D23 EXPO 2019 Superthread - dates announced!

Do you want Fresno - ABC30's Cory James to cover Media Day at Disneyland - SWGE?


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Did anyone get a definitive answer on holding more than one reservation? I have two separate reservations both tied to hotel stays. When I talked to a hotel cast member, they seemed to think that we would be okay to keep both reservations, but I also heard conflicting information on here. Does anyone know for sure?

I don’t think anyone will know 100% for sure until someone tries to use their second reservation and we see if it’s good to go or not.

That said, some people have said CMs said it was fine. There hasn’t been any official statement about it though if that’s what you’re looking for :)
 
Did anyone get a definitive answer on holding more than one reservation? I have two separate reservations both tied to hotel stays. When I talked to a hotel cast member, they seemed to think that we would be okay to keep both reservations, but I also heard conflicting information on here. Does anyone know for sure?
Seems that the only way to truly be sure is to watch this space after May 31 and look for trip reports of people who tried to get in with a 2nd reservation. Any “information” before then, even from cast members, strike me as more or less educated guesses.

I also wouldn’t be surprised if the policies about this and other issues of access will be tweaked by Disney over the first few weeks or even months, based on what shows itself to be working and what doesn’t. Again, we, with our Disboard crowd information sourcing powers, are likely to be the first ones to know whenever they decide to make adjustments (but I have a hunch that right now even they won’t know exactly what those will be... much of it will probably come down to trial and error on their part).
 
Did anyone get a definitive answer on holding more than one reservation? I have two separate reservations both tied to hotel stays. When I talked to a hotel cast member, they seemed to think that we would be okay to keep both reservations, but I also heard conflicting information on here. Does anyone know for sure?
The consistent word from every single CM that anyone has reported talking to, through the hotel line, the hotel SWGE line, and the normal SWGE line has been that if your name is on a reservation, you are fine to use that reservation, no matter what. I’ve personally talked to at least five phone CMs who have said that. Others here have said that they hold two hotel reservations and have been reassured multiple times that all will be honored.

CMs have been wrong before. But no one has reported talking to a CM who has told them they can’t use multiple reservations - it’s only been outside theories here that have suggested that. Many people have reported being told that it’s fine (myself included, with multiple CMs). CMs can be misguided or misinformed, but so many of them sharing the same message, with no inconsistency or hesitation, seems pretty “definitive” to me.
 
i have SWGE reservations for June 2nd 8:00 to 12:00. We are staying June 1st -5th. With the reservation system are the crowds still going to be crazy? I was thinking they wouldn’t be as bad because of reservation system. Thoughts?
We honestly don't know at this point, I'd take a look at June 1st crowds (not opening day because that will be pure insaneness)
 


I wish we could see the parks at the opening of SWL's opening. Not only is the new area monumental, it looks like the entire property has been freshened up to like new condition. For the first time I can remember, there don't appear to be any significant closures (except Red Car Trolly in DCA).
I can't even imagine the parks with no closures or construction going on.
 
You make some excellent points. However, I was that person way back in '04 when planning my first ever trip to WDW. I was a total newb to the other coast and as a DLR AP holder, minimal preparation was needed to visit my home park. That being said, since I had never been to WDW and had the internet at my disposal, I did my research and learned the dos and don'ts of visiting the #1 vacation destination in the country. Fast forward to 2019, much of what we need to get done is web-based and there's a plethora of information at our fingertips. If I'm going to spend $$$ on a visit to WDW or DLR, it would seem that I should do some prep. Not trying to be judgmental, but I just don't get why in this day and age why folks don't check into things.

So back to the topic at hand. For those of you have don't have an official Disney hotel reservation but have one for SW:GE - what time are you planning to arrive at the park? Day of and at what time? I booked an off site hotel for 5/30 so I don't have to deal with traffic or parking. Thoughts?
People are idiots, procrastinators, non-planners. My fam is all of the above. They called us from an airport years ago and asked if we could find them a hotel in the Disney area. !!!!!!! In summer! Then they got one day tickets. Decided they wanted to stay longer and got 2 day tickets. Eyeroll!
 
