nm

[choirfarm]

nm

 

[GADisneyDad14]

5. Looks like the park hours are 7am-10pm, so we need to get there at 6am. ( My daughter will NOT be happy.)

Just FYI, right now, Disney’s Hollywood Studios (DHS) posted park hours for 1/8 are 8am-8pm.

 

[Ensusieasm]

The last time we did Disney was 2008 and I was commando and we had a great time. SO much has changed since then. I was taking 15 hours of grad work this semester and just finished. Our daughter's senior trip/ Christmas gift to everyone else is Jan 3-11th. We are spending most of our time 4 days at Universal. The kids ( 24,22 and 18) want to do one day at Hollywood Studios. My daughter asked we not do commando, not be there at the crack of dawn etc for the majority of our vacation. We have a house and will chill out, watch football and such.

Looking at what little I have for HS my head is spinning. So much has changed I want to cry. I do not understand most of the acronymns on here. Let me tell you what I understand and then help me figure out what I am missing. Ok, I think we have decided we are going Wednesday, Jan 8th.
1. I need to go onto Disney or Undercover Tourist and get our one day ticket for the 5 of us.
2. Then I need everyone to get a My Disney App....our 18yo doesn't have a smart phone so.... Somehow I attatch a ticket to each My Disney App????
3. Then somehow I link us together????? Then I need to see if there are any Fast Passes available. Can we just do one Teir 1 and forget about reserving the two fromTeir 2? My kids don't care about any of the Teir 2 stuff. They want to do most of the stuff on Teir 1 and the Star Wars stuff.
4. Print out the touring plans for HS.
5. Looks like the park hours are 7am-10pm, so we need to get there at 6am. ( My daughter will NOT be happy.)
6. Now, we will have electronic tickets. I think I read that I will have to exchange them for a real paper ticket for the boarding groups to work.... So when can we do that???
7. So when we get there at 6am we will be able to enter a limited area of the park. It reads we are there and I try for a boarding group...for now this is where I am so confused. Rise of Resistance?? Millenium Falcon??? Is this to enter the land?? From the tour plan, it looks like we sing up for Rise of Resistence and go immediately to do the Millenium Falcon.
8. How do the boarding groups work with your Fast Pass. So if we get a Fast Pass for Rock n Roller Coaster at 3pm, but our boarding group ends up being then????

Sigh. I call and text on my cell phone. That is it. This Disney App thing is making me nervous. I'm afraid I will mess it up... My daughter does not want me stressed. She wants to just chill and enjoy ourselves and if we wait for 3 hours for a ride so be it.. No, I don't wait in line that long. I just don't. Last time we walked on everything. I had 5 fast passes in my hand all the time. It was great. This is giving me a headache.

Get the free My Disney Experience Ap
Get your tickets online from Disney. Link them to your My Disney Experience account.
Everyone doesn’t need the Ap. It’s ok if just you have the “MDE” And you list everyone else as friends and family and link their ticket to their name. You will have to arrive early, 30 minutes is ok, an hour is better.
You can’t get the boarding group for Rise of the Resistance until all are tapped in to the park. Practice with the Ap beforehand.
Call Disney and ask for the My Disney Experience help department to get yourselves all signed up correctly. If you don’t have a magic band you will have to stop at customer service for a card ticket to tap in with.

 

[Ross Kratter]

If you want to do Rise of the Resistance, I highly recommend you arrive at least 2 hours prior to advertised park opening.

 

[barb969]

You can get your tickets electronically from UC and link them to your MDE account.

 

[billlaurie]

If you want to do Rise of the Resistance, I highly recommend you arrive at least 2 hours prior to advertised park opening.

This really isn't necessary as long as you are tapped in at the park when it opens, unless they change the current virtual queue system. We arrived 45 minutes, and 15 minutes prior to opening on Thursday and Friday and were able to get spots. I wouldn't recommend the 15 minutes, we didn't tap in until 701 and it was a bit more stressful. 45 minutes to an hour before opening should be fine.

 

[CJN]

3. ...Can we just do one Teir 1 and forget about reserving the two fromTeir 2? My kids don't care about any of the Teir 2 stuff. They want to do most of the stuff on Teir 1 and the Star Wars stuff.

If you don’t get/use any tier 2 fastpasses you won’t be able to get any additional tier 1s after using the first tier 1. You can still ride more tier 1s by using standby, though, just not book anymore fastpasses at that level.

 

[RememberWhoYouAre]

You can just add everyone's tickets to your My Disney Experience account. It's pretty easy to do - basically just input the ticket # and assign it to a person in your family. Then you'll be able to make fastpasses for everyone. Your kids don't need their own MDE account (unless they want one).
My 20 yr old DD has the app on her phone and knows my login info so she can make or change FPs if she wants or needs to. Your kids can download the MDE app, or they can use mydisneyexperience.com in the web browser on their phone to look for more FPs/modify FPs if they don't want to use the app. They can all just use your login info.

