AP Previews: How do we get it all done in a 4 hour time-slot?

We had a reservation for the soft opening at DLR so I can give you general times of what we did. DLR time slots were 8am-12pm, 11am-3pm, 2pm-6pm, 5pm-9pm, and 8pm-12am.
Ours was a Sunday from 8am-12pm. It was myself bounding as Leia, DH bounding as Han, DD (11) bounding as Rey, DS (9) bounding as Lando, and DS (6) bounding as Chewy.

Short story we did Ogas, mobile ordered for 11:15, Droid Depot/Shop/Explore, MFSM, Ronto/Docking Bay, more exploring, leave.

Longer Story

Arrived at DLR at 5:50 for park opening. DLR allowed us to line up 2 hours prior to our reservation time so I got up my fam at 5:15 and said lets go. We stayed onsite and the hotel is about a 10 minute walk.

6am, they let us in to get our wristbands at Launch Bay. Fairly orderly, not much pushing etc. We were told to have our ID's and confirmation emails with us to be checked prior to getting into Launch Bay. We got into another queue to get our wristbands and ID's were checked again and each person had to put their band on at that moment in front of a cast member. Then our bands were scanned (activated) and we were allowed to leave. Then we were told to go wait for our reservation time. It was about 6:15-20 at this time.

We got food at the nearby QS, hung out, kids whined lol, and then around 7:30-40 we were escorted to SW:GE. This is where it got a bit annoying b/c people from the back would literally run into bushes, behind carts (not on the paved path) to get in front of others. We didn't have the option to make reservations for Savi's or Oga's so it was a free for all for those. I had researched the best way to ensure we could make it to Oga's and it was said to stay to the right of the path and veer right immediately upon entering SW:GE. (Side note, DLR has 3 entrances/exits for GE but each group was only brought in through 1 of them, depending on the time of the reservation. Our group was brought through the middle entrance so it was a bit different for other groups)

7:55-8am We were "allowed in" however the CM stated "if you want Oga's follow this flag, if you want Savi, this flag, etc." We successfully got into the Oga's line and I was about 40 people back. I had heard that the CM will take your name and call you when space becomes available so I told my family to seek out the precious gift cards (sold out along with Droid backpacks). Well about 8:10 I was quickly approaching the front of the line and luckily fam was right there because if your whole party wasn't' there, you would have to wait to get in. I was brought up in front of about 5 people waiting for their complete party. We were placed at the bar, there were only about 10 booths total so those went quickly. We ordered our drinks, (both of them since I was told service is slow) as well as kids drinks and the Ogas Obsession (jello with pop rocks). We did get all 3 souvenir drinks. Done by about 9:00.

**I mobile ordered for lunch at Docking Bay 7 and Ronto Roasters at this time for pick up around 11:15. I heard by the time you are ready to order, Mobile orders aren't available for your time frame and the lines are awful.

9:15-Got into the Droid Depot line. My kids were dying to make droids so fine, why not. Well the line was long and boring so DH and I took turns walking the land with the kids, shopping, and exploring the land. We got into Droid Depot around 10:15 and built our 3 droids by around 10:40 or so. We then jammed to MFSR (remember the next group was coming in at 11am but I knew they had a much farther walk from their entrance than we had earlier). We were able to hit MFSR 2x by basically walking on both, leisurely strolling the second time. Since there were 5, the 4 that wanted to be pilots (Han, Lando, Chewy, Rey) got to do it. Leia is too extra to pilot (and gets horrible motion sickness).

Then on to food. We had previously mobile ordered so basically just got our food and ate. Although at one point, we decided to order 1 more thing and there was no issue with grabbing a time for mobile order at that point.

Then we walked around a bit and left around 12:30. Back to our hotel to put up the droids.

Any questions, feel free to ask.
 
@JMommyof3 , thank you so much for the great review! I am hoping aDocking Bay 7 will be open for us. We booked Oga’s. My DH & I don’t drink but my DS & DDIL will want to try the different drinks & I want to take in the atmosphere. Thanks again!
 
Since I would expect an AP preview to be less crowded than the opening days at Disneyland (when they had reservations), I am hoping to get be able to take it all in without long lines or crowds making it hard to notice all the "little" things.

I see myself wanting to take it all in and maybe start with a snack .. not rushing to Smuggler's Run (figure there will be the initial "stampede" at 9 am to the only ride in the land), but I definitely want to hit in the first hour to take advantage of the 9-11 am slot where there will be no overlap. Then we do our second "thing" (Savi's) (depending how those queues are being dealt with) and then maybe do some shopping and the droid experience, end with lunch/dinner at Docking Bay and head on out leisurely to take it all in.

I am just glad I can experience it this way "leisurely" without having to worry about potentially getting up 4 am to do it in the fall.
 
