Rise of the Resistance Boarding Group Timing
We at TouringPlans.com have been monitoring the Boarding Group process for the new Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance attraction at Disney’s Hollywood Studios in Florida. This blog post looks at when Boarding Groups are called. I have been hesitant about doing this analysis because it would be easy to draw false inferences from it. I begin with a simple chart the shows critical Boarding Group events over the past couple of weeks:
You can read my blog post on getting in a Boarding Group. From a guest perspective, the benefit of the Boarding Groups is that you do not have to wait in a physical queue for multiple hours; instead, you can do other stuff while waiting for your chance to experience Rise of the Resistance. This works out well for Disney, of course, because guests are more likely to spend money and be satisfied customers when they are not in a queue for multiple hours.
Note that we do not know specifics about Boarding Groups:
- We don’t know how many people are placed in a Boarding Group.
- We don’t know whether the size of a Boarding Group changes from day to day or within a day. Disney may do both.
- We don’t know how Disney chooses the number of Boarding Groups is assigns each day.
- We don’t know how Disney chooses which Boarding Groups to assign each day (the first group assigned varies).
The Boarding Group system not only helps customers, but it also hides operational problems. If the ride breaks down, Disney is not posting that the ride is closed. Disney may slow the rate that it calls Boarding Groups if the ride is down, but it has never stopped calling Boarding Groups. And while it might seem that calling more Boarding Groups per day is a good thing in terms of ride performance, we do not know whether that represents operational improvements since we do not know the composition of each Boarding Group.
This analysis is based on data from December 18-25, 2019. On these dates Hollywood Studios opened at 7:00 am, and the Boarding Groups did not start until park opening. On December 16, 2019, Disney started calling higher-numbered Boarding Groups “Backup Boarding Groups.” It might seem like Disney is distributing Boarding Groups to more people if there are “Backup Groups,” but that is not necessarily the case. Each day, Disney has changed the first Boarding Group number and the threshold for which Boarding Groups are considered Backup Boarding Groups. For this analysis, we are considering Board Groups closed once Backup Boarding Groups start. We also track when Backup Boarding Groups close.
Ride closing time is based on when Boarding Groups stopped being called. It could be that the ride closes after all the Boarding Groups were called, or if it breaks down late, and they don’t try to get the ride back online.
The charts below show times that each Boarding Group was called. A plateau in the graph would suggest a delay in operations. Without knowing if all the Boarding Groups are the same size, it not possible to say whether more people are getting to ride Rise of the Resistance.
Many of our users want an estimate when their Boarding Group will be called. With the dynamic aspect of the Boarding Group, it is not possible to know exactly when Disney will call a specific Boarding Group. You can use the My Disney Experience app to check the progress of the Boarding Groups. The charts below show the first Boarding Group by the hour. Remember this data is from days when Hollywood Studios opened at 7:00 am.
| 12/18 | 12/19 | 12/20 | 12/21 | 12/22 | 12/23 | 12/24 | 12/25 | |
| 8 AM | 7 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 10 | 11 | 12 | |
| 9 AM | 7 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 15 |
| 10 AM | 7 | 26 | 24 | 22 | 31 | 11 | 30 | 15 |
| 11 AM | 19 | 34 | 33 | 34 | 44 | 30 | 41 | 15 |
| 12 PM | 27 | 45 | 45 | 43 | 52 | 36 | 54 | 25 |
| 1 PM | 37 | 63 | 57 | 59 | 63 | 48 | 65 | 35 |
| 2 PM | 48 | 74 | 68 | 69 | 81 | 57 | 79 | 37 |
| 3 PM | 56 | 86 | 83 | 76 | 89 | 71 | 94 | 44 |
| 4 PM | 69 | 100 | 95 | 89 | 103 | 84 | 110 | 53 |
| 5 PM | 77 | 112 | 110 | 105 | 113 | 96 | 121 | 63 |
| 6 PM | 90 | 123 | 126 | 123 | 128 | 109 | 142 | 64 |
| 7 PM | 100 | 133 | 138 | 139 | 144 | 129 | 145 | 78 |
| 8 PM | 157 | 153 | 160 | 99 | ||||
| 9 PM | 166 |
Backup Boarding Groups
The addition of Backup Boarding Groups is a pure marketing move. It gives people with high-numbered Boarding Groups a lower expectation that they will experience Rise of the Resistance. Every day after the first day that has had Backup Boarding Groups, some of the Backup Boarding Groups have been called. Since December 16, all non-Backup Boarding Groups have been called each day, so everyone in one of those “normal” Boarding Groups has been offered a chance to ride.
