RotR Planning & Daily Boarding Group Discussion - *CLOSED*

[wisblue]

Has it been confirmed that the "announced" change in BG distribution policy was announced for just today (maybe because of the special event) or announced for today and until further notice (which could come tomorrow)?

Before spending too much energy worrying about this I'd like to see if this is the norm for awhile or a one off for today.

On the issue of "fairness" about people arriving at the park first getting to ride first, I have mixed feelings. With a lot of rope drop procedures that involve releasing a crowd to rush to an attraction, it isn't at all unusual for people who are willing and able to run and push their way past slower people (or people stuck behind slower people) to elbow their way ahead of people who arrived at the entrance long before they did. That includes groups who have their fastest/strongest person push their way ahead and then have the rest of their group join them in line when they get there, elbowing past many others who got there sooner.

If it means (1) not having to arrive at the park 90-120 minutes before official opening, and (2) being pretty much assured of getting a boarding group for some time during the day, IMHO it wouldn't be the worst way to do it. It seems unlikely that there is enough physical space between the tapstiles to a holding point at the end of Hollywood Boulevard to allow a full day's worth of boarding groups to be there that early.

 

[yulilin3]

People will show up whenever they want, but that doesn't mean WDW has to start operating DHS at some random time prior to published opening because the mob demands it. It is, IMHO, patently unfair to start ride operations prior to published opening time. Even at MK where they open Main St. (and select venues on Main St.) an hour prior to opening to control crowding in the entrance area, ride operations do not commence until published park opening. Everyone gets the exact same ticket value that way. Your ticket is good from published opening until published close. Not random-whenever-we-feel-like-opening until close. At the end of the day, I have to believe WDW wants to take the reigns on when, exactly, they open operations at DHS and not be dictated by a mob every morning.

I'm sorry if I have addressed this issue with you personally, all the usernames get jumbled in my head and "Disney" is one of the more popular.
The parks have been opening depending on demand ever since Pandora, AK still opens before official opening time.
They can't have a "mob" of people waiting outside of the gates, mainly for security reasons.
Now they can open Hollywood Blvd and hold people at the park's hub, this was there modus operandi for TSLand. Now RotR is a new beast, extremely popular, has been received very well, so they are still adjusting, it's not even 2 weeks old and of course now we are getting the holiday crowds which will only create a more "day to day" opening. Once the season ends, I am sure we will see a more stable opening procedure

 

[Jonfw2]

I'm really having a hard time with the argument that Disney is screwing this up. For starters, they're generally letting people into the park hours before the stated opening times. Next, they're not making people who want to ride this attraction stand in a single line all day like Universal did with Hagrid. Finally, they're keeping people well informed of their status all day long- you don't even need to be in the park to fulfill your boarding group.

And bottom-line: if they are "screwing up", what would you suggest they do differently?

 

[dieumeye]

To me, opening the VQ when the tapstyles open is most fair for everyone. Allowing a large group of guests to build up in the park before the VQ opens turns it into a lottery. And lotteries have a disproportionate impact on people who can’t afford to play again.

Let’s say there’s a family on a budget trip. They have one day to visit DHS and they really want to ride RotR. Under the previous system, they did their research, showed up extra early, and it was very likely that they would be able to get a boarding group - and an early one, at that - as soon as they entered the park.

Now let’s say there’s a family on a lavish multi-day trip with park hoppers. Under the previous system, they were in the same boat as everyone else. If they want to ride RotR, they have to get up early and get in line with everybody else. First come, first served.

Under a system that allows everyone into the park before the VQ opens, it becomes a lottery. There’s a chance that both of these families click to join a boarding group, and neither family gets one. They both lose. That might seem “fair“, but it has a disproportionate impact.

The family on the budget trip will not ride RotR. They had one day to do it but the lottery did not land in their favor, and there’s nothing they could have done about it. Meanwhile, the family on the luxury trip may also be disappointed, but they have park hoppers, they can head to another park and still make rope drop. And then they can try again at DHS tomorrow. No big deal.

In this scenario, it seems a lot more fair when everyone was in the same situation… If you want to ride, you have to show up early. A “lottery” might seem fair on any given day, but it does give an advantage to people who have the flexibility (aka money) to play again if they lose.

Maybe you disagree, or maybe there should be an advantage to people who are paying more money for park hoppers and longer stays. Maybe it’s fine to tell people who only have one shot at it that maybe they should wait a year or two before trying to ride.

The point is, I’m just saying there’s no system that everyone is going to be happy with, but it’s hard to beat “first come, first served“ which is more or less what happens when VQ is opened when the tap styles open.

Beyond that, it’s just a matter of transparency about when the tap styles will open, which is a different topic.

 

[yulilin3]

Has it been confirmed that the "announced" change in BG distribution policy was announced for just today (maybe because of the special event) or announced for today and until further notice (which could come tomorrow)?

Before spending too much energy worrying about this I'd like to see if this is the norm for awhile or a one off for today.