Following! We were thrilled to get this opportunity! We got the 11:00-3:00 spot on 08/18. Really, you got a great spot to get in first at 9:00 am... that means your group will have 2 hours all by yourselves with no overlap! I plan on researching how the reservation times went at DLR and basing our plan on that. We also got the reservation with MFSR + Oga's. I wonder... as long as you are in line for MFSR before your time slot is up, would they kick you out? We don't plan to do that, but if necessary I like to know my options! ;) Interested to see other's perspectives here.
We also got 11-3 on the 18th but MFSR and Savi. I am kind of kicking myself for not taking the earliest slot, I was just concerned with getting the right date and experience, I didn't think too hard about the time. Oh well, it will still be awesome to see it before it opens, even with two other groups overlapping the times.
 


I experienced the DL registration time period. I had multiple time slots, with the first being the very first morning (truly an awesome experience).

Obviously you won’t know how many people are in each time slot and how WDW will differ from DL, but the thing to remember is it’s a preview. They want CMs to get used to working the land with guests. And they want guests to have a good time to be able to spread the word that the land is amazing (at least in my opinion).

My first suggestion is to not go directly to the ride. Most people do that, which leads to higher wait times. After making that mistake the first day, we never waited more than 20 minutes in standby. We also took full advantage of the Single Rider line which was truly a walk-on. I rode the Falcon over 15x during the first month, but I know my friends rode it more times than that. We were not prevented from riding it in Standby as many times as we wanted. They would sometimes mark wristbands to note we got at least one ride in, but no one was turned away as long as their time slot was active.

No one was escorted out at the end of the time period. I often would plan it so I grabbed a meal in the last 15 minutes and take my time eating it and leaving the land, though there were times I stuck around for much longer, just taking it all in. I was never prevented from shopping or even ordering food even after my time slot, and my colored wristband was in plain view.

Droid Depot will probably be an easy enough line. In the beginning it was maybe 20 minute line, though as the reservation period went on, the line would get longer and longer for that. The morning session usually had the best luck and could have minimal wait times until the overlap hour started. I don’t know how the time slots for DHs will impact that though.

For DHS, I wouldn’t be surprised if they give you a return time for Savi’s or Oga’s, if that is included in your reservation, when you check-in (the final weekend we started getting business card sized return time slips for Oga’s). That will help you plan your time in the land.

One of the greatest things about SWGE is the land itself. There’s so much to see and explore, especially in the shops and marketplace, and really anywhere. It didn’t feel like Disneyland.

And while I had multiple time slots, I visited a couple times with people who only had 1 slot. Of course they would have loved to spend more time, but at the end, they were fine leaving. They got to see and experience everything they wanted. I would not stress about it, and just take it moment by moment!
 
We have 9-1 on 8/18. I know going straight to the ride isn’t ideal but that’s our plan as we want to enjoy our adult beverages at Oga’s post 11 am. We do want to snack and build a droid where allowed/available but I feel like all of these things can be done in four hours.
 
I also visited Batuu on the very last day of DL’s SWGE Reservations and here is my recap that I wrote for the TPAS Mods and @rteetz. *Oga sign-up info won’t apply.

Wow!

It was awesome! DH and I were pilots on MF and it was so cool to send it into hyperspace. An hour before the end of our window, MF was a walk-on and I was a gunner and DH was an engineer. Pilot is definitely the role to have!

4 hours was plenty of time because we didn’t make a droid or lightsaber; the SWGE CMs said they weren’t directing anyone out of the land at the end of their windows so we would have been fine staying if we had wanted. Lots of guests walking around with their boxed up droids.

Cantina was cool and worked smoothly with the reservation return times. We were told standing-room-only, 45 minutes, and max of 2 drinks each for our 1:00 return time. We were at the bar and bartenders had assigned areas/guests. Oga’s was out of coasters and my Carbon Freeze only had apple boba and not the 2 other flavors. Fun drink though as it wasn’t blah like other non-alcohol drinks. DH got Fuzzy Tauntaun and the foam has a ‘numbing effect.’ He shared the foam with WM Mary Jo and Chris for the experience and mainly because he didn’t like it! 😃

Stormtroopers were always roaming and we watched as Rey darted through a few times. Great interaction with the Troopers and young guests.

DL kept the Guest total manageable as there weren’t lines at the Marketplace - we walked up for food, blue and green milk, Coke bottles, and all the shops. The stall with the Ronto wraps was out of the Tatooine Sunset drink which is what I wanted because I ‘recognized’ Tatooine. 😉 I got the Sour Sarlaac and enjoyed it.

We kept seeing all the guests we met while waiting for rope drop and in the Cantina line. The line - after a massive horde of guests speed-walked behind the CM for the Cantina Reservations, they finally then kept announcing only 1 Guest per party needed to be in line. Not everyone got reservations because of the assigned times and guests really could return anytime after the time, just not before.

Overall, it was fun! The only hectic part was the Cantina rush and I was the designated ‘1’ after the line announcement. Not a lot of shade but it wasn’t too hot yesterday.

