Rise of the Resistance BOARDING GROUPS Superthread Part 1 *No Ride Spoilers Please* *PLEASE READ POSTS 1-4*

[vickiea]

I am a Canadian about to buy a US SIM card for use during my trip to the parks starting on Wednesday. I can buy one that uses AT&T or TMobile and I remember PPs mentioning which carrier they had success with but don't know if there was a consensus? I think I read that AT&T is the official carrier of Disney? Does that make a difference in speed/accessibility. I was at the parks in October and had a horrible time trying to use the park wifi on my Canadian carrier (near impossible for some reason) so I'm hoping to avoid it and just rely on some good American data...

Canadian here that just returned. We were on AT&T and had no issues getting a BG each of the 3 days that we tried.

Good luck.

 

[LisaDKG]

Canadian here that just returned. We were on AT&T and had no issues getting a BG each of the 3 days that we tried.

Good luck.

Thank you - just bought AT&T!

 

[Katiebird]

I just want to say thank you to everyone for keeping this thread spoiler free. With one or two exceptions, it really has been, and it was delightful to be able to ride with very very little idea of what the ride was like (all I knew was from seeing print ads and a couple of vague comments). It’s rare to be able to experience a ride “blind” like that, and I appreciate that this thread has been able to exist and give such incredible information but without spoilers.

 

[JWelch62]

Thank you - just bought AT&T!

Does your plan not offer text and data in the US? I know that Verizon and AT&T both offer "free" text and data in Canada in Mexico with your plan. I would have thought there would be reciprocal agreements with Canadian carriers.

 

[HydroGuy]

It is interesting to note that, with regard to up-time percentage, The three worst days on record occur on Sundays.

The three best days on record occur on Mondays. We've only had three Mondays (today is the fourth).

It is hard to see this as a random thing, though it might me. If the pattern holds for a few more weeks, though, I'm really going to be scratching my head.

Duh. Sundays are the last day of the week for Jawas and they have a quota to meet. They use ROTR to help meet the quota. So Sundays are bad for guests. Mondays are the Jawas' rest day.

 

[Fuzeon]

If we have EMH Thursday, which starts at 0700, what time do suggest arriving at DTD security and/or the turnstiles?

Thank you!

 

[montreid]

Crushing it right now -- spread of 26 groups. Nice.

 

[disneyholic family]

Canadian here that just returned. We were on AT&T and had no issues getting a BG each of the 3 days that we tried.

Good luck.

where do you buy the sim card?

.

 

[crystal1313]

Is the consensus opinion that trying to get a BG on a non MM/EMH day is better? We are going in June (I Know, really far away at this point!) From Sun-Wed staying the DLH. Only doing two days in the parks. Initially thought of going Sunday and Monday, but no EMH on those days for DL. I know we just need to be scanned into DL before opening, but wondering if a lack of MM/EMH helps in terms of less people scanned in. Or does it even matter? Thanks!

 

[JWelch62]

Is the consensus opinion that trying to get a BG on a non MM/EMH day is better? We are going in June (I Know, really far away at this point!) From Sun-Wed staying the DLH. Only doing two days in the parks. Initially thought of going Sunday and Monday, but no EMH on those days for DL. I know we just need to be scanned into DL before opening, but wondering if a lack of MM/EMH helps in terms of less people scanned in. Or does it even matter? Thanks!

I don't think I've seen any posts suggesting EMH/MM is any better or worse in terms of getting a BG. The main benefit of EMH/MM IMHO is that you have less stress getting scanned into DL.

 

[mel2014]

Is the consensus opinion that trying to get a BG on a non MM/EMH day is better? We are going in June (I Know, really far away at this point!) From Sun-Wed staying the DLH. Only doing two days in the parks. Initially thought of going Sunday and Monday, but no EMH on those days for DL. I know we just need to be scanned into DL before opening, but wondering if a lack of MM/EMH helps in terms of less people scanned in. Or does it even matter? Thanks!

In our experience this weekend, it was awful trying to get in Saturday when we didn't have MM/EMH. There were only a few non-MM lines and they didn't start letting non-MM people in until around 7:35 and the lines moved super-slowly. By contrast this morning they started letting people in at 7:20 and had all the gates open. We arrived at basically the same time both days. On Saturday we got into the park at 7:54. Today we were in at 7:31. Of course today a lot of people seemed to think it would be a 9:00 opening, so there might be more crowds on a "regular" day

 

[LisaDKG]

Does your plan not offer text and data in the US? I know that Verizon and AT&T both offer "free" text and data in Canada in Mexico with your plan. I would have thought there would be reciprocal agreements with Canadian carriers.

No, that's the problem I have (or, uh, one of them!). My current plan is through my husband's company and while his phone has a Roam Like Home feature (what many companies offer here in Canada where you pay a small fee per day that you access US data) my line does not and can not be enabled. I would have to change my phone plan entirely which means a jump of $20 per month that just wouldn't be worth it for this one trip.

 

[LisaDKG]

where do you buy the sim card?

.