On the issue of "fairness" about people arriving at the park first getting to ride first, I have mixed feelings. With a lot of rope drop procedures that involve releasing a crowd to rush to an attraction, it isn't at all unusual for people who are willing and able to run and push their way past slower people (or people stuck behind slower people) to elbow their way ahead of people who arrived at the entrance long before they did. That includes groups who have their fastest/strongest person push their way ahead and then have the rest of their group join them in line when they get there, elbowing past many others who got there sooner.

If it means (1) not having to arrive at the park 90-120 minutes before official opening, and (2) being pretty much assured of getting a boarding group for some time during the day, IMHO it wouldn't be the worst way to do it. It seems unlikely that there is enough physical space between the tapstiles to a holding point at the end of Hollywood Boulevard to allow a full day's worth of boarding groups to be there that early.

Disney does not announce opening procedure
Any other fan page and bloggers are just speculating at this point

 

[yulilin3]

I'm really having a hard time with the argument that Disney is screwing this up. For starters, they're generally letting people into the park hours before the stated opening times. Next, they're not making people who want to ride this attraction stand in a single line all day like Universal did with Hagrid. Finally, they're keeping people well informed of their status all day long- you don't even need to be in the park to fulfill your boarding group.

And bottom-line: if they are "screwing up", what would you suggest they do differently?

And here's where you will get a ton of different answers, because you simply cannot please everyone.

 

[Alynw]

Is ROTR still experiencing frequent technical difficulties? Is its capacity currently assumed to be significantly lower than 100% because of difficulties? Has this been discussed somewhere and I just can’t find it? Sorry to those of you who got up very early this morning and didn’t have the experience you expected.

Not sure why people keep telling u there no spoilers in here and not to be posting spoilers when all ur asking about is why the ride keeps breaking down but anyway, there is no discussion about what or why the ride is actually breaking down but if you take the time and read through this thread, u can find out when the ride breaks down and when it's back up and running. You can even go through and track the break downs if u like but as far the specific technical issues of what and why its breaking down, is not here. Good luck in finding the info ur looking for.

 

[PolyRob]

The various opinions are all fine. "Fair" is a matter of perspective. That said, if I had gone to DHS today I'd be absolutely livid. The people that got up early today for Rise of the Resistance will not get any guff from me about being mad.

Going forward, I'm okay if Disney sticks to the 'free for all' at opening rather than 'early bird gets the worm' opening. It is, essentially, saying get here by opening, and you have equal chance. This is consistent with how Disney handles other sign-up things, I think. My only other experience with Disney for this is DVC Moonlight Magic, where as long as you get on the website by a certain time, you get equal chance at your spot in the queue when bookings open. I like that system, so I think I like RotR adopting it.

There was a trend in the 90's where you could get front row seats at Broadway musicals on the day of, 2 hours before the show for a very low price. Lines formed early. Then earlier. And then crazy early. They had to shift to a lottery because people were camping out all night. Hamilton uses an online lottery.

I get that early birds won't like it, but I think overall it is a sufficiently fair system. But everyone there today gets to complain as much as they want.

Maybe this would be fair if Disney dropped virtual queue spots the night before at 7pm ET, announced that, and everyone had the same chance. I think its a different experience when the virtual queue replaces a standby line which is traditionally first come first served.

People will show up whenever they want, but that doesn't mean WDW has to start operating DHS at some random time prior to published opening because the mob demands it. It is, IMHO, patently unfair to start ride operations prior to published opening time. Even at MK where they open Main St. (and select venues on Main St.) an hour prior to opening to control crowding in the entrance area, ride operations do not commence until published park opening. Everyone gets the exact same ticket value that way. Your ticket is good from published opening until published close. Not random-whenever-we-feel-like-opening until close. At the end of the day, I have to believe WDW wants to take the reigns on when, exactly, they open operations at DHS and not be dictated by a mob every morning.

I was just in AK really early Friday morning because a bus happened to be waiting at my resort. I was held at Africa until 9am on the dot for the safari while tons of people flooded Pandora and rode FOP and NRJ. My Platinum Pass is just as good as all those tickets, but I lost value that day since two attractions were open. Disney didn't seem to care. PPO guests even had to exit Tusker House and get in line behind me.

 

[I<3EvilQueen]

Today SWGE opened early for media. I'll speculate by early next year SWGE will open early as part of an extra cost experience at least one day a week.

This post made me think of something: When the Star Wars "Hotel" opens up, it will have Battu as it's only "excursion". To keep the immersive feel I assume they will have the passengers enter GE either before or after the regular park hours.

 

[PolyRob]

I'm really having a hard time with the argument that Disney is screwing this up. For starters, they're generally letting people into the park hours before the stated opening times. Next, they're not making people who want to ride this attraction stand in a single line all day like Universal did with Hagrid. Finally, they're keeping people well informed of their status all day long- you don't even need to be in the park to fulfill your boarding group.

And bottom-line: if they are "screwing up", what would you suggest they do differently?

I think Disney could have waited to open the ride until it was ready for primetime, started opening DHS earlier from the get-go, not let people re-ride numerous times the first few days while shutting others out, create a loophole with electronic FP+ and paper FP+ letting people bog down the system daily, botch the first EMH, etc. The inconsistency is causing the issue. WDW requires lots of pre-planning, and this throws that out the door.

