D23 EXPO 2019 Superthread - dates announced!

[DLgal]

For those who have done Smuggler's Run and have experience in asking... are they allowing to request positions in the cockpit? Say if somebody really wanted to pilot, etc. Is it up to the Cast Member or do you just have to discuss among your group and switch places yourselves??

You get what you get and can trade cards after they are handed out. The CMs don't acquiesce to requests. They hand the cards out in the order Pilot, Pilot, Gunner, Gunner, Engineer, Engineer. If you want Pilot, RUN over when they call your group color so you will be in front.

 

[ImDMous]

For those who have done Smuggler's Run and have experience in asking... are they allowing to request positions in the cockpit? Say if somebody really wanted to pilot, etc. Is it up to the Cast Member or do you just have to discuss among your group and switch places yourselves??

We've been on it 3 times, when we got to that part, the CM just handed them out and said if we wanted to switch among ourselves we could. Since you are all standing there lined up together I think it might be rude to just ask the CM instead of asking the group.

 

[Piglet Fan]

You get what you get and can trade cards after they are handed out. The CMs don't acquiesce to requests. They hand the cards out in the order Pilot, Pilot, Gunner, Gunner, Engineer, Engineer. If you want Pilot, RUN over when they call your group color so you will be in front.

We did that and it did not work for us. Our CM handed them in reverse order... so our group of three got both engineers and a gunner. (The gunner was good because that's what my son wanted.) Fortunately, there were only 5 in our crew. Since the second pilot was not handed out, my husband was able to take that position.

My husband rode single rider once and got engineer as many others have reported.

The other time we rode, we had the ride to ourselves, which was great!

 

[Mathmagicland]

You get what you get and can trade cards after they are handed out. The CMs don't acquiesce to requests. They hand the cards out in the order Pilot, Pilot, Gunner, Gunner, Engineer, Engineer. If you want Pilot, RUN over when they call your group color so you will be in front.

When I was there last Friday, first ride the CM randomly handed them out face down no particular order. Our group was a dad plus 3 boys, so we asked the dad if the boys wanted a particular role and ended up trading one of our cards.

Next two rides, CM seemed to hand out in order, though last ride the CM was set to give me one role (I was single rider) and then the other party grabbed it & said they had to all be together. However, they had never ridden before and had no idea what any role did, so it ended up being the worst flight as the pilots were not good at all...

So I think it depends on the CM handing out the cards.

 

[Elias1901]

So... to build onto this notion... the lightsabers from Savi's should definitely NOT actually be used for play-fighting with other lightsabers (aka "dueling")? I know there's some lightsaber makers online that make them purposely to be used to duel with each other... but I certainly don't want to assume these are of that level of durability and end up completely decimating a $200+ purchase...

Anybody have first hand experience with this? Lol.

 

[rteetz]

Everything seems to be going very well so far. Not sure Disney could've done much better.

 

[rteetz]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1143243588287029248

 

[rteetz]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1143244473905713152

 

[MommyLove]

Everything seems to be going very well so far. Not sure Disney could've done much better.

I agree! Including planning involving the AP block outs.

However, they could have done better with the merch. When we went on June 3rd (Day 4 of the reservation period) the droid backpacks were sold out. We're they ever back in stock?? Also on June 8th when we went to try the blue & green milk, they were OUT of green milk. Many other examples. How did they not have enough Loth Cats and monkeys?? The merch thing has been a disappointment. But the crowds... two thumbs up!

 

[rteetz]

However, they could have done better with the merch. When we went on June 3rd (Day 4 of the reservation period) the droid backpacks were sold out. We're they ever back in stock?? Also on June 8th when we went to try the blue & green milk, they were OUT of green milk. Many other examples. How did they not have enough Loth Cats and monkeys?? The merch thing has been a disappointment. But the crowds... two thumbs up!

Yeah merch stock does seem to be an issue. Droid chips are currently sold out. Merch is always a hot issue when these big lands first open. I don't think you can realistically prepare for which items will be more popular than others. Obviously you can get an idea but some are simply going to exceed those numbers.

