Rise of the Resistance to utilize normal queue starting Sept 23.

[asumom]

Our HS days are Sept. 24th and 27th. I'll totally pay for that ride (once) to avoid a huge line and rope drop slinky dog or something.

And that's what disney wants. So glad I got in a trip before this nonsense.

 

[persnickity]

Honestly, I don't think the stand-by line is going to be as crazy as everyone thinks. This isn't a brand new ride. A lot of people have had a chance to experience it - some a dozen times or more according to this thread! My guess is that the stand-by line will discourage those people who've already been on it multiple times from riding. They're not going to stand in an hours long line. Way less people will get up early to go wait in a stand-by queue than those who were competing for VQ in their jammies in bed.

It's not going to be 6-8 hours like FOP was in the beginning. A couple hours, max. If you get there at rope drop or hop into line at the end of the night, even shorter. This seems much more fair. It was not great that people who had already riden lots of times in the past were filling up the VQ each morning, taking spots away from those who had never experienced it at all. This levels the playing field and I think it's a smart move on Disney's part from a guest relations perspective.

While it's not brand new, I don't think it's run it's course of being a hot new ride at all. It had just opened 4 months before Disney shut down due to the pandemic. There are still a whole lot of us that haven't taken our make-up trip to see it for the first time. I'm sure the fact that a lot of Star Wars fanatics and local theme park junkies were able to ride already will take a bit of pressure off, there is still a ton of interest.

Our original plan was to do park hoppers with multiple reservations for HS so we could have multiple chances to try to jump in the VQ, only paying if that was unsuccessful. I'm not sure what we will do now. I guess we might just drop the park hopper idea and plan to pay for more rides, I think we would still come out ahead in that scenario. I'm glad I didn't already commit the $500 to park hoppers because I didn't trust them not to keep messing around with the way things work.

 

[wisblue]

I haven't read all 8 pages of comments yet...but am I the only one thinking their IT infrastructure can't handle all the activity at 7 AM (virtual queues for 2 lines, paid lightning lanes for on site guests) and they just went, well we'll put ROTR into standby only.

if you see my post above (#126) I’m suggesting a somewhat less cynical explanation. I think this might be just temporary while they get some of the other things in place.

I also wonder if at some point we might see a virtual queue like the one they tested at Soarin a few years ago. Instead of having a virtual queue that you join remotely, they could let the standby line build to a certain point, like maybe an hour, and then provide people wanting to join the standby line with a time or boarding group number that would allow them to do other things for an hour or so and then come back and join the standby line later. So, instead of waiting in the standby line for 2 hours or more you could come back later for a 1 hour wait. That would also keep the standby line from backing up into walkways.

Having it be standby only for a few days or weeks can give them an idea how long that line will really get.

 

[ofcabbagesandkings]

WDW really has completely turned into a casino now. Every bit of fun will cost you extra, and the mouse, I mean the house, always wins in the end.

ETA: I won't be surprised if merch sales drop, though. Once guests have to pay $100 for a family of 4 to ride ROTR one time, will they really pay another $100 for custom-built droids? Or drop $20 per fizzy cocktail at Ogas? Disney executives might not want to believe it, but people's budgets do have limits. The money for LL access will come from somewhere else.

 

[MrBellatrixLestrange]

Every bit of fun will cost you extra, and the mouse, I mean the house, always wins in the end.

This is kind of unfair, I've never had a casino increase my cost mid-hand...

 

[ShayBells]

WDW really has completely turned into a casino now. Every bit of fun will cost you extra, and the mouse, I mean the house, always wins in the end.

ETA: I won't be surprised if merch sales drop, though. Once guests have to pay $100 for a family of 4 to ride ROTR one time, will they really pay another $100 for custom-built droids? Or drop $20 per fizzy cocktail at Ogas? Disney executives might not want to believe it, but people's budgets do have limits. The money for LL access will come from somewhere else.