Boarding groups are only used for Rise of The Resistance. Galaxy's Edge is open to all, and millenium falcon smugglers run is standby line for everyone.
Once your boarding group is called you have a 2 hour window to return to Rise of the Resistance, so that should be plenty of time to work around any FP that you may have.
If your kids are interested, they could download the Disney Play app. There's a section for Galaxy's Edge that has hacks and translations. We tried it while there, but it didn't interest my kids (10 and 20). They could use your MDE login info for this as well.

 

[choirfarm]

nm

 

[Ensusieasm]

Ok, so will the customer service be there at 6am? We will need to do that before we can get our boarding group.... UGGH so confusing.

Not sure when they open at the park. You could do this the day before. Also, the information center at Disney Springs could do this.

 

[choirfarm]

nm

 

[dizneegirl]

You have two hours to "report" to Rise of the Resistance after your boarding pass is called. That should be enough time to get there no matter what you're doing at the time it's called.

 

[mousefansmom]

The last time we did Disney was 2008 and I was commando and we had a great time. SO much has changed since then. I was taking 15 hours of grad work this semester and just finished. Our daughter's senior trip/ Christmas gift to everyone else is Jan 3-11th. We are spending most of our time 4 days at Universal. The kids ( 24,22 and 18) want to do one day at Hollywood Studios. My daughter asked we not do commando, not be there at the crack of dawn etc for the majority of our vacation. We have a house and will chill out, watch football and such.

Looking at what little I have for HS my head is spinning. So much has changed I want to cry. I do not understand most of the acronymns on here. Let me tell you what I understand and then help me figure out what I am missing. Ok, I think we have decided we are going Wednesday, Jan 8th.
1. I need to go onto Disney or Undercover Tourist and get our one day ticket for the 5 of us.
2. Then I need everyone to get a My Disney App....our 18yo doesn't have a smart phone so.... Somehow I attatch a ticket to each My Disney App????
3. Then somehow I link us together????? Then I need to see if there are any Fast Passes available. Can we just do one Teir 1 and forget about reserving the two fromTeir 2? My kids don't care about any of the Teir 2 stuff. They want to do most of the stuff on Teir 1 and the Star Wars stuff.
4. Print out the touring plans for HS.
5. Looks like the park hours are 7am-10pm, so we need to get there at 6am. ( My daughter will NOT be happy.)
6. Now, we will have electronic tickets. I think I read that I will have to exchange them for a real paper ticket for the boarding groups to work.... So when can we do that???
7. So when we get there at 6am we will be able to enter a limited area of the park. It reads we are there and I try for a boarding group...for now this is where I am so confused. Rise of Resistance?? Millenium Falcon??? Is this to enter the land?? From the tour plan, it looks like we sing up for Rise of Resistence and go immediately to do the Millenium Falcon.
8. How do the boarding groups work with your Fast Pass. So if we get a Fast Pass for Rock n Roller Coaster at 3pm, but our boarding group ends up being then????

Sigh. I call and text on my cell phone. That is it. This Disney App thing is making me nervous. I'm afraid I will mess it up... My daughter does not want me stressed. She wants to just chill and enjoy ourselves and if we wait for 3 hours for a ride so be it.. No, I don't wait in line that long. I just don't. Last time we walked on everything. I had 5 fast passes in my hand all the time. It was great. This is giving me a headache.

I so totally agree, that everything is SO overwhelming...I miss the old days where you grabbed your fastpasses from the little thing that spit them out. I haven't gotten one since--don't even know how to do it. I am a whiz at getting good prices for airfare and rooms, but that is kind of like filling up the bathtub and never getting in. This is what I know right now---I should try to get to FoP in Hollywood Studios--but I don't know what FoP is. I know that there is a fastpass for a Star Wars ride, but it sounds like you also need a boarding pass (I don't know if that is a separate ticket). I also agree that waiting in ANY line for 3 hours is just too much. I would have to be lining up to see the coming of Jesus for that. I think we are soul sisters. Hope you can still enjoy your time!

 

[HorizonsRIP]

Be sure to complain about some minor issue at your hotel in the hopes of scoring some extra fp

 

[YawningDodo]

The last time we did Disney was 2008 and I was commando and we had a great time. SO much has changed since then. I was taking 15 hours of grad work this semester and just finished. Our daughter's senior trip/ Christmas gift to everyone else is Jan 3-11th. We are spending most of our time 4 days at Universal. The kids ( 24,22 and 18) want to do one day at Hollywood Studios. My daughter asked we not do commando, not be there at the crack of dawn etc for the majority of our vacation. We have a house and will chill out, watch football and such.