The chart below shows when Backup Boarding Groups started being called.
Even with this analysis, our recommended strategy is the same. Arrive early and get in a Boarding Group for Rise of the Resistance as early as possible. Follow a Hollywood Studios Touring Plan. When your Boarding Pass is called, pause the Touring Plan and ride Rise of the Resistance. When done, re-optimize and follow your plan.
Do you find these types of statistical analysis useful? A TouringPlans subscription helps support the data analysis posts you see here on the blog, but even better, it provide tools for you to make your vacation easier. From crowd calendars to room requests and from premium touring plans to wait times directly on your phone, there’s so much that you can enjoy with a TouringPlans subscription for one low annual fee. Learn about these features and more here.
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There is a window of time on your boarding pass in which you have to return by. We had an appointment to build a lightsaber at the time our boarding pass was called. We spoke to the cast members at Saavi’s and they explained the window and showed me on the app. If I recall correctly the window was a couple of hours. I wish I remembered exactly how long the window was.
This may have been addressed before, but I didn’t find it. What happens if you have a dining reservation at the same time as your BG? The cancellation policy is the day before without being charged, but obviously we would have no idea when/if we got a BG.
Dont forget before you go, remove people that are not in your party off you MDE… that way you can select all, saves time
1) Yes, you have to be thru the turnstiles having scanned your magicband/ticket and done your finger print.
2) One person gets a boarding group for all of the members of the party. You will do this by checking each name in your MyDisneyExperience account before finalizing your submission to obtain a boarding group. If you each get your own you will not be in the same boarding group and cannot ride at the same time. You should all be connected in MyDisneyExperience. In most cases, one person sets up the MyDisneyExperience account and adds all the members of their party with their associated tickets. In cases where you each have your account you will need to “friend” each other so you can see each other.
3) Yes, there is an advantage that multiple people try to get a boarding pass as seconds can make a different in what boarding group you will be placed in. Only one of you will get all the way thru and then the other won’t be able to complete the process so it’s okay if you are both trying. Whoever gets in fastest will have the better boarding group.
We are going 2/18/20 and I’d really like to do what we can to make sure we get on Rise of the Resistance. A couple of questions:
1) Do we need to physically be in the park at 8am to get a Boarding Group #? How strict is this? What if I’m in the shuttle on my way from the parking structure? Or standing in line to get in with my ticket? I’d like to know how much margin there is here.
2) Do each person get a boarding group number for everyone in their group? How does this work? If its my wife and I and out 2 children, do I need to link the tickets somehow ahead of time?
3) Is there an advantage to having 2 people trying to get boarding group number at the same time? Or is it by ticket?
Thanks in advance!
-Douglas
No, there is definitely no advantage if the park opens at or before 8am because the first breakfast you can get is 8am. Even if opening was at 9am, it does not matter where you are in the park to get your boarding passes so this just might make your morning more pleasant but it’s not going to help with boarding passes. And if you’re trying to be at the front of rope drop to mad-dash to anything in the early, morning breakfast is definitely a hindrance.
Is there an advantage to having an early morning breakfast reservation prior to the park opening? Or do you need to be standing in a specifc Que area to obtain the boarding passes?
Does anyone have experience with the following scenario: Multiple people in your group. Each person has a separate My Experience Account. All parties are linked to all parties in their accounts.
Anyone know which is best:
1. All parties log into a ONE member’s account.
2. All parties log into their OWN accounts.
It would seem to me that option 2 would be best. But maybe there are reasons NOT to go that route. Please share your experiences.