 

[dis_or_dat]

Not pertain-able to today, but was able to snag 3 slots over the last week. Never got to Critter's Country more than 20-30 min early.

Monday 8pm-12am: first time in the land. My son is young and I knew he wouldn't be able to stay up long and we didn't know where anything was. We asked about droid building and was directed to the Droid Depot. The line was short and we only waited 20 min. They had run out of all black R unit bodies and only had First Order personality chips, which was fine with my DS. There was a line to get into Dok Ondar's, so we skipped it. Otherwise, we just walked around exploring. GE is gorgeous at night! Fireworks started right as we were heading out and we got a few pictures with Chewie.

Wednesday 11-3pm: Came with 2 other families and I was tasked with getting an Oga's cantina time. We were told expressly to follow the CM with the orange flag around her stick and not go ahead of her and it turned out to be a pretty orderly process. I was able to snag a time 30 min later and the text message came on time. We had a party of 14 and they put us right in front of DJ R3X. The kids had a blast dancing. The power went out and the bartenders led us on a chant to fix the hyperdrive! My favorite part was when DJ R3X rebooted, he quoted a bunch of lines from his Star Tours days. Line for droids was long so I was happy we had done it earlier. Smuggler's Run line was basically walk on. The kids piloted the ship and it did not do well! Afterwards, the CMs commented on how the ship needed lots of repairs and that Chewie would be on it. LOL

Thursday 11-3pm: Rey walked in with our group and it was awesome. This time was just my family and we split up since I wanted to do Savi's workshop. Even though I was near the front of the line, my slot was almost 1.5 hours later and the CM warned me to prioritize Savi over Oga's. The line was cut off pretty quickly. DH got an Oga's time slot 2.5 hours later, so it all worked out. I thought Savi's was an amazing experience and my DS helped build my lightsaber. They had also restocked the gift cards with a minimum $100 balance. We went on Smuggler's Run a few times, ate, and took lots of pictures!

I think SW:GE is an amazing land! They did such a good job. We saw Chewie, Kylo Ren, Vi Moradi, and Rey. The music, ships, and buildings had incredible detail. I think Oga's and Savi's is worth it. I'm not into buying expensive lightsabers, but making a custom one was a once-in-a-lifetime experience for me. I was prepared to hate the blue milk, but turned out to be the only one who was able to finish it. Green milk, not so much. I can't wait to come back, but happy we accomplished all the "big" things and now I can just enjoy the land (and maybe some Oga's concoctions!).

FWIW, a friend sent a picture of Smuggler's Run wait time from Sunday and it was 240 min!!!!!

 

[AndrewC]

Still wish Disney would do something for resort guests... my $2800 DLH reservation would sure be a heck of a lot easier to take if it meant I got one guaranteed entrance to the land per hotel stay, and one guaranteed reservation to each of the building workshops, and was able to lock in a time either during check in, or anytime via the app. None of this 7am nonsense would be wonderful for hotel guests...

 

[gottalovepluto]

Not pertain-able to today, but was able to snag 3 slots over the last week. Never got to Critter's Country more than 20-30 min early.

Monday 8pm-12am: first time in the land. My son is young and I knew he wouldn't be able to stay up long and we didn't know where anything was. We asked about droid building and was directed to the Droid Depot. The line was short and we only waited 20 min. They had run out of all black R unit bodies and only had First Order personality chips, which was fine with my DS. There was a line to get into Dok Ondar's, so we skipped it. Otherwise, we just walked around exploring. GE is gorgeous at night! Fireworks started right as we were heading out and we got a few pictures with Chewie.

