RotR Planning & Daily Boarding Group Discussion - *CLOSED*

[quinnc19]

If they don't get up early with you, they can meet you in the park of course but they won't be able to join a BG and ride.

Yes, they can meet you later.

 

[DavidNYC]

Yes, they can meet you later.

To be clear - they can meet you later BUT will not be able to ride ROTR with you. If they want a BG - they have to be in the park.

 

[Tlkc]

Is there access to bathroom facilities whilst waiting outside - due to a health condition I can't wait for too long without restroom access.

Yes, there are bathrooms.

 

[Opie100]

Opened at 6:45. I tapped in immediately, boarding group 4. Just got off the ride!

Thanks for posting. What time did you arrive to the park?

 

[mamaode]

There is a guest relations window outsidde of the park. As you face the entrance it's all the way to the left, left of the gift shop that is also outside of the tapstiles

All of the ticket windows appeared to be closed at that time. There were cast members walking around with tablets to make sure anyone with a paper ticket was transferred to a plastic hard ticket but that was it. Maybe closer to opening time they opened the Guest Relations.

 

[Nycraig79]

Just wanted to let everyone know that the ticket windows opened at 6am today. We were able to get our tickets and be in line by 6

All of the ticket windows appeared to be closed at that time. There were cast members walking around with tablets to make sure anyone with a paper ticket was transferred to a plastic hard ticket but that was it. Maybe closer to opening time they opened the Guest Relations.

2 ticket booths/windows opened at 6:30 today. All the way to the left

 

[hiroMYhero]

Just wanted to let everyone know that the ticket windows opened at 6am today. We were able to get our tickets and be in line by 6

2 ticket booths/windows opened at 6:30 today. All the way to the left

Did the windows open at 6:00a or 6:30a?

 

[yulilin3]

Guest relations windows open an hour prior to official park opening, I just double checked with the HUB.

 

[TheMaxRebo]

It feels like the only fix is get it running at full capacity and stop losing hours a day to downtime. Until then, I don’t think they’re going to be able to do much to discourage crowds from coming early. Bit of an odd thing to say when Disney is moving to 6 AM openings next week anyways.

That will help, but I tihnk we have seen that quality rides will still bring the crowds - there are still lots of people showing up 1 hour+ before park opening at AK for Flight of Passage and MK for 7DMT ... obviously a little apples and oranges as FP/standby for BG .... but I guess from a "crowds getting there early" persepctive, is this *that* much different than the crowds that have been coming for years for those attractions? (obviously ht big difference is the BGs and if you don't get a BG you can't ride so you have to go early)

 

[Nycraig79]

Just wanted to let everyone know that the ticket windows opened at 6am today. We were able to get our tickets and be in line by 6

2 ticket booths/windows opened at 6:30 today. All the way to the left

Did the windows open at 6:00a or 6:30a?

I’m sorry, it was too early to be typing. The windows opened at 6:30am. Sorry for any confusion.

 

[hiroMYhero]

I’m sorry, it was too early to be typing. The windows opened at 6:30am. Sorry for any confusion.

Thank you! 6:30 was very close to park opening!

 

[SG131]

Not opening the parking lot would just create lines outside the parking lot. The safest and fairest process is to allow folks to get there and wait.

To the CM's earlier comment about what's "sustainable" -- if there are enough people entering early, it's worth it for Disney to open the gates earlier. I don't know what "enough" is, though. But if they are getting 12K people entering the park by 7:30am that's a good number.

Keeping people outside of the parking lot would actually be extremely unsafe. There is not that much room for people to queue before they start blocking major roadways. Plus, as PP said then you'll have a lot of people taking a Lyft to boardwalk and walking, which many did opening day because they weren't sure when the parking lot would open. Disney doesn't want all that extra traffic traipsing through the hotel lobby. Plus it wouldn't be fair that someone could walk over from boardwalk at 5:30 am and get a better spot than someone stuck sitting in their car until 6 outside of the entrance.

It seems to be that Disney doesn't like the queue to extend past security and that prompts park opening, but just a guess. Which from a safety point would make sense, they'd like to at least check the backpacks of the people waiting in the mob. Especially since someone tried to skip bag check and walk in with his gun in his backpack at AK Sunday. Thankfully security and bag check worked as it should in that situation.

 

[Opie100]

Keeping people outside of the parking lot would actually be extremely unsafe. There is not that much room for people to queue before they start blocking major roadways. Plus, as PP said then you'll have a lot of people taking a Lyft to boardwalk and walking, which many did opening day because they weren't sure when the parking lot would open. Disney doesn't want all that extra traffic traipsing through the hotel lobby. Plus it wouldn't be fair that someone could walk over from boardwalk at 5:30 am and get a better spot than someone stuck sitting in their car until 6 outside of the entrance.

It seems to be that Disney doesn't like the queue to extend past security and that prompts park opening, but just a guess. Which from a safety point would make sense, they'd like to at least check the backpacks of the people waiting in the mob. Especially since someone tried to skip bag check and walk in with his gun in his backpack at AK Sunday. Thankfully security and bag check worked as it should in that situation.