But no one has reported talking to a CM who has told them they can’t use multiple reservations - it’s only been outside theories here that have suggested that.

This is not quite true. I reported talking to a hotel CM about the reservations before the emails for hotel guests had been sent out. At the time he said he didn't have answers to a lot of things, but one of the things he said for sure was that people who had SWGE reservations because they were staying on site would be barred from securing reservations when they were opened to the general public. Because of that, I created a second Disney account to get a public reservation.

Now, having said that, it turns out the CM was wrong about hotel guests being blocked from getting public reservations. I ended up getting a third (nighttime) reservation using the same account that I used to book the hotel stay, and others have reported doing the same thing. Thus it appears that Disney had been planning to block people from doing it but then changed their minds, or alternatively that one CM was just making it up. In any event, so many people have done this that it's hard to imagine Disney waiting until people show up at the tunnels to SWGE to inform them that they won't be allowed in due to having already visited hours or days earlier -- especially since turning guests away will not make room to admit different guests because there will be no standby line.
 


This is not quite true. I reported talking to a hotel CM about the reservations before the emails for hotel guests had been sent out. At the time he said he didn't have answers to a lot of things, but one of the things he said for sure was that people who had SWGE reservations because they were staying on site would be barred from securing reservations when they were opened to the general public. Because of that, I created a second Disney account to get a public reservation.

Now, having said that, it turns out the CM was wrong about hotel guests being blocked from getting public reservations. I ended up getting a third (nighttime) reservation using the same account that I used to book the hotel stay, and others have reported doing the same thing. Thus it appears that Disney had been planning to block people from doing it but then changed their minds, or alternatively that one CM was just making it up. In any event, so many people have done this that it's hard to imagine Disney waiting until people show up at the tunnels to SWGE to inform them that they won't be allowed in due to having already visited hours or days earlier -- especially since turning guests away will not make room to admit different guests because there will be no standby line.
True, I was considering what guests have been told since reservations actually went out, but that is a conflicting message, albeit on older one.

I agree that I don’t see a purpose in them turning reservation-holders away without a standby... and when those people have been repeatedly informed that they can get in multiple times.

In our situation, we had a hotel reservation but then got a free reservation, so we cancelled the hotel. THEN we found out that my husband will be out of town for work at the time of our free reservation - so we booked Paradise Pier so that all three of us can get in then. If I could “give back” the free reservation so someone else could use it, I would! I even tried calling and transferring it to a reservation-less friend, but I couldn’t. (I expected as much, but figured it didn’t hurt to try). Since no one else can use it, I’m planning to go then and then again with our hotel reservation... which I’ve been assured repeatedly, through multiple channels, will be fine.

I wouldn’t be spending $$$ on a hotel room I don’t need if I thought we’d be denied entrance to SWGE as a repeat visitor, though.
 
Right now, it appears that the biggest problem for guests, on site and not, will be making sure the names and i.d. (if applicable) match, especially in the case of the primary reservation holder. Disney has been clear on this to multiple people here who have asked -- if the names don't match or if the primary reservation holder isn't the same as the name of the guest who shows up on the day, then that will be a problem. On site guests can get the guest names changed if the names on the hotel reservation change (posters here have reported doing this successfully), but the primary guest must remain the same.
As for the multiple reservation question, I find it somewhat encouraging that Disney has not made an official announcement against it yet, and we're getting very close to Opening Day.
 
Right now, it appears that the biggest problem for guests, on site and not, will be making sure the names and i.d. (if applicable) match, especially in the case of the primary reservation holder. Disney has been clear on this to multiple people here who have asked -- if the names don't match or if the primary reservation holder isn't the same as the name of the guest who shows up on the day, then that will be a problem. On site guests can get the guest names changed if the names on the hotel reservation change (posters here have reported doing this successfully), but the primary guest must remain the same.
As for the multiple reservation question, I find it somewhat encouraging that Disney has not made an official announcement against it yet, and we're getting very close to Opening Day.