Also, in my opinion, this method of booking boarding groups is the most fair. It is truly first come, first serve. Once they move this to FASTPASS+, the advantage goes to the guests staying at Disney Resorts.
This can be avoided if your entire group was under one account in the MDE App. This way, all six of you can be trying to book BG for the entire group at the same time and whoever gets in first will have the best chance and everyone else will be locked out.
They were all logged into my account. So the same. Practice a run thru is my suggestion. You won’t be able to get all the way thru but if you are awake when the park opens you can get partially thru so you have an idea how it’s gonna go and you can be quick day of.
Here’s what I did:
1) paid for premium unlimited data on our cell phones a couple of days before we travelled to WDW (I immediately took this off once we got home)
2) walked thru with my teens, mom and hubby how to do it beforehand
3) we arrived about 45-50 min by car before opening
4) went to the right most turnstiles as once they start letting people in there are more turnstiles over there
5)told my family to force close their Disney apps as soon as we were all thru the turnstiles and make sure they were on LTE and not WiFi. The teens rolled their eyes a lot at my constant instructions and worry 😉
4) we pushed our way as close to SWGE rope as we could get and waited and waited while I constantly checked my phone for the time
5) 5 min before open I told my family to get their phones out and go to check status page off the RotR page
6) 1 min before opening I told them all to start refreshing their screens by pulling down from the top center of the phone and as soon as the link opened up do what we had practiced by selecting all members of the party first, etc.
7) Then we pushed our way thru to Millenium Falcon which we got on about 45 min after opening even being at the park more than 45 min before official opening (so I’m gonna call that still a 90 min wait) and by the time we were done with that ride the second day our boarding group was called. The first day we rode other rides first in Toy Story Land. Came back to SWGE around 1015am and were thru the single rider line for Millenium Falcon within 30 min. The single rider line doesn’t open the first couple of hours the park is open.
My opinion is that this is nerve wracking. You will get one even if you’re slower but it might not be good till close to closing timemaking a really long day (when you’ve had to get up at 4 or 5am just for the opportunity to try). I sure hope Disney changes this soon.
Were all 5 people logged into the same account or 5 different accounts?
Just to share my experience. We were there on the 16th. One question I didnt research thoroughly ahead of time was whether or not it was better to be on Wi-Fi or 4G. I had read a few accoubts of people saying 4G was better because the Wi-Fi was spotty. I was not connected to wi-fi. I got to the part where you select the guests and my phone got hung up trying to pull up the names. I kept retrying and kept getting hung up in the same spot. I nearly panicked. Everyone else has theirs in seconds and started moving towards their destinations. My hands started shaking…i,got teary-eyed and sick at my stomach, my kids looked worried and they started to see their dreams slip away. I connected to wi-fi and was able to get thru the process. This was at 7:02. I got boarding group 99 of 110 and we were called around 3 pm I think. That was ridiculously nerve wracking and I will never do it again lol
We had six in our party and five of us tried but I was first both times all the way thru. Make sure you check everyone’s names (all five of you who are trying) so you don’t end up with different boarding groups or having to take longer when it tells you someone needs to be taken off your list. Only one of you will get all the way thru so all keep going until someone yells out done (and by done not just in but had a number). You’ll have to refresh multiple times to even be able to start so if someone yells out they are in when they’re link shows up and someone else pauses it’ll slow them down. This happened to us the first day and we ended up with group 71. The second time we were much faster and better at it but even then having to click multiple names makes you a bit slower and we got group 30 something. 30 something got called about an hour or so after opening and 71 about four hours later. A single second slower makes hours of difference.
If you have 5 people in your party, should all 5 try to get a boarding group and then accept the best number? What is the best strategy for a group of this size that all have cell fones?
You just pull down to refresh. Click on my status before 7am and about 6:59am just start pulling down from the top of the screen until Join Boarding Group is not grayed out.
How is everyone “refreshing” the MDE app during the frenzy when booking boarding groups? Are you closing the app completely and going back in or just hitting the “my status” and back arrow until it shows that you can reserve a boarding group? I’m asking because i know seconds matter. Thanks in advance.
