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

[yulilin3]

Things are definitely getting "worse" and it makes sense. More people have knowledge of the situation and are acting accordingly. Even with this knowledge over the last few weeks, a lot of folks may have been unable to act on it on short notice. I do think that eventually we may see a scenario where at park open +1 Min it's a < 100% chance of getting a BG even with no phone/tech issues.

To me, this is still fine, because that's how it rolls with FP+ to some degree, expect here there is no preference to on-site guests and/or people with really long stays. Yes, it's like a lottery, but as someone who was there for the Hagrid opening, it's 100x better.

• For those who don't know, with Hagrid folks were waiting in like starting at midnight to 3AM in some cases. People who got there just prior to park open were looking at 8 hour standby lines. Folks waiting inline where not even guaranteed to get to ride at all! On some days the ride went down or ran slow and these people waited all that time for nothing....
• Compared to the above, the potential downside of showing up 45 mins prior to park opening, seeing you don't win the "BG Lotto" and then going about your day feels quite tame. Even if you get a late BG, you have the option of going back to bed, park hopping or hitting the rest of DHS.

which is why I know this system is better than anything else Disney can do right now.
I was in line for Hagrid's opening day at 3am, actually had to drive around a bit until they opened the parking garage. My total waiting time from the moment they opened the turnstiles to riding was 5.5 hours. And I was at the front of the pack.

 

[yulilin3]

we also don't know if the attraction had a "bad" maintenance night. They might have limited the number of people per bg, making it fill up faster. Again all the variables that we could point out but no one really knows

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

They just reached BG 92 today at 1:35pm...

Yesterday is above. Today at 1:35pm they are at BG 88.

They got to 152 BGs yesterday and the last group was called around 6pm. We know they handed out a 181 today from reports here on the thread...it will be interesting to see if they get there.

 

[pdarrah]

The part that blows my mind about all the standard BGs being gone in under 5 minutes is the shear quantity of people that have to be there inside the park (and being held up front!) for that to happen. I've read several times that there are around 100 people per group. If today's 127 standard groups AND some backup groups were filled within 5 minutes, then there were over 13,000 people in the park at that point. How insanely packed in are people during this time before they drop the ropes and let them spread out into the park?

 

[Bryan Burmeister]

I'm just trying to remain hopeful that it's a product of being 1/2/20, holiday crowds, lots of people willing to wake up early, etc. vs. being the new norm... Time will tell, right?

I'm also hopeful, we all want a 95+% guaranteed BG. However, the logical side of me is thinking that the new 'norm' will eventually be that BG's fill instantly and lots of people don't get one. Similar to how not everyone can get a FOP FP+.

I don't foresee daily demand dropping below daily capacity anytime soon for ROTR. Once everyone who wants to ride knows that you have to be through the tap-stiles prior to park opening, that's when we will really see the BG's fill fast. For now there are lot of people who are first learning of this when they stroll into the park at 9:30 AM. Over time, more of these people will learn. 8:00AM park opens will amplify this effect.

 

[Bryan Burmeister]

The part that blows my mind about all the standard BGs being gone in under 5 minutes is the shear quantity of people that have to be there inside the park (and being held up front!) for that to happen. I've read several times that there are around 100 people per group. If today's 127 standard groups AND some backup groups were filled within 5 minutes, then there were over 13,000 people in the park at that point. How insanely packed in are people during this time before they drop the ropes and let them spread out into the park?

I almost wonder if the rumor of 100 people per BG is wrong in that case? It does see far fetched that they could fit 13K people in that space.

 

[dina444444]

I’ve started a thread on the Disneyland board for the boarding groups there:

Rise of the Resistance Boarding Groups *No Ride Spoilers Please*

 

[dina444444]

I almost wonder if the rumor of 100 people per BG is wrong in that case? It does see far fetched that they could fit 13K people in that space.

The ride has been taking in about 1300 people/hour. I’m thinking the boarding groups have between 75-100 people in them.

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

I'm also hopeful, we all want a 95+% guaranteed BG. However, the logical side of me is thinking that the new 'norm' will eventually be that BG's fill instantly and lots of people don't get one. Similar to how not everyone can get a FOP FP+.

I don't foresee daily demand dropping below daily capacity anytime soon for ROTR. Once everyone who wants to ride knows that you have to be through the tap-stiles prior to park opening, that's when we will really see the BG's fill fast. For now there are lot of people who are first learning of this when they stroll into the park at 9:30 AM. Over time, more of these people will learn. 8:00AM park opens will amplify this effect.

Yeah! I was actually happy to see my Jan 26th opening move to 7am... which would've seemed crazy for me to say a few weeks ago. There is still a factor here that only a certain % of all vacationers will wake-up at 6am on their vacation. And since crowd levels dropping is a certainty beyond 1/5 if that % holds...at some point there have to be less people there at park opening.

The factors you outline are at war with the factors I outline...and it's difficult to predict which will prevail. I am holding out hope that the % of population who wants more sleep will win out and things will become "slightly" more chill in mid-late January. (This is all hope...and not based in facts though, lol)

 

[AngiTN]

BG 63 is pretty much in the middle of the non backup BGs, so it doesn’t indicate any advantage to leaving right away and logging in from outside the park.

I‘m going to be interested to see what happens early next week when the worst of the Christmas break crowd is gone. I’m sure it will still be crazy, but hopefully less crazy than this week.

There is no connection advantage to leave the park. You just don't stand and wait
I was in my resort room trying to use the app this morning, for something else
Connections are bad everywhere
I assume due to freedining dropping

 

[DGsAtBLT]

I'm also hopeful, we all want a 95+% guaranteed BG. However, the logical side of me is thinking that the new 'norm' will eventually be that BG's fill instantly and lots of people don't get one. Similar to how not everyone can get a FOP FP+.