My traveling party has changed since making my reservation at the VGC. My reservation was made long before the SWGE announcement. I am told, that the DVC computers don’t play well with the SWGE reservation computers. I have two separate reservations for both the hotel and SWGE.

I changed my travel party with DVC, after receiving the initial SWGE confirmation emails. I then received an updated SWGE confirmation for one of my two dates. I have two different confirmation emails for June 1, one with the correct names and one with the original names. Because of this, am sure you can change names is you have a DLRH reservation.

I did not however receive an update confirmation email for May 31. I Have have made numerous phone calls to both DVC and the SWGE reservation number. I have even had DVC Guides call the SWGE reservation number for me and they could not get it corrected. I have been told numerous times by both DVC AND CM's on the SWGE phone number that it will not be an issue. They have even noted it on my reservation and told me to note the change when I check in at VGC.

This is what makes me think it will be handled much like the Moonlight Magic events. Hotel guests will be able to checkin at the hotel and receive wrist bands.
 
my take on the multiple reservations restrictions is that it is like the way concert tickets are sold.

The lead person name matching the ID of the person who shows up is very similar to the restrictions Ticketmaster have put in place to stop unauthorised re selling. In Disneys case, they dont want the free reservations to be obtained by ticket touts who then resell for astronomical prices. Disney know there is huge worldwide demand for Galaxys Edge and that the reselling industry would take any chance they could to get tickets.

Also regarding the only 1 reservation restriction
Again this is similar to concert ticket limits put in place by Ticketmaster. For many concerts, Ticketmaster put a limit of 4 tickets per credit card purchase. This is tied to the billing address of the credit card, not the name of the person. For example, 10 years ago I was buying high demand tickets for a concert residency. I had 2 credit cards in my name, one with a billing address at my apartment, one with a billing address at my parents house. I bought 8 concert tickets from Ticketmaster, 4 on one credit card, 4 on the other credit card. Both transactions were in my name, on the same Ticketmaster account, just the card numbers and billing addresses were different. The transactions were accepted by Ticketmaster.

The way I see it, is that Disney mean 1 reservation per hotel booking, no matter how many days you have booked for. It is my opinion that the
  1. hotel reservation system and the general public reservation system are 2 unconnected databases.
  2. hotel reservation database is set up to automatically allocate a Star Wars Galaxys Edge to every new hotel booking.
Donald (lead person) and his wife Daisy have 4 nights booked at Paradise Pier and receive 1 reservation for Star Wars Galaxys Edge. Mickey (lead person) and his wife Minnie have 1 night booked at Grand Californian and and receive 1 reservation for Star Wars Galaxys Edge.

Then Minnie (lead person) books 2 nights at Paradise Pier. Disney see this as new booking, unconnected to her husband Mickeys booking at Grand California and Minnie (lead person) receives 1 reservation for Star Wars Galaxys Edge.

So now, Micky and Minnie have 2 completely separate hotel bookings, one booked under his name and one booked under her name.
This therefore means they have 2 reservations for Star Wars Galaxys Edge, one for each of the hotel bookings.

Then Daisy decided try for the general public reservations and gets one. She uses her name as the lead person. This reservation system has a different data base to the hotel reservations for Star Wars Galaxys Edge.

So now Donald and Daisy have 2 reservations for Star Wars Galaxys Edge,one on the hotel reservation database and one on the general public reservation data base.
 
Then Minnie (lead person) books 2 nights at Paradise Pier. Disney see this as new booking, unconnected to her husband Mickeys booking at Grand California and Minnie (lead person) receives 1 reservation for Star Wars Galaxys Edge.

So now, Micky and Minnie have 2 completely separate hotel bookings, one booked under his name and one booked under her name.
This therefore means they have 2 reservations for Star Wars Galaxys Edge, one for each of the hotel bookings.
.

I am actually the lead on both of my reservations.
 