Wednesday 11-3pm: Came with 2 other families and I was tasked with getting an Oga's cantina time. We were told expressly to follow the CM with the orange flag around her stick and not go ahead of her and it turned out to be a pretty orderly process. I was able to snag a time 30 min later and the text message came on time. We had a party of 14 and they put us right in front of DJ R3X. The kids had a blast dancing. The power went out and the bartenders led us on a chant to fix the hyperdrive! My favorite part was when DJ R3X rebooted, he quoted a bunch of lines from his Star Tours days. Line for droids was long so I was happy we had done it earlier. Smuggler's Run line was basically walk on. The kids piloted the ship and it did not do well! Afterwards, the CMs commented on how the ship needed lots of repairs and that Chewie would be on it. LOL

Thursday 11-3pm: Rey walked in with our group and it was awesome. This time was just my family and we split up since I wanted to do Savi's workshop. Even though I was near the front of the line, my slot was almost 1.5 hours later and the CM warned me to prioritize Savi over Oga's. The line was cut off pretty quickly. DH got an Oga's time slot 2.5 hours later, so it all worked out. I thought Savi's was an amazing experience and my DS helped build my lightsaber. They had also restocked the gift cards with a minimum $100 balance. We went on Smuggler's Run a few times, ate, and took lots of pictures!

I think SW:GE is an amazing land! They did such a good job. We saw Chewie, Kylo Ren, Vi Moradi, and Rey. The music, ships, and buildings had incredible detail. I think Oga's and Savi's is worth it. I'm not into buying expensive lightsabers, but making a custom one was a once-in-a-lifetime experience for me. I was prepared to hate the blue milk, but turned out to be the only one who was able to finish it. Green milk, not so much. I can't wait to come back, but happy we accomplished all the "big" things and now I can just enjoy the land (and maybe some Oga's concoctions!).

FWIW, a friend sent a picture of Smuggler's Run wait time from Sunday and it was 240 min!!!!!

Your friends pic had to have been based off the same faulty reading we were seeing at brief intervals this morning. At no point during the reservation period did the wait actually hit 240 mins- or anywhere near that.

 

[gottalovepluto]

Still wish Disney would do something for resort guests... my $2800 DLH reservation would sure be a heck of a lot easier to take if it meant I got one guaranteed entrance to the land per hotel stay, and one guaranteed reservation to each of the building workshops, and was able to lock in a time either during check in, or anytime via the app. None of this 7am nonsense would be wonderful for hotel guests...

I wouldn’t hold my breath. If people will book the hotels anyway why should Disney add extra perks?
(Admittedly their hotel bookings aren’t exactly stellar for this summer!)

 

[AndrewC]

Also, does a reservation to the cantina or lightsaber building get you IN the land? Or could I book reservations for both or either of those, get the time slot I want, and then not be able to get IN the land because of capacity?

 

[DLgal]

Also, does a reservation to the cantina or lightsaber building get you IN the land? Or could I book reservations for both or either of those, get the time slot I want, and then not be able to get IN the land because of capacity?

Yes, a Savi's or Oga's reservation will get you into the land one hour early.

 

[AndrewC]

I wouldn’t hold my breath. If people will book the hotels anyway why should Disney add extra perks?
(Admittedly their hotel bookings aren’t exactly stellar for this summer!)

Because Disney already advertises that restaurant reservations are park or the perks resort guests get. I know those are hit or miss (though most people have had good luck with last minute from what I’ve heard). Knowing Star Wars is the most popular thing in a long time, it just seems like something Disney could have kicked in. Either that or just kept the reservation system going longer. It just seems very stressful trying to book other reservations (table service, dining packages, etc) when Star Wars is a big unknown until the day of...

 

[AndrewC]

Yes, a Savi's or Oga's reservation will get you into the land one hour early.

Oh! That’s a big plus! So at least at ~7am I could potentially nail down my Star Wars time frame to an hour before whatever reservation I can snag... that’s good! I was thinking it would be nice to head there toward the evening but was worried I would either have to stay in the land or hit capacity issues if I waited to get in late in the day...

 

[Bigrob37]

Anybody have first hand experience with this? Lol.

I have two and use them with the kids for several fights mabye 10ish minutes. Now I dont slam them on the ground or take full baseball swings or have the kids use them in their everyday fights. But if the blade breaks its only $30 ish dollars to repleace. I have accidently dropped the hilt on the ground a couple of times and seems no worse for wear.

 

[dis_or_dat]

Your friends pic had to have been based off the same faulty reading we were seeing at brief intervals this morning. At no point during the reservation period did the wait actually hit 240 mins- or anywhere near that.

That's good to know