READ POST 1 & 2 FIRST-Rise of the Resistance Boarding Group Planning and Information-*No Spoilers*

[C&B Young]

Just wanted to say thanks to everyone in this thread for the great advice! We rode twice this week, boarding group 2 on Tuesday the 25th and boarding group 16 on Thursday the 27th! Between that, our Smuggler's run fastpasses (both days at 9:50), and rope dropping Slinky Dog we were pretty much done with the Studios by lunchtime each day (which was a good thing because the crowds were unbearable)

 

[Aurora79]

I just want to share my experience for today. We arrived to HS at about 7:20am. Got through security and the gates pretty quickly and gathered with the hoard of people outside SWGE on the Indiana Jones side. My husband and I both had the app going. We both started refreshing around 7:59. At 8, on my phone, nothing happened. I couldn’t select a BG at all. DH got to almost the final step and got an error, had to back out and start again. He finally got us backup BG 98. We were called around 6:30pm and went straight there as we were finishing up at H&V. The line moved very fast, and the ride was great! I really did not have high hopes, so we feel very lucky that we just got to ride it.

 

[chris1212]

We were at HS today, as mentioned got BG 14 today. Were called slightly after 8 and rode just before 10. Someone earlier mentioned a 1 hour return time, which is strange since we did not have this.

We were also there on Monday and crowds today definitely seemed smaller. We could actually walk around GE and see what it looked like without wall to wall people everywhere. Still super busy obviously, but more manageable today.

Today my phone, iPhone 10 on data got the boarding group. My husbands phone, iPhone 11Pro on data got an error message about not being able to connect. Good thing we were both trying! On Monday my husbands phone got it first, BG 5.

We don’t have a US data plan, but after seeing how spotty wifi is throughout the park, we did not want to rely on this and used data both days. Monday we were near SDD today near TOT.

Our process - re start our phones around 7.40am, my husband opened the app at 7.58 and myself at 7.59 and waited until 8 to click. Always had to go through My Status to get a group, but were successful with a low BG both days. Today probably could have been a bit lower, but my fingers were frozen so had to click select all a couple times before I hit the right spot!

As long as you know the process of what to do I’d say most have a pretty good shot at getting a BG. Only variable is if your phone glitches and can’t connect.

Thanks for all the advice here, we wouldn’t have done as well otherwise!

 

[C&B Young]

We were at HS today, as mentioned got BG 14 today. Were called slightly after 8 and rode just before 10. Someone earlier mentioned a 1 hour return time, which is strange since we did not have this.

We noticed that our push notification mentioned an hour return time, but in the actual app it said 2 hours

 

[chris1212]

Are they still pre-loading the SDD queue itself, and if so were you in the queue or the mass of people looking at the queue?
Sorry this is a bit

Yes, on Monday morning they pre-filled the SDD queue.

 

[chris1212]

We noticed that our push notification mentioned an hour return time, but in the actual app it said 2 hours

Our push notification didn’t give a length for a return, but a time.

This morning it said: Your boarding group has been called. Please return to the entrance in Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge by 10:26 AM.

 

[wiggy500]

I'm thinking of doing this on my second day which for now i have slated as a HS morning/ EP afternoon (with EP FP). With the HS rope drop insanity i may try to get a FOP rope drop. We have a car so it will be easier. We'd have to wait until 8am to tap into AK (don't know when they have been letting people in). I only have one AK day planned, and right now two half day HS and a full day. Playing it by ear for now i guess (april 15)

The only hurdle here is what BG we might get and when we have to be back. If we get a low number then that scraps rope dropping a 9am park.

It was 8:04 a.m. when they let people in at AK yesterday.

 

[MinnieMSue]

Going back sept 5 and I notice they put morning extra magic hours up for Studios on the 6th. We were there for the first day of 8am opening and now we may be there when they restart fast passes for it too potentially

 

[yulilin3]

Going back sept 5 and I notice they put morning extra magic hours up for Studios on the 6th. We were there for the first day of 8am opening and now we may be there when they restart fast passes for it too potentially

Way to early to rely on that. If VQ is still in effect those emh will be changing

 

[yulilin3]

Our push notification didn’t give a length for a return, but a time.