I don't foresee daily demand dropping below daily capacity anytime soon for ROTR. Once everyone who wants to ride knows that you have to be through the tap-stiles prior to park opening, that's when we will really see the BG's fill fast. For now there are lot of people who are first learning of this when they stroll into the park at 9:30 AM. Over time, more of these people will learn. 8:00AM park opens will amplify this effect.

I’m still surprised at how many people are still not aware of what it takes to ride ROTR. I agree with you it may get worse.

In a Facebook AP group I’m in there are still always people surprised at the crowd pictures or arrival times ROTR riders share. And that’s a self selected group of people who are so into Disney they not only hold passes but go out of their way to join a group to talk/read about it.

 

[MIChessGuy]

I had read earlier that the director's statue was a good place to stand in case you need a CM's assistance when the app acts up. Is that still recommended? Is it better to head down Sunset Blvd. and see if any GET CMs are down there?

 

[yulilin3]

I had read earlier that the director's statue was a good place to stand in case you need a CM's assistance when the app acts up. Is that still recommended? Is it better to head down Sunset Blvd. and see if any GET CMs are down there?

there are GET CM down Sunset by the intersection of RnRC and ToT. The first blue umbrella people will see is the Director's statue, which might make it busier

 

[AlvaroLuis]

We will be hitting DHS the morning of the marathon. I was really hoping they would extend opening to 7am but it looks like it’s sticking to 8.
We will walk over from Yacht Club and be there early. I need to get the mde on DDs phone so we can both refresh.

My advice is that you double check to make sure that you will be able to use the EPCOT-DHS Connector (the walkway by the "river") at that time on marathon day. The walkway is part of the marathon course and I believe is usually closed up until about noon the day of the full marathon (Sunday, Jan. 12, 2020).

 

[Bryan Burmeister]

I’m still surprised at how many people are still not aware of what it takes to ride ROTR. I agree with you it may get worse.

In a Facebook AP group I’m in there are still always people surprised at the crowd pictures or arrival times ROTR riders share. And that’s a self selected group of people who are so into Disney they not only hold passes but go out of their way to join a group to talk/read about it.

Wow! I'm shocked those folks aren't aware! As you say, if you take the time to read a Disney Facebook page, you should be aware of these things. Maybe they didn't have a trip planned this year.

 

[pinkxray]

Thanks for reminding me. I have asked a few people on the marathon board who usually do the marathon and stay at Boardwalk. They have all said the path is open but the boats are shut down until noon.
I will have a back up plan just in case.

 

[GADisneyDad14]

there are GET CM down Sunset by the intersection of RnRC and ToT. The first blue umbrella people will see is the Director's statue, which might make it busier

FWIW, on this morning at least, guests were held on Sunset about where those restrooms are half way towards RnR/ToT. While I didn’t do an exhaustive search, I didn’t see any GET in the Sunset Blvd area where they held us.

 

[CaliforniaGirl09]

I think the first few days of operation were probably among the best to visit in hindsight.

Touring advice got out which brought more educated crowds earlier and earlier, heavier crowds naturally came because of the holidays, and Disney made major modifications to the process (less recovery FP needed to be given out, one BG limit, the change to the lottery feel system). At the beginning we had a few DISers who managed multiple rides a day!

I totally agree with you! I think the first couple days sound as if they were the best.

Things are definitely getting "worse" and it makes sense. More people have knowledge of the situation and are acting accordingly. Even with this knowledge over the last few weeks, a lot of folks may have been unable to act on it on short notice. I do think that eventually we may see a scenario where at park open +1 Min it's a < 100% chance of getting a BG even with no phone/tech issues.

Yep. It's the tech issues that bother me and what happened to people on this thread with doing everything "right" and getting back up boarding groups. I liked the previous way it was done with park arrival, although I get why they were worried about the arrival times creeping up. I'm not sure what the solution is, I just feel badly for people today who had IT problems that were out of their control.

I can totally see both sides and part of me likes the "if youa re willign to get there earlier than you get an earlier slot and guranteed ride, etc. ... but the problem is that people were getting there earlier and earlier and in larger numbers earlier. If "early" stayed at 2 hours prior to park opening then it would be fine but it was getting more and more and that was before the holiday crowds got there so I understand why they had to change it up

And I think this new way is fine IF there are no technical issues and IF everyone there at park opening can get a BG. I know there is no perfect solution but can understand if something is there 30+ minutes prior to the park opening taps the app right away and doesn't get a BG gets kinda upset

Ditto!

I’ve started a thread on the Disneyland board for the boarding groups there:

Rise of the Resistance Boarding Groups *No Ride Spoilers Please*

Awesome. Thanks! I'll be over there as well. We will be at DL the weekend after it opens for DS22's birthday. It will be interesting to see how it compares to next week's WDW marathon experience.

 

[jho1]

FWIW, on this morning at least, guests were held on Sunset about where those restrooms are half way towards RnR/ToT. While I didn’t do an exhaustive search, I didn’t see any GET in the Sunset Blvd area where they held us.

There were no GET before the ones right by rnrc and ToT. I was actively looking for them as I was trying to get my boarding group this morning.

 

[PendingPeril]

My advice is that you double check to make sure that you will be able to use the EPCOT-DHS Connector (the walkway by the "river") at that time on marathon day. The walkway is part of the marathon course and I believe is usually closed up until about noon the day of the full marathon (Sunday, Jan. 12, 2020).

Anyone know how DHS is impacted on the 11th with the marathon? That's when I'll be visiting.