More reports from DL previews here:
https://www.disboards.com/threads/share-your-story-from-visiting-swge.3751432/
 


How early do you need to check in for your reservation? I have 5-9, trying to plan our day before heading to our preview. :)
 
I got 08/19 from 11-3. 17th and 18th were gone, but all hours were still available for the 19-21st. When I was checking out, the two options for Ogas and Savi's weren't showing up for me at all, so I don't have either of them. Anyone know why this is? I did call and talked to a CM and they are trying to get us into Oga's, but no idea if that will happen. They weren't sure why they didn't show up either. Maybe it was user error, but I looked for the option and saw nothing during the entire reservation process.

Also, does anyone know if any of the snack/qs locations will be open? One CM told me no and the second said they would be!
 
I got 08/19 from 11-3. 17th and 18th were gone, but all hours were still available for the 19-21st. When I was checking out, the two options for Ogas and Savi's weren't showing up for me at all, so I don't have either of them. Anyone know why this is? I did call and talked to a CM and they are trying to get us into Oga's, but no idea if that will happen. They weren't sure why they didn't show up either. Maybe it was user error, but I looked for the option and saw nothing during the entire reservation process.

Also, does anyone know if any of the snack/qs locations will be open? One CM told me no and the second said they would be!

So SAME THING happened to me - I'd be interested to know if the CM can get you in somewhere! I was wondering if worst case scenario it doesn't work out if we'd still be able to wait / line up day of.
 
As a solo previewer, am I better off using the single rider line or the regular line at MFSR? I actually think I would prefer to be in the engineer seat, so not getting pilot or gunner by using single rider wouldn’t be an issue. I was thinking Oga’s first, as my main priority there is taking photos, then a ride on the MF, then maybe a droid, then maybe another ride on MF if the line isn’t too bad. Then shopping and eating for my remaining time. I have a 9-1 slot, and my first FP is in TSL at 1:30.
 
I got 08/19 from 11-3. 17th and 18th were gone, but all hours were still available for the 19-21st. When I was checking out, the two options for Ogas and Savi's weren't showing up for me at all, so I don't have either of them. Anyone know why this is? I did call and talked to a CM and they are trying to get us into Oga's, but no idea if that will happen. They weren't sure why they didn't show up either. Maybe it was user error, but I looked for the option and saw nothing during the entire reservation process.

Also, does anyone know if any of the snack/qs locations will be open? One CM told me no and the second said they would be!
So SAME THING happened to me - I'd be interested to know if the CM can get you in somewhere! I was wondering if worst case scenario it doesn't work out if we'd still be able to wait / line up day of.

I’m going to assume that was because both Savis and Ogas has sold out by the time you went to register. There were 3 options: the ride only, the ride + Savi’s, and the ride + Oga’s. The first to go were all of the Savi’s and Oga’s options, regardless of the days. If you signed on and noticed that 2 days were COMPLETELY gone, then that was way after all of the Savi’s and Oga’s reservations were booked up. I sincerely doubt they will let walk-ups happen, but you never know. I’m also surprised a CM would be able to add you to an Oga’s reservation- I would have assumed they capped both experiences and once they sold out, then they are sold out.
 
But if all slots were open on my day...the 19th, why would they be booked up already because Sat and Sun were both booked up?
 
But if all slots were open on my day...the 19th, why would they be booked up already because Sat and Sun were both booked up?

Because only a limited number of slots had access to Ogas or Savis. After they filled up, there were still slots available for that day/time. They were just ride-only slots. After the ride-only slots filled up, the day was completely full. It would be like floor seats selling out first at a concert, followed by balcony seats and eventually a complete sellout.
 
But if all slots were open on my day...the 19th, why would they be booked up already because Sat and Sun were both booked up?

Well, the weekends were the first to go completely. That’s easy to deduce because people wouldn’t have to take off from work, etc. Every day(17, 18, 19, 20, 21) had options for Savi’s and Oga’s. And, each time slot within those days had a set amount of Savi’s and Oga’s reservations(we just don’t know what those numbers were). I’m not quite sure what you are asking. I laid it out pretty good in my first post.

The Savi’s and Oga’s reservations for any time slot, on any day, were selected by people before anyone picked the ride only slots. So, that means that the Savi’s and Oga’s reservations for the 17, 18, 19, 20, and 21 all sold out before any of the days completely sold out. Since the 17 and 18 were the weekend days, those would have been the next to sell out completely I.e. the ride only option.

Just as @OhhBother said in the metaphor of the concert- the more ideal seats are taken first. Savi’s and Oga’s were the more ‘ideal’ experiences and sold out first, regardless of the day, which was then followed by complete sellout of the weekend, followed by complete sellout of the entire event.

All of the time slots on your day may have been open, but all of the Savi’s and Oga’s reservations were already booked by the time you logged on to register. Out of curiosity, did you wait to get an email to register? Or already had the link? And what time did you register?
 

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