Looking at what little I have for HS my head is spinning. So much has changed I want to cry. I do not understand most of the acronymns on here. Let me tell you what I understand and then help me figure out what I am missing. Ok, I think we have decided we are going Wednesday, Jan 8th.
1. I need to go onto Disney or Undercover Tourist and get our one day ticket for the 5 of us.
2. Then I need everyone to get a My Disney App....our 18yo doesn't have a smart phone so.... Somehow I attatch a ticket to each My Disney App????
3. Then somehow I link us together????? Then I need to see if there are any Fast Passes available. Can we just do one Teir 1 and forget about reserving the two fromTeir 2? My kids don't care about any of the Teir 2 stuff. They want to do most of the stuff on Teir 1 and the Star Wars stuff.
4. Print out the touring plans for HS.
5. Looks like the park hours are 7am-10pm, so we need to get there at 6am. ( My daughter will NOT be happy.)
6. Now, we will have electronic tickets. I think I read that I will have to exchange them for a real paper ticket for the boarding groups to work.... So when can we do that???
7. So when we get there at 6am we will be able to enter a limited area of the park. It reads we are there and I try for a boarding group...for now this is where I am so confused. Rise of Resistance?? Millenium Falcon??? Is this to enter the land?? From the tour plan, it looks like we sing up for Rise of Resistence and go immediately to do the Millenium Falcon.
8. How do the boarding groups work with your Fast Pass. So if we get a Fast Pass for Rock n Roller Coaster at 3pm, but our boarding group ends up being then????

Sigh. I call and text on my cell phone. That is it. This Disney App thing is making me nervous. I'm afraid I will mess it up... My daughter does not want me stressed. She wants to just chill and enjoy ourselves and if we wait for 3 hours for a ride so be it.. No, I don't wait in line that long. I just don't. Last time we walked on everything. I had 5 fast passes in my hand all the time. It was great. This is giving me a headache.

1. You can either buy tickets direct from Disney on their website or, yes, go to Undercover Tourist. If you go with UT I would suggest having them send the tickets electronically; you will get codes to input on Disney's site and they'll be linked to your account as soon as you do that. If that sounds too confusing or frustrating, just buy direct from Disney--for a one day ticket UT probably won't actually save you that much money, so if it prevents a headache to buy direct it shouldn't be a huge loss.
2. As others have said, you really only need one person in your party to have the app. Sign up for a My Disney Experience account if you haven't already, create profiles for your family members on your account, and assign the tickets to their profiles. You will control everything at that point. If you want each family member to control their own account then yes, they'd need to sign up individually and then link accounts together.
3. In order to be able to get a second tier 1 fastpass while you're there (which you can do in the app), you will have to use two tier 2 FP as well as your tier 1. Some people book attractions they don't actually want to ride and then either just don't go ride them or tap in and leave without riding. If you book and use only a tier 1 FP, you will not be able to get any more tier 1 FP that day.
4. Sure, if touring plans are helpful to you, print one out.
5. As long as you get there half an hour before opening you should be fine to get in and get a boarding group right at opening time according to most reports. Remember that leaving early is an option, as well as leaving midday, napping, and coming back for the evening.
6. Paper no, card yes--that's not to get a boarding group, that's to get into the park at all. Crossed out the above because you probably want to allow another half hour to go to the ticket window, so yeah, an hour before opening.
7. Rise of the Resistance has boarding groups, which is what you'll need to sign up for. Millennium Falcon: Smuggler's Run is standby lines only. You do not need a boarding group or anything special to enter the land; you just need one to ride Rise.
8. As others have said, you have a 2 hour window to return when your boarding group is called. That's plenty of time to finish whatever you're doing at that moment.

As for stressing out about the app and about messing things up, what I would suggest in your case would be don't plan on using the app to book your boarding group. By all accounts, there are cast members with tablets all around the first area you enter and they will book a boarding group for you if you don't want to/can't use your own phone. If you're already feeling stressed out by the app and by the potential to "mess up," I think your morning is going to be a lot less stressful if you plan on taking advantage of this service. Just find a CM with a tablet and ask for help.

And maybe try practicing with the app now if you want to try to book fastpasses on your phone. It really does take you through the process step-by-step, and it may not be as overwhelming as you think once you try it out. Alternatively, I believe they still have kiosks in the parks where you can go up to a machine and use it to book fastpasses instead of using your phone--when we were there in 2015 we used those and there were CMs there to help with the whole process. I just like using my phone because it's faster.

I so totally agree, that everything is SO overwhelming...I miss the old days where you grabbed your fastpasses from the little thing that spit them out. I haven't gotten one since--don't even know how to do it. I am a whiz at getting good prices for airfare and rooms, but that is kind of like filling up the bathtub and never getting in. This is what I know right now---
I should try to get to FoP in Hollywood Studios--but I don't know what FoP is. I know that there is a fastpass for a Star Wars ride, but it sounds like you also need a boarding pass (I don't know if that is a separate ticket). I also agree that waiting in ANY line for 3 hours is just too much. I would have to be lining up to see the coming of Jesus for that. I think we are soul sisters. Hope you can still enjoy your time!

