in and leave and get BG en route to EP. You and everyone planning to ride RotR had to be IN HS to get the BG, then you can leave.

This info was refuted this morning.

A poster entered Studios, immediately exited, and was able to join a BG when he was not physically in Studios.

Edited to add:

My plan worked well. Through turnstiles at 5:45am. ....then left right away. Got bg 63. ...Will be back later this am. ...Off for a relaxing bfast now

 

[Zia100]

No, you all will have to go to the park in the morning, and enter the park, each of you using your own respective magic bands. If you go early alone, you will only be able to get yourself a BG. The app specifically checks to see if people are in the park before allowing them to join a BG.

Hello my friend! Thank you for clarifying.
hope everyone is having a good holiday season and HAPPY NEW YEAR!

 

[ecclescake]

Wowsers! Up to 222 today!

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

Wowsers! Up to 222 today!

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

Wowsers! Up to 222 today!

And that appears to be the end today too.

 

[rteetz]

 

[Becky201068]

No reason to let it worry you even based on this week. It’s the busiest week of the year and still very easy to get a boarding group, just get there before the park opens. Not a huge amount by any means. Matter of fact, if you get there after they’ve opened the gates but before they open the park for operation then you let the initial rush clear out and walk up to no lines to get in either bag check or turnstyles. So it’s really quite great, provided you can handle the 6:00 am open. Even with 8:00 or 9:00 am it would work the same.

Ive been reading along and trying to understand all of this information! Thanks to everyone who has posted about their experience. We are going with a group of 10 family members on January 10, and we only have one day at HS. We are staying at the Swan hotel. We can walk from there I think? And from what I’m gathering, we don’t maybe have to arrive way before the park opens in order to get a boarding group?