D23 EXPO 2019 Superthread - dates announced!

[MemoriesintheMaking]

We aren't going until August, but this thread has been amazing with all of the excitement and details!!

I've read a couple mentions of an ADA pod on Smuggler's Run...can anyone tell me what is different about this pod? My brother is in a wheelchair and we are trying to figure out if this ride will work for him or not. He has cerebral palsy and my husband and I will be transferring him on/off rides such as GotG, Soarin', and Star Tours. These are the kinds of rides he was able to do and loved riding on our last trip. He isn't up to the intensity of Incredicoaster or Space Mountain, however.

Are there seat restraints on Smuggler's Run? Does the ride jostle you around a lot? If he is able to sit in one of the chairs, will it affect the other riders if he isn't able to push the buttons?

Thanks so much!

 

[Gaugersaurus]

@Tink1987 Thanks. Although, with reports again today that guests at Savi needed to stay there the whole time (at least that's what I read this morning, despite yesterday having return times), there 8s a big difference between using a very long percentage of your time there waiting for your spot (being near the end of the cutoff time of 30ish minutes), versus being in the first group or two and being done within an hour or so.

I think they may have moved away from giving return times as there is really no way for them to track it and people were missing their time slot. Right now they're using laminated color cards to signify your build group which can lead to confusion if people are coming and going in the area especially in the reservation periods with 2 overlaps. There was one group on Friday in the 5-9 period that had missed their group and the CM told them to come back at 10pm. It will be interesting in seeing how they address this other than keeping everyone in the small courtyard area they have.

We aren't going until August, but this thread has been amazing with all of the excitement and details!!

I've read a couple mentions of an ADA pod on Smuggler's Run...can anyone tell me what is different about this pod? My brother is in a wheelchair and we are trying to figure out if this ride will work for him or not. He has cerebral palsy and my husband and I will be transferring him on/off rides such as GotG, Soarin', and Star Tours. These are the kinds of rides he was able to do and loved riding on our last trip. He isn't up to the intensity of Incredicoaster or Space Mountain, however.

Are there seat restraints on Smuggler's Run? Does the ride jostle you around a lot? If he is able to sit in one of the chairs, will it affect the other riders if he isn't able to push the buttons?

Thanks so much!

In my experience the ADA pod isn't on the turntable and you enter and exit in the same area. I'd say intensity wise it's not much more than Star Tours so its a standard seat with a seat belt. If he is assigned pilot I would definitely trade for engineer, before the ride starts you're instructed to press a button to activate your controls. As long as he doesn't press the button he can sit and enjoy the ride while Hondo will "help out just this once since there's only one engineer".

 

[dieumeye]

So, up through First Order toward MF, turn at Dok Ondar's and down the steps to Savi, then?

That would seem to be the way you'd go if you enter at Frontierland and are not allowed to go straight up the path, but are instead sent to the right toward First Order Cargo. I didn't do Savi's, so I can't say for sure, but there were a ton of CMs around directing people so no matter what you plan, keep an eye and ear out for whatever CMs are saying in the moment.

 

[Lesley Wake]

One weird note: normally I HATE when guests try to interact with, or be part of, the ride experience - calling out lines, etc. But something odd here... on one of my flights, there was a young woman who had clearly ridden a bunch of times. And all throughout the ride, she was rallying the crew and calling out to everyone about what needed to be done (in a positive, lively way). And you know what... I think that actually made the ride better. It totally upped the excitement and the "we're in this together" mentality. In contrast, the least interesting flight I had was one where the 6 of us all just kind of silently got on together and didn't really make any effort to interact in any way. I'm no extrovert (so I know this can be easier said than done) but I highly recommend that you try to at least exchange some friendly chit chat with your fellow crew members prior to the flight.

I agree! It's so much fun being a crew together! I always try to hi-five my partner after the ride and somewhat rally together in the chess room!

I think that is what I love about this land so much - everyone is just soooo excited and happy! The reservations have limited the number of people so everyone can have a really good time!

 

[Lesley Wake]

I think they may have moved away from giving return times as there is really no way for them to track it and people were missing their time slot. Right now they're using laminated color cards to signify your build group which can lead to confusion if people are coming and going in the area especially in the reservation periods with 2 overlaps. There was one group on Friday in the 5-9 period that had missed their group and the CM told them to come back at 10pm. It will be interesting in seeing how they address this other than keeping everyone in the small courtyard area they have.

I think they should do the laminated cards and the text alert. So, say you are Group 5 (I'm just using numbers instead of colors). When Group 3 goes in, that will be about 40 minutes before your time. They send an alert telling you to get back within 20 minutes. Should give you enough time to finish any food/shopping/ride. Then the group is collected and ready to go with plenty of time.

When we got our cards on Friday, the CMs knew it would be about an hour, so said we could leave the area, but to not go on the ride. I think I wandered, shopped, and ate food, before heading back to the waiting area. I arrived with plenty of time and one group was allowed in before mine.

 

[Sandeep1]

It may have been said already but as I originally suspected, Disney is doing nothing to stop people from entering multiple times with multiple reservations. No ID scanning (as people speculated earlier), and no park ticket scanning. If you have multiple reservations, you will get in each time. People are even brazen enough to bring their lightsabers that they bought from previous entries.

 

[MemoriesintheMaking]

In my experience the ADA pod isn't on the turntable and you enter and exit in the same area. I'd say intensity wise it's not much more than Star Tours so its a standard seat with a seat belt. If he is assigned pilot I would definitely trade for engineer, before the ride starts you're instructed to press a button to activate your controls. As long as he doesn't press the button he can sit and enjoy the ride while Hondo will "help out just this once since there's only one engineer".

Thank you!!