Hi! The boarding passes are separate from everything else and will not interfere. You have two hours to use them from when they become available so you should be able to coordinate. Also, if you’re really nice and take screen shots of your fastpasses and boarding passes before they expire if you do have conflicts Disney employees are very forgiving and will make exceptions to let you in FastPass lines or the rise of the resistance. One woman told me her phone wasn’t plugged in all the way and died and she got to the park late and couldn’t get a boarding group. They let her ride RotR anyway. Just be nice. I’d also drive. We were thru to the parking lot very quickly. Only a couple of cars in each parking lot entrance line an hour before opening time.
I have several questions I hope someone can help with. We will be at HS on Thursday Jan 16th. Staying at Pop Century. Will the sky liner get is there one hour early? What mode of transportation to the part is most recommended given the need to be in the part 1 hour early and not risk any delays? If I drive my car, how long does it take to get from the lot, thru security and into the park?
We have reservations for the Droid build at 9:50, Oga’s at 10:45 and Savis at 12:30. What if our boarding group conflicts with these times? I am so lost on how to coordinate all the activities we want to make sure to do. Has anyone found that there is no need for reservations to build the Droids and Oga’s? Or are those places packed as well?
Also, we have random fast passes for later in the day for other rides. Will that prevent us from being given a BG? Obviously we would gladly skip those over missing out on the star wars ride.
So sorry for all the questions but my 14 yr old son has been planning and saving $ for this trip for months and I would very much appreciate any help/guidance/coordination expertise!
Thanks!
The Skyliner will start running about an hour before the park opens. If you want to get to the park earlier, and you have a car, drive. Walking from your car to security is about 5 minutes. Go to security on the far right side. Most people line up on the left. Security will open about an hour before the park opens. People will be waiting before that. Go to the far right turnstiles after security. Turnstiles will open 30-45 before the park opens.
You have a 2-hour return window for your Boarding Group. If you are a bit early or late for your other reservations you will be fine. You can also go to a Guest Experience Team member and they can help adjust your schedule.
FastPass will affect your access to Boarding Groups. They are completely different systems.
We went yesterday and similar. Arrived at 6:20am and it was packed. My whole family was attempting to get boarding passes. Constantly refreshing. Got 70 when others around us got 51 and 9 and 103. All of us exactly at 7am trying to get in. Seconds make hours of difference. We boarded a little after 11:20am I believe. It was extremely stressful and we had 1pm plans out of the park which we just barely made. Not knowing what time you’re going, getting up at 4:30am and potentially not get a pass or one for around park closing is really not a pleasant experience imho. But the ride is amazing.
I was at the park at 6 am this morning with a party of 5. It was so busy already then, an hour before the park opened. We got through the parking, baggage check, line to get the actual card tickets from my purchase confirmation email, then the huge cowded lines to enter the park and scan your cards, bands, phones etc. Finally at 6:30 am we were all herded towards Galaxy Edge but had to wait for 7 am to enter. Everyone (thousands) had their phone app open on “my disney experience”, Galexy Edge and waiting for the opening of 7am for the requesting a boarding pass to be open online. 7 am sharp, the app was available for requesting your boarding pass and within seconds people started cheering because they obviously got their quued number…my app wouldnt refresh and open up immediately and it was extremely stressful windering if I would be able to book my party of 5 before the passes are all booked up. What felt like so much longer but was only about 2 minutes, I got a boarding number of 103 with a message below stating that boarding passes of 114 and higher were not necessarily getting to board today..depends on how the day went. We finally came up for boarding at 1:45 pm and boarding passes ended up going past 114 but what a stressful experience and frustration for those who didnt get in the first 2 mins!!! Crazy busy but the ride was worth all the stress!! The ride was a 20 minute amazing experience for all of us! Get there early so not to be disspointed!!
Hi! I’m getting ready to visit Galaxy’s Edge on February 3, but would love to see updates as to when the boarding pass are used up for the day?
I find the numbers you provided intriguing and was wondering if you could provide more? Please advise and thank you!