I am actually the lead on both of my reservations.

that kinda proves my theory of the hotel reservation database being set up to automatically allocate a Star Wars Galaxys Edge to every new hotel booking. They would have set the data base protocols BEFORE they opened up reservations. Data bases are basically advanced Excel spreadsheets. When they are being set up, you first have to create all the different fields, ie Name, Address, Email, Telephone Number etc. Once that is set up, you then create automatic fields such as generating a unique sequential code for booking numbers. In my opinion it looks like Disney linked each unique sequential code for booking numbers to generate 1 Galaxys Edge reservation.

database example.JPG
 
Why does that not sound like fun to me...

It's not...but it is. lol Hard to explain!

I'm having flashbacks to the Power of the Princess panel and getting there at 5am and absolutely not trusting that they were going to let us know when they were going to let us into the line for that panel separately so checking in with them every hour...not fun.

Oh man...same! Also, the Rapunzel panel, where they had a separate group for people who wanted the autograph... When they pull out a line, it's always scary.

If you don't have a bad line experience, were you even really at D23?

Exactly.

Absolutely not. It's an essential part of the bonding experience. I'm just thankful I wasn't part of the animation panel fiasco.

Oh yeah! I had actually considered going to that, and then I was glad I didn't!

You just brought it ALL back to me! And, when we finally got in and got seats, some guy who was dressed as a fake D23 CM (copied an outfit from the previous Expo) came up with a clipboard and kicked us out of our seats. Then we noticed that he took our seats for himself and his little girl. When we asked a real D23 CM to check on this, she asked him for credentials, which he could not provide. So she sent him back to his "other" seats (he already had seats!) which were in the section closer to the stage -- go figure, why would he want our seats which were further back?? By the time all this was finished, our original seats were gone and there were no other seats in that section. So the very nice CM snuck us into the media section. Oh, the drama!

I forgot about my seat drama. I must have blocked it out. I can't remember what panel it was for though. I was in a seat, which turned out to be unmarked Sorcerer's seats. They just let everyone in to sit where they wanted when the door opened, so I sat down, as did a bunch of other people. One person came over and told us we had to move. No one moved. Then another person came and told us. I said, "I have no problem moving, but I'm not moving until all of these people do!" They made everyone move, so I moved. Luckily, there were still decent seats left. It's a fine line where you have to stand up for yourself, but not make a big scene!
 
that kinda proves my theory of the hotel reservation database being set up to automatically allocate a Star Wars Galaxys Edge to every new hotel booking. They would have set the data base protocols BEFORE they opened up reservations. Data bases are basically advanced Excel spreadsheets. When they are being set up, you first have to create all the different fields, ie Name, Address, Email, Telephone Number etc. Once that is set up, you then create automatic fields such as generating a unique sequential code for booking numbers. In my opinion it looks like Disney linked each unique sequential code for booking numbers to generate 1 Galaxys Edge reservation.

View attachment 401641
And I am the lead guest on our free reservation (booked first), and also the lead guest on our GCH hotel reservation (booked several days after I booked the free reservation). I booked these all under the same Disney account (mine), as I was not trying to circumvent the booking system and get two SWGE reservations, but now I have two. So I think the systems are just as you described them, but ALSO that the systems are not even linked by Lead Guest name nor by Disney account. What I do know for sure is that I was not able to make a second free reservation under my Disney account after I had made the first free reservation, so WITHIN the free reservation system, you can’t have more than one free reservation per Disney account. I only tried to do this because one browser finally got through after I had booked my free reservation, and so I hit “ok” or whatever it was on that browser and then it gave me an error message saying I could only book one free reservation per Disney account.
 