 

[DeluxePrincess]

Just wondering if you can ask the CM o be the pilot on the Falcon?

 

[Tink1987]

Just wondering if you can ask the CM o be the pilot on the Falcon?

There’s been a lot of differing reports. Some say yes you can and others have said they were told not to request. We are really tempted tomorrow to ask and just hope they take pity on us. Another CM in the land said we should just ask for it and see what they say!

 

[mafpi]

For those of you with an 8am reservation, what time does the parking lots open. I am not onsite. Ive heard 5:30 and 6:30?

 

[dina444444]

For those of you with an 8am reservation, what time does the parking lots open. I am not onsite. Ive heard 5:30 and 6:30?

Disney publicized 5:30 since check in starts at 6am.

 

[EmJ]

Does anyone know whether there are costuming limits for children? The Boy (5) wants to dress as a Stormtrooper, which is his favorite character. But I didn't know whether the helmet would be allowed.

Also, apropos of nothing, he is SO EXCITED to build a droid that he couldn't wait anymore. He built one tonight out of a Kleenex box, an egg carton, most of the Scotch tape in the house, construction paper, and some stickers. His name is R2H4. I don't know how we're all going to wait another 9 months!

 

[dieumeye]

There’s been a lot of differing reports. Some say yes you can and others have said they were told not to request. We are really tempted tomorrow to ask and just hope they take pity on us. Another CM in the land said we should just ask for it and see what they say!

It seems to be totally up to the CM handing out the cards. The cards are clearly marked and have a slightly different shape for the different jobs (if I'm remembering correctly, pilot has a bump on the side, gunner has a bump in the middle, and engineer has no bump), so it's not really a mystery to the CM.

My experience on several rides was: most of the time people just accepted what they got, or sometimes traded with a member of their party. When people asked the CM if they could have a specific job they were usually told that they could switch/barter with their other crew members and then quickly shuffled inside. One time a very young boy asked the CM "can I be a flyer" and the CM said yes and gave him a pilot card.

The way it's set up, you are assigned a job in a small room about the size of an elevator. If you are with a group of strangers, then it's kind of awkward to request a specific job (at least to me) because, well, why should I get special treatment and not the other strangers in there with me? I'd say it doesn't hurt to ask - nicely - and especially ask your other crew members if they're willing to switch so you can get a specific job. And also, for what it's worth, everyone wants to be pilot, but I honestly thought all the jobs were fun.

Edit: The best strategy is to go with a larger group. If you are a party of 6, then you can decide amongst yourselves who does what. Even if you are a party of 3, you have a better chance of someone in your group having the job you want. But having said all that, I was doing single rider a bunch of times and was able to get all the jobs without having to beg or barter at all, so consider that you should can do multiple rides during the reservation period if you are set on getting a specific job.

 

[Tink1987]

Does anyone know whether there are costuming limits for children? The Boy (5) wants to dress as a Stormtrooper, which is his favorite character. But I didn't know whether the helmet would be allowed.

Also, apropos of nothing, he is SO EXCITED to build a droid that he couldn't wait anymore. He built one tonight out of a Kleenex box, an egg carton, most of the Scotch tape in the house, construction paper, and some stickers. His name is R2H4. I don't know how we're all going to wait another 9 months!

There were lots of little boys and girls dressed up as Rey, Stormtroopers and even Porgs when we have visited

 

[Tink1987]

It seems to be totally up to the CM handing out the cards. The cards are clearly marked and have a slightly different shape for the different jobs (if I'm remembering correctly, pilot has a bump on the side, gunner has a bump in the middle, and engineer has no bump), so it's not really a mystery to the CM.

My experience on several rides was: most of the time people just accepted what they got, or sometimes traded with a member of their party. When people asked the CM if they could have a specific job they were usually told that they could switch/barter with their other crew members and then quickly shuffled inside. One time a very young boy asked the CM "can I be a flyer" and the CM said yes and gave him a pilot card.

The way it's set up, you are assigned a job in a small room about the size of an elevator. If you are with a group of strangers, then it's kind of awkward to request a specific job (at least to me) because, well, why should I get special treatment and not the other strangers in there with me? I'd say it doesn't hurt to ask - nicely - and especially ask your other crew members if they're willing to switch so you can get a specific job. And also, for what it's worth, everyone wants to be pilot, but I honestly thought all the jobs were fun.

I’ve already ridden several times and each time got gunner and engineer, hence me saying we may ask tomorrow

I don’t want to ask a stranger to switch as I think that’s unfair when there is only 2 of us. They will want to be pilot as well. I think it should be on the CM to say yes or no before we enter the card room.

 

[Sparky McGrew]

We're visiting DL later this year. I'm really enjoying all of your helpful comments, so thank you for all the tips and advice.

QUESTION: Which of the three entrances is the most dramatic for a first-time visitor?

Which entrance makes you say "Wow!"?
(Thanks.)

 

[DisneyJamieCA]

Have there been any recent rumors about FP being added after the reservation period is up? A very popular Disney blogger I follow says she was told they would start on the 24th. Even though everybody so far has said the opposite - or no immediate plans at least. She said she’d confirm on Wed, but thought I’d ask the experts here as well.

 

[Skyegirl1999]

CMs can get in and sign people into the parks until 6/16 now. They were supposed to be blocked out.

It won’t affect the SWGE experience, but FYI for the parks at large.

 

[dina444444]

CMs can get in and sign people into the parks until 6/16 now. They were supposed to be blocked out.

It won’t affect the SWGE experience, but FYI for the parks at large.

It’s not unusual for them to make adjustments to the cm blockout calendar. They likely will make more as the summer goes on.

 

[EmJ]

There were lots of little boys and girls dressed up as Rey, Stormtroopers and even Porgs when we have visited

Yay! He will be so happy.