This morning it said: Your boarding group has been called. Please return to the entrance in Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge by 10:26 AM.

The length of return is calculated by the time you got the notification to the return time
So if you got that notification at 8:26 that's 2 hours.

 

[MMSM]

I am going in April and read these posts daily to try to figure out the best way to maximize my HS day. We will have only one day. As of now, it is an 8am opening which I imagine will become a 7 am opening since I am going during Easter break and MMRR will also be open. I was reading about filling up the SDD queue. Can someone explain this to me. I assume they take the very first section of people who they have walked back to Toy Story Land and fill the queue and also a small line down the side. Then when it opens people aren’t pushing each other in the queue? If this is so, what time or how many hours before opening would those people have gotten there? For an 8 am open would have they been at security at 6? Doesn’t this cause more chaos as people push to be the first to fill queue? I am hoping for a BG for ROTR and like many, going right to SDD. I am hoping that more families will head to MMRR.

 

[yulilin3]

I am going in April and read these posts daily to try to figure out the best way to maximize my HS day. We will have only one day. As of now, it is an 8am opening which I imagine will become a 7 am opening since I am going during Easter break and MMRR will also be open. I was reading about filling up the SDD queue. Can someone explain this to me. I assume they take the very first section of people who they have walked back to Toy Story Land and fill the queue and also a small line down the side. Then when it opens people aren’t pushing each other in the queue? If this is so, what time or how many hours before opening would those people have gotten there? For an 8 am open would have they been at security at 6? Doesn’t this cause more chaos as people push to be the first to fill queue? I am hoping for a BG for ROTR and like many, going right to SDD. I am hoping that more families will head to MMRR.

This is of topic but the short answer is, yes, just like you described. Be at the entrance an hour and a half before official opening and you should be able to join the actual queue for sdd. There's not a lot of pushing as you can walk that way as soon as the tapstiles open, which has been about an hour before official opening, so the tapstiles process slows the flow of people inside. If you have any more questions on this you can open another thread on the main tpas forum

 

[GADisneyDad14]

The Chart on Post #2 has been updated with yesterday's results:

- 109 Boarding Groups were called - 61 regular and 48 backup - for a 9.1 BG per hour average
- The long-term average BG per hour is 9.3, so a close to average day (and much better than the prior two days)
- Boarding Groups lasted a comfortable 27 minutes, continuing the very wide swings in this metric

For the visual folks....these show the 25 8am opening/12 hours days we've had so far:

 

[GADisneyDad14]

Still sort of interesting to me when I look at last Saturday - where I got backup BG 99 before 8:01am.... but then it took a full 39 more minutes for all backups to fill (99 to 147 on that particular day). Safe to say everyone that wanted a BG and was there at opening got one that day, and then they just trickled in from there.

 

[wilkydelts]

BGs gone by 8:00:43 using world clock

Also first time I didn't get red "Join Boarding Group" button had to use my status. That is why practice matters. Button wasn't red until backups

 

[Mome Rath]

Around 33 seconds this morn til I got backup notification.

 

[PrincessWithABlaster]

As is strangely typical for me 8:01:10 until backups (based on time.gov).

I also got a couple unusual pop ups this morning that I haven’t gotten in a while (gray something went wrong and a red pop up). I’ve gotten those occasionally in the past.

 

[Vulcan Muppet]

35 on the first try!

 

[kdfogliano]

Guys, I still need the best way to do this... after many practices I cant get the "at at screen" to turn red. and today when I clicked my status it never kicked over. Total fail practice today.

Please help. There on Thursday...

 

[rockinrollercoasters]

Practicing at home - I had to restart the app twice before I could through. Please let me get right through on Friday