1. FoP is Flight of Passage, which is a very popular ride in Animal Kingdom.
2. There are three Star Wars rides in Hollywood Studios: Star Tours, Millennium Falcon Smuggler's Run, and Rise of the Resistance. Star Tours has fastpasses, but the other two do not. Smuggler's Run only has a standby line, and Rise of the Resistance has boarding groups. Boarding groups are not a separate ticket; it is just a system that gives you a return time instead of making you stand in line all day.

 

[Frozen2014]

YawningDodo, I'm not the one that asked, but from your description, wondering how you get notified of your boarding group is ready if you don't use the app or kiosk and just go to the CM?

 

[3smithboys]

I’ve been reading other threads and this one is asking a lot of the same questions that I have, so I hope it’s ok to jump on Andy ask one more....

We are going in July and planning on getting there before RD to get our BG. Then, is it a good idea to go to Smugglers Run immediately to get in the standby line? My kids are both 17 so the Toy Story rides are not as important. We are planning a 2nd HS day, so we can try to get them later, but Star Wars is very important.

 

[Ross Kratter]

YawningDodo, I'm not the one that asked, but from your description, wondering how you get notified of your boarding group is ready if you don't use the app or kiosk and just go to the CM?

They have signs all over the park letting you know which groups are now boarding.

 

[Frozen2014]

They have signs all over the park letting you know which groups are now boarding.

Great. Thanks for clarifying.

 

[siren0119]

The last time we did Disney was 2008 and I was commando and we had a great time. SO much has changed since then. I was taking 15 hours of grad work this semester and just finished. Our daughter's senior trip/ Christmas gift to everyone else is Jan 3-11th. We are spending most of our time 4 days at Universal. The kids ( 24,22 and 18) want to do one day at Hollywood Studios. My daughter asked we not do commando, not be there at the crack of dawn etc for the majority of our vacation. We have a house and will chill out, watch football and such.

1. I need to go onto Disney or Undercover Tourist and get our one day ticket for the 5 of us.
2. Then I need everyone to get a My Disney App....our 18yo doesn't have a smart phone so.... Somehow I attatch a ticket to each My Disney App????
3. Then somehow I link us together????? Then I need to see if there are any Fast Passes available. Can we just do one Teir 1 and forget about reserving the two fromTeir 2? My kids don't care about any of the Teir 2 stuff. They want to do most of the stuff on Teir 1 and the Star Wars stuff.
4. Print out the touring plans for HS.
5. Looks like the park hours are 7am-10pm, so we need to get there at 6am. ( My daughter will NOT be happy.)
6. Now, we will have electronic tickets. I think I read that I will have to exchange them for a real paper ticket for the boarding groups to work.... So when can we do that???
7. So when we get there at 6am we will be able to enter a limited area of the park. It reads we are there and I try for a boarding group...for now this is where I am so confused. Rise of Resistance?? Millenium Falcon??? Is this to enter the land?? From the tour plan, it looks like we sing up for Rise of Resistence and go immediately to do the Millenium Falcon.
8. How do the boarding groups work with your Fast Pass. So if we get a Fast Pass for Rock n Roller Coaster at 3pm, but our boarding group ends up being then????

Sigh. I call and text on my cell phone. That is it. This Disney App thing is making me nervous. I'm afraid I will mess it up... My daughter does not want me stressed. She wants to just chill and enjoy ourselves and if we wait for 3 hours for a ride so be it.. No, I don't wait in line that long. I just don't. Last time we walked on everything. I had 5 fast passes in my hand all the time. It was great. This is giving me a headache.

1. You do not need to buy 1 day tickets from undercover tourist - single day tickets are pretty much never discounted and the resellers don't have any incentive to discount them. Just get them direct from Disney.

2. You don't "need" to do anything on the app - everything that the app does in terms of tickets, fastpasses, dining, etc can be done on the desktop website. The MDE app is convenient, but not necessary...even for getting a boarding group. You can seek out a Guest Experience cast member and have them book a boarding pass for you BUT that will take some strategizing and EARLY arrival to the park.

3. If doing the touring plans stresses you out, don't do it. For me, it just helps me map out my day but I view it as a tool in the planning process, I don't ever bring printed plans into the park.

Unfortunately walk ons are mostly a thing of the past, and the Tier system makes getting FP more complicated. It's just the way it is with more guests traveling to the parks than in the past. Don't stress yourself out too much, but make sure you have realistic expectations and focus on how to make it an enjoyable trip. Good luck!