You can see updated data at: https://forum.touringplans.com/t/rise-of-the-resistance-boarding-group-data/67455/137
Does anyone know if you can have your three fast passes in a different park, say Epcot, and go to Hollywood Studios and join a boarding group first thing in the morning? Or does this count as one of your fast passes?
Yes. The Boarding Groups are completely separate from FastPasses.
Anyone bringing their young family members in the ride? If so, how did it go? I have a 4.5 year old in our party.
Whole party, or you’ll error out.
The whole party has to touch into the park. Any or all of the party can leave the park before getting a Boarding Group. You can technically be anywhere at park opening and get a Boarding Group, you just have to physically tap in.
Wondering if the entire group requesting a boarding pass has to physically be at DHS in order to reserve a boarding pass or just the My Disney Experience App User?
We arrived at the park at 5:45am this morning and inside the gate at 6:30am. At 7am ppl were cheering all around us, yet no option to obtain a boarding group on our app. After multiple refreshes, we were finally awarded a backup group of 141 at 7:03am. Very disappointed that after doing all the right steps, this was the outcome.
The bands must tap in *and* fingerprints must be scanned. So if your whole party wants to ride, your whole party needs to be inside the tapstiles.
Can some part members bring others magic bands into the park or does the whole party need to be present and tapped in for boarding passes? I am planning to head to the park early with my husband and have my mother come later with the kids. Do I have to make everyone come early?
Do I have to be in Galaxy’s Edge to get a boarding group? Can I be heading toward Toy Story Land at park open and still get a boarding group? Is the only stipulation that you have to be tapped into the park via MagicBand?
You and your entire party need to have tapped into the park. You don’t have to be anywhere specific to join a Boarding Group.
Arrived 5:50. Gates opened 6:06. At rope drop by 6:25. Boarding passes available at 7. Wouldn’t work for me or wife. Everyone else around us got boarding passes in 20s and 30s. We stopped to ask staff for help. When we got into that line we got group 159, without assistance by staff. Meanwhile everyone at rope drop blew past us to Falcon, which is now 210 min wait at 7:24 am. If I were to clearly express my rage, this post would be removed by administrator. I hope u all have better luck. Ur day will rise and fall with the tech
I read that a lot of would-be RotR riders got messed up by glitching Disney IT this morning. Didn’t seem to be any rhyme or reason to it, and as you said, a lot of people who did everything right ended up very unhappy. I hope Disney’s tech people take a look at what they can do on their end to minimize this kind of thing.
Same problem as the previous poster. In the park today a good 35 min before opening. They announced boarding group instructions at 6:59. At 7 am everyone started get groups and my entire party wasn’t showing up as eligible to book (as if we hadn’t entered the park). By the time we got to a CM the best they could do was squeeze us into a late back up group. I get that it’s a quick draw to get a group but if the tech doesn’t work then they need to figure out a better way. Just have a line. If a line is long and I’m frustrated it is what it is. Don’t drag me out of bed at 5 AM for a chance I won’t be a “glitch”. Had I gotten a back up grouo fair and square fine, but people getting to the park after me secures group 15 and I got stuck in “oopsie” sometimes that happens. Ummm… not cool.
Love the charts. Thank you! (I find all of this fascinating)
I am coordinating a party of myself and 6 other family members. I will be the only person in my party with My Disney Experience app. Will I be able to get boarding passes for all or will we have to go to a customer service rep?
We will be going to the park in a couple of days, are people still going an hour early to get in?
Yes, but it not necessary. Be at Security 30 minutes before the park opens and you will be in the park before it opens. As long as you are in the park, people who arrived earlier have no advantage of getting a Boarding Group.
we hit DHS on jan 8 (hopefully after the crazy holiday crowds die down a little). it’s a 6 on the crowd calendar with a 7am open. think we will be ok if we get there at about 6:15 or 6:30?
Yes. You just need to be in the park before it opens and you will have the same advantage of getting a boarding group as the people who arrived before you.
