RotR Planning & Daily Boarding Group Discussion - *CLOSED*

[SirBill]

The good news today...BGs were actually available past the official posted park opening time... so that’s an improvement, right?

My wife pointed out it's the same time for actual opening and sell out as other days, so what this is saying is that the crowds as a whole see to behave the same time wise no matter what the announced opening time is...

It sure seems like someday the closure will happen before 8:30an though, as crowds ramp up.

Also, wondering what the status is of grabbing a 2nd BG for the early riders. Was that possible today or only 1 per guest?

I saw someone post they got the same message today, about not being able to get a 2nd BG.

 

[Lewisc]

First bus pickup Riverside around 6;38
VQ 45
Edited to add I understand ride share is busy. Up to a 15 minute wait prior to bus service

 

[Tink1987]

Yes we were 27.

Still being held. Worried it’s gone down.

Just as I pressed send on that we were lead to another boarding area. Our left side had gone down. So from getting to the pre show room at 8:07 it took us 39 mins to get through. Shows you how much we were held. We were in the first room for over 5 mins.

But we rode and nothing went wrong. Will be back tomorrow again - I just need to ride this again and again. You notice so much more on the second time around. Still jaw dropping.

 

[unveilmyeyes]

First bus pickup Riverside around 6;38
VQ 45

Not bad, enjoy!

 

[Aprilshack]

Was it like this when Smugglers Run first opened? Going to Disney for the first time next month & wondering if by then the chaos will of died down? I’m staying at Coronado springs & I’m reading that the buses are hit & miss. Rotr is the ride i am most interested in on my week long trip.

 

[fivefourdis]

My quick summary:
At park at 4:40. Waited at security.
Security opened at 5:30 am
At turnstiles at 5:40.
8 back from my turnstile.
Tapped band at 6:25
Got BG 14
Called BG at 7:15
Tapped band at RoTR ride at 7:30.
Off ride at 8:09

 

[mbethel]

We arrive next Monday and plan on HS on Wednesday morning. I don’t care what BG we get if we can just manage to get one we do have park hoppers and can go back in the evening if that’s the case.

What have security/tapstiles been like in between when they open (6:30ish) and actual opening. Say if we get there at 7 will we be waiting in lines out to security? What was it like this morning? Someone said dropped off via Lyft and in the park 10 minutes later in the 7:00 hour. Is that about what you would expect? Pretty sure there’s no getting us to leave Bonnet Creek before 6:30.

 

[Weedy]

For those of you having pop up problems on this site I downloaded an ad blocker ap. I downloaded in August and haven’t had a problem since on this site ** a few times I’ve gone to another site and it wouldn’t let me open it because I had an ad blocker

 

[Museick]

I have been watching this thread since opening! We Took a lyft at 5:45am from Beach Club to arrive by 6am and the doors opened at 6:30am! Tapped in and got boarding group 22 which was called at 7:30am! We rode and were off the ride by around 8am!

Very cool ride!!

 

[ThistleMae]

I assume this is sarcasm. Interestingly enough though, several minutes was the equivalent of a huge advantage. Boarding groups filled in 37 minutes today so a 5 minute head start for EMH guests equated to 13% of the total time spots were available.

That would be the equivalent of a 90 minute head start on a 12 hour operating day (in a very strange comparison).

Yes thank you, this was sarcasm. I just think all the BG's filling in after 37 min. is not very encouraging. If EMH doesn't give on site folks an advantage because of how they are doing it, I would appreciate more tweaking. And how come on site guests would only get a 5 min. lead, when they are allowed into the park for an extra hour? I do agree that giving on site guests EMH every day would not be fair because no one else could get on, but they should have a couple days a week to give them the perk. Or, they should just eliminate the EMH altogether, just for this one park.

 

[mrsap]

For those of you having pop up problems on this site I downloaded an ad blocker ap. I downloaded in August and haven’t had a problem since on this site ** a few times I’ve gone to another site and it wouldn’t let me open it because I had an ad blocker
View attachment 457719

This App works great! What a difference if I have to turn it off for some reason and then come back on the boards. It’s crazy!

 

[Iowamomof4]

Was it like this when Smugglers Run first opened? Going to Disney for the first time next month & wondering if by then the chaos will of died down? I’m staying at Coronado springs & I’m reading that the buses are hit & miss. Rotr is the ride i am most interested in on my week long trip.

I think SR just isn't the same caliber of ride as ROTR, so it's not a good comparison. It also had a few weeks of previews. We all just need to be patient to see how long the craziness lasts. Seems like Disney really has a winner here.

 

[ThistleMae]

My quick summary:
At park at 4:40. Waited at security.
Security opened at 5:30 am
At turnstiles at 5:40.
8 back from my turnstile.
Tapped band at 6:25
Got BG 14
Called BG at 7:15
Tapped band at RoTR ride at 7:30.
Off ride at 8:09

Did they have bag check and bag free lines? I was just wondering if folks without bags have an advantage.

 

[spindoctors]

Opened turnstiles at 6:25 am. We were 8 back from front. Got BG 14. Did slinky. In line for tot.

What time did you arrive at DHS and how did you travel there?

 

[SirBill]

Did they have bag check and bag free lines? I was just wondering if folks without bags have an advantage.

They did have a bag free line, it is a pretty big advantage as the baggage checks are very thorough and just one or two people with larger backpacks and a lot of zippers can have you waiting minutes. If you get there very early and some bag check security lines are open with no-one waiting in front of them, they also just let you walk through without bags - I did that Saturday since the bag-free line was around 30-40 people at 4:15am.

 

[Aprilshack]

I think SR just isn't the same caliber of ride as ROTR, so it's not a good comparison. It also had a few weeks of previews. We all just need to be patient to see how long the craziness lasts. Seems like Disney really has a winner here.

Does tap in mean the magic band? Is that before or after bag check? I’m trying to formulate a plan to make sure I get to ride it...Also concerned as I have reservations for lightsaber building in the morning, droid building in the afternoon & ogas in the evening. I don’t want to miss those/get charged for nothing. Any way around it if a BG clashes with one of these?

 

[Andydelicious]

Boarding Group Tip: Don't select your group members while waiting outside of the park. When you hit "Join Boarding Group", the blue circle rotates and I believe that is when the system checks if you have tapped. Once my entire group enters, then I hit join group and have not had any problems! May the Force be With US!

 

[rad91]

So I guess the rumor that cast members were checking in at 8am this week was wrong. Disney is keeping real opening info under lock and key, I guess.

 

[jthornton94]

I haven’t driven to the park in years. You have to pay to park now, correct? Do they just tap your magic band? Our plan is to drive as opposed to Uber so we can leave our bags in the car until we need them? Is there handicapped parking at HS?

 

[hiroMYhero]

So I guess the rumor that cast members were checking in at 8am this week was wrong. Disney is keeping real opening info under lock and key, I guess.

There are at least 2 different schedules for CMs.

The main schedule has their regular 2-week assignments.

The Extra Hours schedule has all the schedules covering extra hours and events. The early opening falls in this schedule - only assigned CMs see this schedule and event-level CMs can access it to pick up hours.