I’ve already decided not to make any reservations to save the money and we usually do at least two nice places or buffets. And I’ve seen more then one comment of how others will cut down on other stuff to pay for this. They won’t really be making more money overall if this ends up being true for most.

 

[Buddy40]

I’m guessing WDW is using this as an opportunity to collect data on a standby line for RoR while crowd levels are low. Possibly to help calibrate Genie+ and also gauge guest satisfaction as compared to the VQ which left many with a less than magical experience. Based on the “paused” language, I’d expect the VQ to be back for the 50th and high crowd days during the holiday season.

 

[expialidocious]

So, our DHS day is 9/23 and we haven't been since 1997. I thought about changing the day to 9/22, but after thinking, we were not guaranteed a VQ even though with how the crowds have been we probably would get one. However - I think I have decided to just keep the schedule we have. So since we are rope dropping it, how do you think we rope drop it? Like where do we go? We follow a CM correct? Or do we have to go down the path ourselves? If that's the case, what way SHOULD we go (what's fastest?) - Through Toy Story Land or pass by Grand Avenue? Any other tips? Thanks for your help.

 

[Dis Dragon]

So, our DHS day is 9/23 and we haven't been since 1997. I thought about changing the day to 9/22, but after thinking, we were not guaranteed a VQ even though with how the crowds have been we probably would get one. However - I think I have decided to just keep the schedule we have. So since we are rope dropping it, how do you think we rope drop it? Like where do we go? We follow a CM correct? Or do we have to go down the path ourselves? If that's the case, what way SHOULD we go (what's fastest?) - Through Toy Story Land or pass by Grand Avenue? Any other tips? Thanks for your help.

Just follow the CM with the ROTR this way sign, there will assuredly will be one to guide the several hundreds of people in that direction. My guess is they'll route it in front of Star Tours.

 

[bsmcneil]

Oof. 9/23 is my DHS day, too. Well - bleh.

 

[expialidocious]

Just follow the CM with the ROTR this way sign, there will assuredly will be one to guide the several hundreds of people in that direction. My guess is they'll route it in front of Star Tours.

Thank you! I assumed it would work that way (ie follow the CM) but it’s nice hearing it from a veteran who has a better grasp of how things are done usually!

 

[bsmcneil]

Disney even went out of their way to tout how VQ would remain free during their Genie+ pep talk last month. Very disingenuous.

The ride performs poorly (# of guests per hour) considering the cost of it. Why not see if they can make (an additional) $20 a person, instead of merely the cost of admission.

Similarly (and I haven't seen this posted yet but I may have missed it) - why did they just announce that you could do part of the process at 6am?

 

[scrappinginontario]

So, our DHS day is 9/23 and we haven't been since 1997. I thought about changing the day to 9/22, but after thinking, we were not guaranteed a VQ even though with how the crowds have been we probably would get one. However - I think I have decided to just keep the schedule we have. So since we are rope dropping it, how do you think we rope drop it? Like where do we go? We follow a CM correct? Or do we have to go down the path ourselves? If that's the case, what way SHOULD we go (what's fastest?) - Through Toy Story Land or pass by Grand Avenue? Any other tips? Thanks for your help.

The majority of people are successful getting a VQ BG. Personally, if it were me I would keep the Sep 22 reservation and try to get a BG. You may wish to book a 2nd DHS reservation in the 23rd then switch it. All parks are open this week on the calendar. Just a thought.

Similarly (and I haven't seen this posted yet but I may have missed it) - why did they just announce that you could do part of the process at 6am?

Sorry, what do you mean by ‘do part of the process at 6am?’

 

[wisblue]

Sorry, what do you mean by ‘do part of the process at 6am?’

I assume he’s referring to the process of joining the VQ for ROTR.

Within the last few weeks they changed this process so that in the hour before the VQ opened at 7 AM you could confirm which members of your planning party had park reservations for DHS and were eligible for the VQ.

There are details about this, including sample screens, in the thread that discusses the Boarding Group process.

To me this is just another indication that the elimination of the VQ at ROTR is only temporary.