Hi. Some tips. Went to park Sunday 12/29 – just me and my son. Took Uber to park from hotel. Arrived at 530, through security by 540. I did not connect to park WiFi, instead used 5G (ATT). Forced quit app and reopened when I entered Park to ensure we were registered. Beginning at about 558 kept clicking on ROR and closing out until the bell rang announcing Boarding Groups were beginning. Took me two tries and we were in – BG44. I noticed that folks standing right next to us were having issues connecting – i didn’t ask but wonder if that had something to do with being connected to Park WiFi? I also noticed that by 6:15/20 ish (wasn’t watching all that closely tho) all BGs were out.
BG boarding called at about 8:09 am. We boarded shortly thereafter. Took about 20 mins to get through line and because we were only a group of 2 we advanced quickly to round out a group when it came to load.
We came from LA to ride before it drops there. Curious to see what happens there.
Hope this helps. Hope everyone gets to ride!
Awesome advice! Thanks!
I would suggest the following if anyone is showing as not scanned into DHS when you want to join a boarding group: Join the BG anyway, and then find a blue-shirt CM (“Guest Experience Team,” I believe they’re called) and explain that the virtual queue erroneously said you were not all in the park when in fact you were. The CM should be able to add the rest of your group to the BG that you already joined.
The alternative is to abandon the app and ask the CM to assign all of you to a BG, which is not a good option because you will be pushed way down the list of BGs. Always grab a BG at your first opportunity, and if the app falsely complains about missing people, resolve that with a CM.
Thanks Jenny and Andy!
@Lori: yes, the RotR virtual queue is a completely stand-alone thing, not linked to the fastpass system or anything else.
Yes, I haven’t done it but I’ve read these boarding groups are independent of the fastpasses system but you have two hours to ride once your boarding group is called.
Does anyone know if you can go to HS at opening to secure a boarding group and then go to another park, like Epcot, and use fastpasses there? I have fastpasses booked at EP but thought of going over to HS first to get a boarding group. Will this work or will the EP fastpasses not allow the HS boarding group?
Correcting my previous blog – just still upset and mixed up some names
What about the problems Disney is having with the Rise of the Resistance virtual que? We went on Friday December 27th and arrived and were past security by 5 am. Then into the park at 5:40 am. Then the wait until 6 am. And then the day went south. And it happened for hundreds of folks. Saw kids crying. Around me folks were getting boarding passes for group 30. We had nothing. Very dark and hard to find the customer service folks.
We did finally find a customer service area and line was very long — took 23 minutes. By then we got boarding group 118. Not enough customer service folks to fix the glitch quickly.
We then lost out on getting to Millennium Falcon – Smugglers Run early and avoid the long lines. The day went down the tubes quickly —
Spent $275 per ticket for multi-park and hopper. Had dinner reservations at Epcot in the evening. Never made it. What a waste — and all the additional walking we did that day — over 20,000 steps and hours waiting in lines — could barely walk by the end of the night.
We did Millennium Falcon – Smugglers Run later in the day and waited for over 110 minutes.
This virtual que problem for Rise of the Resistance has been going on for days — and they don’t know why it is happening (a manager told me that). It would be nice if you could check your status before they opened the system at 6 am. And Disney needs more customer service help on the grounds. Have you heard about this problem?
We never got to do the Rise of the Resistance — at around 7 pm they communicated we wouldn’t get a chance. Found out the ride had broken down; and groups expected to go on Friday were cancelled.
I will be writing a letter and calling Disney to express my displeasure and get some type of refund due to their negligence. Anyone know the best way to communicate with Disney?
Walt Disney World Guest Communications
PO Box 10040
Lake Buena Vista, FL 32830-0040
wdw.guest.communications@disneyworld.com
I have not seen this info anywhere, so I am going to ask here:
Is Rise or the Resistance participating in Rider Switch?
Thank you for all the analysis, it helps when trying to plan when things are so new and keep changing. Going at the end of Jan/first week Feb 2020, so things may change again by then.
Yes. All rides need a Boarding Group. 2nd group that rides will go through the FastPass queue. (There currently is no FastPass+ for the ride.)
