RotR Planning & Daily Boarding Group Discussion - *CLOSED*

[yulilin3]

So is there an advantage to Uberring versus just parking at the lot? Trying to decide plan for tomorrow. Staying at CBR

No advantage. If you have a car i would drive and save the money

 

[DGsAtBLT]

My time of following WDW/pa


I just wanted to quote myself from Sunday. One of my ‘expert’ park ops musings actually came true!

But in seriousness, kudos to Disney for the PM EMH change. A much better solution given the way this thing is evolving, in my opinion.

Lol I was literally just about to submit a post that hey, Disney listened to you, but it alerted me messages had been posted since I loaded the page and you beat me to it

 

[DGsAtBLT]

Why can’t they include in EMH? Or at least let us book boarding group with priority? They are really making it difficult on people staying on property and paying thousands of dollars on vacation. Please explain to me how a late EMH helps me?

It helps because the morning EMH proved to be a giant mess and a disadvantage to onsite guests when it came to ROTR. Changing to evening puts everyone on a level playing field in the morning, without eliminating EMH completely for the time being.

And there's nothing that says they can't decide to open ROTR during EMH eventually when they think it can handle it.

 

[Lewisc]

Uber and lyft drivers know. Lot of drivers are basically shuttling back and forth.

 

[DGsAtBLT]

I'm really anxious to see what happens to March. I agree that the changes up until February make it pretty likely the virtual queue sticks around until at least then. I'm nervous what this means for the three new DHS attractions coming on FP+ before my late March trip!

 

[weheartdisney07]

A theory I've cooked up about Sunday's debacle by observing this thread:

It seems clear after today that the general policy for opening Hollywood Studios on non-EMH days is 6:30 AM or when the line at the tapstyles reaches the security checkpoint, whichever happens first.

(As a quick editorial, I think this is a bad move. Disney should be trying to push the opening closer to its posted time, not further. The longer they keep letting the crowds open the park at 6:30, the more people will learn about the practice, and the harder it will be to open on time. They really ought to do it the other way around: whichever of those two scenarios occurs last.)

I think the plan for EMH day was to give EMH guests a 15 minute head start on Boarding Passes (thus the 7:45 opening they initially announced) and then to release everyone in the normal entry queue into the park. But at some point, they moved up the regular park openings to 8 AM for the next week, so they had to bump EMH even earlier to accommodate the on-site guests. The real break in communication though happened on Sunday morning. The regular guests were stacking up in the entrance to the point where they were going to reach the security checkpoint well before the 8 AM open time, which - as mentioned above - would prompt them to open the gates. So now the park was going to open earlier than 8, which means the Virtual Queue would have to open earlier than 7:45. Only the decision to do the former did not reach the people in charge of maintaining the latter in time to give EMH guests their 15 minute window. It was, at best, a 5 minute one that only benefitted the guests feverishly checking their phones. To make matters worse, as the regular guests stacked up on the entrance the park staff carried out the standard procedure of admitting them through the tapstyles and into the front section of the park proper - meaning the first few hundred or so people in the regular line were now eligible for the same Virtual Queue headstart as the EMH guests.

As for what happened after the VQ opened, I'm not sure. BGs went in a quarter of their usual time, which would suggest that 4 times as many people were in the park as on prior days (which I suppose could have been possible if only because Disney actually advertised the hours they were letting people in). But basically, the off-site crowd waiting to enter the park at 8 was so large that it preempted any attempt to give on-site guests an advantage. The only reason I can think of for why Disney didn't expand the VQ to open at 6 AM is that they thought EMH guests would take all the Boarding Groups before the regular guests arrived, which I don't think holds water. It seems like BG1-10 are reserved for EMH guests in the first place. But it still begs the question: Why did they open at 6 at all if the party was never going to start until after 7?

Agree with you. We were there on Sunday. Arrived at the park about 5:15, the first bus from AKL as we were waiting there from 4:30.
I was already mad that they told us we wouldn’t be able to get a boarding pass until 7:45. We had a feeling that they were going to open early so we were constantly checking our phones. We got on RnRC (checked our phones right before it boarded) and by the time we were off they had already opened the passes. We were lucky my sister just got in the park, heard the announcement and snagged us a boarding group 33.
So the thing that really irritates me was, what advantage did we have for waking up that early and being there at park opening?

 

[Bahamontes]

Quick Q - when you went through at 6:46 was it pretty chill (i.e. the early morning rush was already through) or were you in line behind a large wave of people?

behind a smallish wave
Everything moved super smoothly
Much calmer than AK rd yesterday, actually

 

[CPanther95]

The problem with pm EMH is they've gone from offering onside guests no advantage (no expectations since RotR isn't included in EMH) to putting them at a disadvantage to riding the ride - if they want to take advantage of EMH.

 

[eliseisawkward]

I'm really anxious to see what happens to March. I agree that the changes up until February make it pretty likely the virtual queue sticks around until at least then. I'm nervous what this means for the three new DHS attractions coming on FP+ before my late March trip!

We haven’t reached typical the February hours update yet, but I’m willing to bet when we get our updated schedule for February things will shift around to look more like January. I do not think any new rides are getting FP+ in the next 6 months to a year.

 

[DGsAtBLT]

The problem with pm EMH is they've gone from offering onside guests no advantage (no expectations since RotR isn't included in EMH) to putting them at a disadvantage to riding the ride - if they want to take advantage of EMH.

I think AM EMH was a disadvantage, PM EMH is just neutral when it comes to ROTR, but an advantage for everything else.

Gives them more time to return afterwards if they leave for a nap. I think it's better than eliminating EMH for the time being, and way better than leaving it in the morning.