Hello Im new here but Ive been lurking for quite awhile.This will be my first year going to D23.
Let me introduce myself a little. I have always been a Disney fan since I was very young and I would always look forward to the next Disney/Pixar movie that came out. My first trip to Disney World was in 2007 for my high school senior trip. Since I was with classmates our schedule was strict and I remember being disappointed they didn't let us see the fireworks at Magic Kingdom. Even though I enjoyed the atmosphere I wasn't fully immersed and in fact was rather lonely,something I've had to deal with all my life. Ten years later in 2017, I decided to redo the trip with my family and it was just so amazing! My love of Disney had begun to revitalize and I thought it was the perfect time to redo the trip. Since then Ive gone every year for the past three years. Yes i know Im crazy!Im more up to date with Disney related movies and projects. I also started collecting Disney LE dolls in March 2015 and thats when I started learning about D23. I didn't go to D23 2017 because I just didn't have the money for it so I decided to go this year instead.
I have a couple of questions and any help at all would be appreciated.
1) On Friday, I haven't decided yet if Im going to Legends or line up for the Disney Store. It really depends on the merchandise that becomes available.The only thing that is a must for me is the Animation panel. Is it possible to do Legends and Animation? Is there any risk that I wont be able to get in because if so I wouldn't risk Animation for Legends. Tbh I wasnt originally going to go Legends until the roster for who is being honored arrived and all of a sudden my inner MCU fangirl squeeled at a chance to see RDJ.

2) Can I get a storepass while being in line for another panel? I will be traveling alone but was thinking of having someone hold my position in line. Is this possible or definitely not happening? I'll either be in line for the store or a big panel.

3) Food is a concern for me. I wont be overnighting but I'll probably get there around 3-4 am each day. Once in Hall E is there food available to purchase or am I on my own until they let us out? I I will bring some granola bars but I would like to get a decent meal. What other snacks are allowed in? I cant spend too many hours without food or water. I dehydrate or get weak easily without both those things. Im bringing a water bottle. Is there a water fountain I can get to near Hall E to refill or again just a place to buy water?

4) Any recommendations on portable chairs that are easy to set up? I know people bring inflatable objects to lie down in but Im guessing thats only for overnighters and not afternoon lines right? Does that same thing apply to chairs for general lines? I was also thinking of just bringing a blanket or something to sit on.

5) Any cosplayers out there? I will be cosplaying for the first time and I was thinking of doing coronation Anna who you know has a big ballgown. Has your costume ever hindered your experience at D23? Is it better to go without or do something more simpler?

Im sure I'll come up with more questions but for now any help is appreciated. :)
 
It was posted by Disney on the Disneyland AP Facebook page recently that people with 8:00 a.m. reservations would be checking in for their SW:GE reservation in the esplanade. Everyone please take this with a grain of salt, but I was informed by a CM I know that some coworkers have been told that Starcade will also be used for guests who have later check-ins that day. We shall see if this turns out to be true.

Correction: My reliable source has informed me that they're testing guest check-ins at Launch Bay. I was previously told Starcade but that didn't make sense since the walkway is so narrow and leads to the exit/disability line for SM, so Launch Bay makes more sense. They set up check-in podiums last night in Launch Bay.
 
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4) Any recommendations on portable chairs that are easy to set up? I know people bring inflatable objects to lie down in but Im guessing thats only for overnighters and not afternoon lines right? Does that same thing apply to chairs for general lines? I was also thinking of just bringing a blanket or something to sit on.

This will be my first year too. However, I think they would allow a chair, especially if it folded up into a back pack. This is the kind of chair I will be bringing, but I may only use it for overnight. We have ridden our bikes miles to concerts with these chairs in a backpack without a single issue. They are lightweight, sturdy, and compact. They sell other brands too. In a normal size backpack, we can fit 3 folded up, 1-2 water bottles, and other stuff.

https://www.rei.com/product/877258/rei-co-op-flexlite-chair
 
It was posted by Disney on the Disneyland AP Facebook page recently that people with 8:00 a.m. reservations would be checking in for their SW:GE reservation in the esplanade. Everyone please take this with a grain of salt, but I was informed by a CM I know that some coworkers have been told that Starcade will also be used for guests who have later check-ins that day. We shall see if this turns out to be true.
This doesn't affect MY plan per se, even though I have an 8 am ressie. The Esplanade works for me (being a first time visitor to DL, am I correct in saying that the Esplanade is simply the name for the plaza area between DL and DCA?). However, how would this affect those who may be taking advantage of any early hours available (whether EMH or MM). Again, we have a 5-day ticket, so we have an EMH entitlement, but we are NOT using it on a SWGE day.
 
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