What about the problems they are having with the virtual que? We went on Saturday and arrived and were past security by 5 am. Then into the park at 5:40 am. Then the wait until 6 am. And then the day went south. And it happened for hundreds of folks. Saw kids crying. Around me folks were getting boarding passes for group 30. We had nothing. The glitch was that members of our group were not showing up as being in the park; but they were. Very dark and hard to find the customer service folks.
We did finally find a customer service area and line was very long — took 23 minutes. By then we got boarding group 118. Not enough customer service folks to fix the glitch quickly.
We then lost out on getting to smugglers run early and avoid the long lines. The day went down the tubes quickly —
Spent $275 per ticket for multi-park and hopper. Had dinner reservations at Epoc in the evening. Never made it. What a waste — and all the additional walking we did that day — over 20,000 steps and hours waiting in lines — could barely walk by the end of the night.
We did Smugglers Run later in the day and waited for over 110 minutes. It should have been less than 45 minutes if things had gone correctly.
This virtual que problem has been going on for days — and they don’t know why it is happening ( a manager told me that). It would be nice if you could check your status before they opened the system at 6 am. And Disney needs more customer service help on the grounds. Have you heard about this problem?
We never got to do the millennium falcon — at around 7 pm they communicated we wouldn’t get a chance. Found out the ride had broken down.
I will be writing a letter and calling Disney to express my displeasure and get some type of refund due to their negligence.
They are moving at a much faster pace than yesterday. I was 187 yesterday (28th) and they announced by 2pm that no backup groups would be boarded after group 112
Thank you, Steve, for the charts and the response! We will take that extra hour of sleep! I’m super worried we won’t make it on Rise of the Resistance which is why we took away our rest day to add a second day to Hollywood Studios. Then they kept bumping the opening hours last minute from 9am to 8am and now to 7am. We have the paid evening hours at MK the day before what was going to be our rest day so I’m super glad for that extra hour of sleep but we will still get there an hour early like you mentioned so we can be first to Millennium Falcon. We’re going to DHS Jan 7 and Jan 9 (as we’re there for the marathon weekend and made a week of it). I don’t think the crowds will be Christmas crazy but I think they will still be big so hopefully we can get on at least one of those two days. Again thank you!
They were boarding group #80 by 11:30AM today (Sunday, 29th). As per the above, that’s the earliest they’ve gotten to #80 so far, so we’re hopeful (we have #187, which we got at around 7AM)
Sorry, December 29th, Sunday.
December 28th, Park open at 6am, boarding groups closed by 6:08. Backup groups only by 6:09. Crazy!
Thanks for this information. I haven’t planned a trip yet and this just verified my expectations. Will be planning for late May, after the ” May the fourth” crowds leave!
Thanks for staying on top of this. The charts with plateaus indicating delays in ride ops is pretty damn clever. Kudos to whoever came up with that.
The “Ride Open” line in the first chart is confusing. The table further in the article cleared up my confusion. Still it makes no sense to connect those points with a line. They should be points on the chart, like “Park Open”.
I second Jenny above – is the recommendation still 2 hours prior? Also, will you continue to get this data for the next few weeks? I can’t help but wonder if late Jan (typically slow DW season) will utilize the same boarding group method…?
I expect some version of Boarding Groups will be around for awhile. My understand the ride is not running at the capacity or reliability it needs to be at.
Before, when Disney was distributing Boarding Groups prior to park opening ya’ll were recommending getting there two hours early. Do ya’ll still recommend that now they are not distributing till park open? I understand we have to have scanned our magic bands to be eligible to get a boarding group and from the past week it seems we want to grab one by 7:11am on days the park opens at 7am (which for us it does both days we are going so we can double our chances of riding). But does it take two hours for the line to get you into the park or can we arrive at the much more pleasant 6am vs 5am? Because ouch that wakeup time! LOL Thanks!
With the new Boarding Group rules you have no advantage getting to the park extra early. You need to be in the park before it opens. Most days if you are at security 30 minutes before Park opens you will be golden.
1 hour early will get you at the front of the rope drop pack. This will give you a headstart on your first attraction.