 

[Lewisc]

So is there an advantage to Uberring versus just parking at the lot? Trying to decide plan for tomorrow. Staying at CBR

Only advantage is not having to drive when your still almost asleep. Also not driving back after s long day. YMMV

 

[DGsAtBLT]

We haven’t reached typical the February hours update yet, but I’m willing to bet when we get our updated schedule for February things will shift around to look more like January. I do not think any new rides are getting FP+ in the next 6 months to a year.

Hope not!

My ideal scenario is a calmed down VQ for ROTR, whatever is necessary for MMRR, and everything else business as usual.

 

[bookbabe626]

So, who will be there tomorrow (Thursday) morning for the first day of 7am open?

I’ll be there Friday morning, so I’m hoping people will post stats from tomorrow so I can judge how stupid-early I need to drag myself over to DHS from YC.

I’m hoping that the speculation is correct that the new 7am open is just a technicality to better reflect the 6:30 open that’s been happening all week, and that a 6am arrival will still be okay. (Because 5am is really gonna hurt, but I’ll do it if I absolutely have to.)

 

[Tink1987]

So, who will be there tomorrow (Thursday) morning for the first day of 7am open?

I’ll be there Friday morning, so I’m hoping people will post stats from tomorrow so I can judge how stupid-early I need to drag myself over to DHS from YC.

I’m hoping that the speculation is correct that the new 7am open is just a technicality to better reflect the 6:30 open that’s been happening all week, and that a 6am arrival will still be okay. (Because 5am is really gonna hurt, but I’ll do it if I absolutely have to.)

I personally would get there for 6. I don’t see much changing in the next day.

 

[CPanther95]

I think AM EMH was a disadvantage, PM EMH is just neutral when it comes to ROTR, but an advantage for everything else.

Gives them more time to return afterwards if they leave for a nap. I think it's better than eliminating EMH for the time being, and way better than leaving it in the morning.

At least before they had a opportunity to get a BG along with the regular guests.

Now they have to get there at 6am for a BG and return late night for EMH. That's much less convenient for on-site guests.

 

[la1037]

This is baffling/confusing/perplexing. I need a little help to understand this...
1) Prior posts suggest ROTR Boarding Groups are full by 8am or maybe 8:30am but lets assume 8am to be safe.
2) I somehow manage to get my morning adverse family of 5 to leave 6:15am at Kidani Village and make to DHS by 7am with a rope drop at 8am.
3) Park opens at 8am
3) My entire family must then go through a crowded gate and have their Magic Bands scanned and then somehow check get a boarding group on the app (and I anticipate glitches on the app since everyone is trying to do this at once) by 8am? Huh?
4) Rope drops at 8am but ROTR is already full by 8am. Best case in the above scenario I am booking my BG by 8:30am which might be too late?

That makes no sense so I assume that my family can get past the turnstile and into the front of the park (Hollywood Blvd area) by 7:30am or so even though the park doesn't open until 8am? We can get our ROTR BG at that point standing in ? That is the only thing that makes sense.

I appreciate some guidance. Thanks in advance.

 

[TheMaxRebo]

So, who will be there tomorrow (Thursday) morning for the first day of 7am open?

I’ll be there Friday morning, so I’m hoping people will post stats from tomorrow so I can judge how stupid-early I need to drag myself over to DHS from YC.

I’m hoping that the speculation is correct that the new 7am open is just a technicality to better reflect the 6:30 open that’s been happening all week, and that a 6am arrival will still be okay. (Because 5am is really gonna hurt, but I’ll do it if I absolutely have to.)

If I were you I'd plan to get there like 15 minutes or so earlier than you were planning to before the change. Just in case a) they open earlier than they have been and/or b) jsut with the cahnge otehr people plan to get there earlier -and then even if same opening time there would be more people there and maybe a later BG for you

So err on getting there a bit earlier, but I don't think you need to get there a full hour earlier

(but in the end, who knows what will really happen)

 

[TheMaxRebo]

At least before they had a opportunity to get a BG along with the regular guests.

Now they have to get there at 6am for a BG and return late night for EMH. That's much less convenient for on-site guests.

agree if your plan is to be there the entire day ... but could make it work out well that get there early, get your BG and get your ride on RotR in and then take a mid day break and come back later and get on all other other attractions with low crowds

At a minimum it does result in people needing to rethink their plan for the day

 

[Nermel9]

The lot has been opening by 5am

So now that the park is opening at 7, will the lot still be open at 5, or earlier??

Kind of dreading getting up basically in the middle of the night to attempt this the weekend before Christmas, but I’m determined to get on this ride!

 

[TheMaxRebo]

This is baffling/confusing/perplexing. I need a little help to understand this...
1) Prior posts suggest ROTR Boarding Groups are full by 8am or maybe 8:30am but lets assume 8am to be safe.
2) I somehow manage to get my morning adverse family of 5 to leave 6:15am at Kidani Village and make to DHS by 7am with a rope drop at 8am.
3) Park opens at 8am
3) My entire family must then go through a crowded gate and have their Magic Bands scanned and then somehow check get a boarding group on the app (and I anticipate glitches on the app since everyone is trying to do this at once) by 8am? Huh?
4) Rope drops at 8am but ROTR is already full by 8am. Best case in the above scenario I am booking my BG by 8:30am which might be too late?

That makes no sense so I assume that my family can get past the turnstile and into the front of the park (Hollywood Blvd area) by 7:30am or so even though the park doesn't open until 8am? We can get our ROTR BG at that point standing in ? That is the only thing that makes sense.

I appreciate some guidance. Thanks in advance.

if you are talking about a normal day they have been opening the gates around 6:30am so people are in the park and securing their BGs starting then

So in your plan, if you get there at 7am the gates should already be open and you would be in the park then securing your BG well before 8am

now, tomorrow, formal opening is set to be 7am so we dont' know how it will work for sure