 

[scrappinginontario]

I assume he’s referring to the process of joining the VQ for ROTR.

Within the last few weeks they changed this process so that in the hour before the VQ opened at 7 AM you could confirm which members of your planning party had park reservations for DHS and were eligible for the VQ.

There are details about this, including sample screens, in the thread that discusses the Boarding Group process.

To me this is just another indication that the elimination of the VQ at ROTR is only temporary.

Thanks for your help! Yes, I'm one of the people who helps update the RotR thread so I was aware of that change but wasn't sure if there was something new that happened at exactly 6am that we needed to be aware of for that thread. It's hard to keep on top of all the changes being made so the moderators are constantly monitoring threads for changes we may have missed.

The opening posts of the RotR thread have been updated with the latest 'confirm your party' and 'refresh' information.

 

[ckelly14]

My son is a huge Star Wars fan so I will be paying whatever they ask when we go in April 2022. Just need to accept the fact, just like scheduling my colonoscopy when I’m 50

 

[MrBellatrixLestrange]

My son is a huge Star Wars fan so I will be paying whatever they ask when we go in April 2022. Just need to accept the fact, just like scheduling my colonoscopy when I’m 50

And this is why they know they can charge, so many people going to HS are going with Star Wars in mind and therefore the idea of not doing the main ride is anathema to them. Sure, the locals that can pop in may just bide their time but when you can only come every five years or less it would significantly diminish the entire experience to miss out on such an integral part. I suspect they're thinking many visitors won't realize there are such add-ons until their trip so they can essentially sneak it onto the cost for some people who may be really pushing their means for such a trip but won't want to miss out when they're on their vacation. For our upcoming trip I've already told everyone to start considering how much, if anything, they're willing to pay to due RotR. Some undoubtedly will opt to go ahead while others will pass. I'm the only one that's ridden it and I don't have an answer yet though I'm leaning toward being willing to pay on the low end but expecting the cost will be on the high end pricing me out.

 

[cpep42]

Yay...we get to pay for something else. Doesn't that make it MAGICAL.

 

[Miffy]

I've done RotR a few times, and have had to wait in the queue inside for 30 or 45 minutes while something was being repaired and also have been in line and sent away when something major broke down and the ride was closed. Because I didn't pay anything but just happened to get a BG, I was disappointed but that was the extent of it--disappointment.

Now if I pay whatever the IAS cost is gonna be--because no way am I standing in line for 3 hours--and I have to wait in the line for 30 or 45 minutes and/or the ride breaks down and there's no convenient time I can return, I'm not going to be amused. At all.

For those of you who are guessing that the standby line won't be that bad, I hope you're right, but my sense is that standby for RotR, as soon as there are lots of guests in the park again, will be 3+ hours a half hour after park open. I think this because BGs were gone in seconds and it's an attraction that nearly everyone who goes to DHS wants to experience.

I gather that park attendance is low right now, but that's hardly likely to continue. And when I was at WDW in May, the standby line for FoP was so long--about 3 hours--almost immediately after park opening and sometimes worse in the early afternoon that we skipped it on a couple of DAK days.

 

[TigerlilyAJ]

I'm sure others have noted, but I'm another person who ultimately thinks this is better than the darn lottery. Time or money, your choice. The lottery was not a choice, and it's not a method that gets people to decide how badly they want to ride it. Here, people who have ridden before, whether a year ago or yesterday, and people with only mild interest are more likely to stay away and make room for the most avid visitors. That's for the good.
I'm also with the travel agent who replied to Tom Bricker's column about this with how much easier it makes her job of explaining RotR to her clients, who of course are not experienced visitors.
I'm planning a trip with a SW diehard who is also a WDW newb. They have a mobility issue that makes, say, a 4-hour wait a hard time physically, but I am much happier knowing we can budget for a Lightning Lane if the lines are long. But this is a person so desperate to ride that having the wait option, no matter how painful, is better than risking the lottery. Anything to avoid the misery of not getting on, as happened to my family the first time we tried. (They didn't get to our BG.)