Yeah, that's what I was trying to say -- safer to let people park in the lot and wait at the entrance.

We've seen reports of the line extending pass security at times this week - undoubtedly safety is a consideration but it looks like they are reasonably comfortable throngs at the entrance for a period of time.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

Just keep in mind the park opens at 6am 12/26-12/31. I would expect the same 30 min early open from that but keep watching here.

Thank you so much! We are going a few days after Christmas so I will definitely keep my eyes peeled here to see what time DHS actually opens on a 6 am opening day. This thread has been incredibly helpful!

 

[courtney1188]

A well trained CM will not discuss safety procedures

Right. I assume that’s partly what he was alluding to when he said there are many factors to consider.

(And to another post, yes, of course people will arrive earlier when park times are earlier next week - I got the impression he meant after the holidays.)

 

[Krios16!]

Thank you to everyone how has shared their experiences and techniques! Our family will be there in May but we have visited SWGE twice this year (post RoTR). I can't wait and will keep a close eye on this feed until then!

 

[Alynw]

Epcot is a 15 minute Skyliner ride away... With a 2 hour window, I can't see much conflict. We were at Animal Kingdom when our group was called last week.

What happens if u just sat down at ur ADR and get ur ROR notification but u have a reservation for Droid Depot 1.5hr after ur ADR. There is no way ur doing em both. Or if ur in line at ROR and the ride breaks down but ur so far in line u dont get evacuated and miss ur ADR or any other paid reservations. There are numerous situations where this could cause some conflict with other previous scheduled reservations. I have all my fp's setup from 3-6pm and then droid at 630 and then ogas at 7:55, both are 45min plus u have to arrive 15min early to register. So if I dont get the perfect time for boarding pass, it will absolutely conflict with something. Curious to see if this has happened to anyone yet and how Disney handled it.

 

[FCDub]

What happens if u just sat down at ur ADR and get ur ROR notification but u have a reservation for Droid Depot 1.5hr after ur ADR. There is no way ur doing em both. Or if ur in line at ROR and the ride breaks down but ur so far in line u dont get evacuated and miss ur ADR or any other paid reservations. There are numerous situations where this could cause some conflict with other previous scheduled reservations. I have all my fp's setup from 3-6pm and then droid at 630 and then ogas at 7:55, both are 45min plus u have to arrive 15min early to register. So if I dont get the perfect time for boarding pass, it will absolutely conflict with something. Curious to see if this has happened to anyone yet and how Disney handled it.

Life is all about reacting to developments and adapting.

If the above what-if scenario, which invents a series of events unlikely to all occur at the same time, happens, go to guest assistance and they will help you sort it out. And until there’s a conflict, don’t spend the energy and stress worrying about it.

 

[Alynw]

My issue with those theories: when they have opened “early”, the whole park has opened. That means they have a fully staffed park. They didn’t just call all those CMs at 4 am & tell them, get here by 5:30. They are planning to open early on some level, because they have those CMs scheduled to start that early.

And I agree with other posters, opening the whole park 1 -2 hours before announced opening & having guests arrive to find all the boarding groups gone well before opening only encourages more people to keep showing up earlier & earlier. I don’t know what the whole answer is, but I don’t know hat this is it.

It doesn't matter if they open the park early or not, people are still going to come early. Same with the boarding groups, dosent matter if they wait, the people that get there early will still get first chance to get boarding group. Opening early doesn't encourage anything, the people that are showing up early now would still show up early whether they opened up or not, it wouldn't change anything. People line up at 3am at Walmart to save $5 on crockpot for black friday, people camp out on sidewalks 4-8hr early waiting on theaters to open for big movie releases, they show up hours early for concert tickets. When ur dealing with a limited supply, there is nothing Disney or anyone can do to change this. Say Disney decided to not even open the park until 1pm in the afternoon and u really wanted to ride this and know its going to be packed, would u still show up at 1pm or would u go early to get in line. Same difference. U would go early and be there at 11am waiting. The only issue here is the simple fact some people hate getting up early.

 

[Lewisc]

+

What happens if u just sat down at ur ADR and get ur ROR notification but u have a reservation for Droid Depot 1.5hr after ur ADR. There is no way ur doing em both. Or if ur in line at ROR and the ride breaks down but ur so far in line u dont get evacuated and miss ur ADR or any other paid reservations. There are numerous situations where this could cause some conflict with other previous scheduled reservations. I have all my fp's setup from 3-6pm and then droid at 630 and then ogas at 7:55, both are 45min plus u have to arrive 15min early to register. So if I dont get the perfect time for boarding pass, it will absolutely conflict with something. Curious to see if this has happened to anyone yet and how Disney handled it.

RotR doesn't impose a penalty for no shows. Droid Depot, Olga's and most ADRs have financial consequences for no shows. You should consider skipping RotR. No issues. No hassle.