I bought mine this morning on Amazon.ca and with Prime it will arrive today! I have no idea if this was a good way to go or not but I'll find out soon! I saw that it can also be ordered through Bestbuy.ca. The SIM card company is called Most Sim and it is AT&T authorized (TMobile too actually). Originally I was just going to make a stop at a convenience store on the way from LAX to Anaheim. My only issue is that you need to set up activation online once you receive the card and I'm not sure what the turn around time is between activation and functionality. I need it for sure for this Thursday's MM and I'm not sure if that is too soon.

 

[disneyholic family]

I bought mine this morning on Amazon.ca and with Prime it will arrive today! I have no idea if this was a good way to go or not but I'll find out soon! I saw that it can also be ordered through Bestbuy.ca. The SIM card company is called Most Sim and it is AT&T authorized (TMobile too actually). Originally I was just going to make a stop at a convenience store on the way from LAX to Anaheim. My only issue is that you need to set up activation online once you receive the card and I'm not sure what the turn around time is between activation and functionality. I need it for sure for this Thursday's MM and I'm not sure if that is too soon.

thanks! i'll check it out.
I'm not sure what we'll do this time.
For the past few years, i've had a roaming package with my regular carrier that worked well, but my trips in august and september turned into nightmares as my data was completely cut off (by AT&T - the roaming partner).
so i have to find an alternative, especially since i'll need waze for the driving portion of the trip.

.

 

[ComeToSocialize]

In our experience this weekend, it was awful trying to get in Saturday when we didn't have MM/EMH. There were only a few non-MM lines and they didn't start letting non-MM people in until around 7:35 and the lines moved super-slowly. By contrast this morning they started letting people in at 7:20 and had all the gates open. We arrived at basically the same time both days. On Saturday we got into the park at 7:54. Today we were in at 7:31. Of course today a lot of people seemed to think it would be a 9:00 opening, so there might be more crowds on a "regular" day

Echoing this. Based on this most recent weekend, if you don't have EMH/HH, it was much easier to get in the park on Sunday when there was no EMH/HH than on Saturday.

We had MM/EMH on Saturday, and arrived at esplanade around 7:10 - didn't get into the park until 7:25. Had we not had EMH, I would've been concerned as the non-EMH line was quite long and chaotic.

On Sunday, we arrived at esplanade around 7:20, and were in the park again by about 7:25. With no EMH/MM, all lines were open to all guests and moving quickly. So despite having EMH/MM, we actually got in the park easier on Sunday than Saturday. And that gap would've been far wider if we not had EMH on Saturday.

Experience may vary though as we have have gotten lucky that they opened the gates on Sunday well before 7:30am, possibly because it was raining.

 

[montreid]

So going up this weekend for a conference on-site. It runs 8A-12noon so going to go grab a BG in the AM then back to conference in GCH - the trick is to get BG that's 40-82! Anyone with suggestions? Hit at 5 Mississippi or not?

 

[Aurora0427]

I’m there next week too and from reading things, it’s “Ski Week” in a few places with schools out for the week.

Yes, we are in San Diego and my friends who live in Rancho Santa Fe and their kids go to public school are out this week. I’m not sure which district they’re in. Our ski break is next week.

 

[PHXscuba]

So I am going to make a hypothesis I'm hoping the group can crowdsource-confirm:

If going on a NON MM/EMH day (M-W-F-Sun) and inside the park at opening, a prepared visitor could get a guaranteed boarding group OR a backup boarding group under BG 100.

Based on the spreadsheet being built over the past 4 weeks, and boarding groups on non-MM/EMH days lasting 20-30 minutes, if you're in the park and pushing all the right the buttons at opening, I believe you could be "pretty sure" of riding that day.

I know nothing is certain, YMMV, and holidays would throw that assumption out the window, but would that hypothesis generally prove true?

PHXscuba

 

[vickiea]

where do you buy the sim card?

.

We bought from Amazon a card from Gig Sky. This allows you to use it in multiple places around the world, and then activate a plan when you need it. This is data only, no voice - but who actually 'calls' on their phone anymore? We use iphones that are older, but apparently it is even easier on the newer ones with Gig Sky.

 

[crystal1313]

Echoing this. Based on this most recent weekend, if you don't have EMH/HH, it was much easier to get in the park on Sunday when there was no EMH/HH than on Saturday.

We had MM/EMH on Saturday, and arrived at esplanade around 7:10 - didn't get into the park until 7:25. Had we not had EMH, I would've been concerned as the non-EMH line was quite long and chaotic.

On Sunday, we arrived at esplanade around 7:20, and were in the park again by about 7:25. With no EMH/MM, all lines were open to all guests and moving quickly. So despite having EMH/MM, we actually got in the park easier on Sunday than Saturday. And that gap would've been far wider if we not had EMH on Saturday.

Experience may vary though as we have have gotten lucky that they opened the gates on Sunday well before 7:30am, possibly because it was raining.

Thank you! This was exactly what I was looking for. Less chaos on a non MM/EMH day. =)