The whole land/MFSR did not cause this chaos when Disney had a plan in place. This seems to be trial and error while Disney figures out how to handle the large number of people about to flood property next week.

 

[DavidNYC]

To me, opening the VQ when the tapstyles open is most fair for everyone. Allowing a large group of guests to build up in the park before the VQ opens turns it into a lottery.

But you're missing the key element which most others are not providing any good solution for either. Disney does not want hundreds or thousands of people lined up outside the turnstyles for safety reasons. Your "solution" just creates tremendous incentive for people to keep getting there earlier and earlier causing larger and larger crowds outside the park. We have to take it as a given that Disney does not want that to happen and will act so that it does not happen.

Disney is trying to find a way to take some control back as to when they can open the park and still crowds at safe levels at various places. While people may not like it, I don't see any other way to thin out the crowds arriving too many hours prior to opening. Like it or not - saying everyone who arrives by a certain time is on the same footing is a one version of a fair system - there are other fair systems as well - but most of those others result in operational problems or almost take DHS opening times away for Disney's discretion.

 

[yulilin3]

I think Disney could have waited to open the ride until it was ready for primetime, started opening DHS earlier from the get-go, not let people re-ride numerous times the first few days while shutting others out, create a loophole with electronic FP+ and paper FP+ letting people bog down the system daily, botch the first EMH, etc. The inconsistency is causing the issue. WDW requires lots of pre-planning, and this throws that out the door.

The whole land/MFSR did not cause this chaos when Disney had a plan in place. This seems to be trial and error while Disney figures out how to handle the large number of people about to flood property next week.

When the land opened no one knew they would use the VQ to access it. The difference was that it opened at the slowest time of year with a looming hurricane in the horizon and a land that can absorb a lot of people. Disney lost a lot of money with their EEMH.
They chose not to do that this time, treating the opening like any other ride opening, like they did with Pandora, but instead of having people waiting for hours to just enter the land they are giving us a way to join a VQ and go about our day.
Again, it's been 13 days since it opened, with the inconsistencies being addressed by day 4.
The only thing you need to do if you want to ride this attraction is go early, that's it, all your pre planning can stay in place. And if you thought you would be coming to an opening of a SW attraction that has been tooted as the best and more advanced and thought you could just show up at park opening and riding then you are kidding yourself.
Getting there early, that's all it takes. People need to stop making this like it's such a big conspiracy by Disney

 

[GAN]

This is perfect. And the moral of the story is that in this scheme, almost everyone is bound to get burned at some point!

 

[Twoboysnmygirl]

You cannot navigate a single page of this website without a pop-up ad. I shudder to think of how much malware has been put on my phone in the last month. But anyway, were they holding people til 7 this morning?

Glad to know I'm not the only one! I thought it was my phone. I have pop up protection and yet constantly having close my DIS app and reopen bc of popups!

Sorry, off topic!

 

[DGsAtBLT]

I don’t understand the talk about everyone getting equal ticket usage.

People who arrived early (not at opening time, but actually early) have always gotten more bang for their buck and they still do. Through all Disney’s different attractions, systems, opening times etc. it’s one thing that has remained constant. The earlier you get there the more opportunity you have to get things done. Opening the gates half an hour early isn’t devaluing anyone else’s tickets.

Not to mention Disney is not preventing anyone from doing anything, so nobody is losing time. I think that argument makes much more sense applied to parties than it does here.

 

[GAN]

To me, opening the VQ when the tapstyles open is most fair for everyone. Allowing a large group of guests to build up in the park before the VQ opens turns it into a lottery. And lotteries have a disproportionate impact on people who can’t afford to play again.

Let’s say there’s a family on a budget trip. They have one day to visit DHS and they really want to ride RotR. Under the previous system, they did their research, showed up extra early, and it was very likely that they would be able to get a boarding group - and an early one, at that - as soon as they entered the park.

Now let’s say there’s a family on a lavish multi-day trip with park hoppers. Under the previous system, they were in the same boat as everyone else. If they want to ride RotR, they have to get up early and get in line with everybody else. First come, first served.

Under a system that allows everyone into the park before the VQ opens, it becomes a lottery. There’s a chance that both of these families click to join a boarding group, and neither family gets one. They both lose. That might seem “fair“, but it has a disproportionate impact.

The family on the budget trip will not ride RotR. They had one day to do it but the lottery did not land in their favor, and there’s nothing they could have done about it. Meanwhile, the family on the luxury trip may also be disappointed, but they have park hoppers, they can head to another park and still make rope drop. And then they can try again at DHS tomorrow. No big deal.

In this scenario, it seems a lot more fair when everyone was in the same situation… If you want to ride, you have to show up early. A “lottery” might seem fair on any given day, but it does give an advantage to people who have the flexibility (aka money) to play again if they lose.

Maybe you disagree, or maybe there should be an advantage to people who are paying more money for park hoppers and longer stays. Maybe it’s fine to tell people who only have one shot at it that maybe they should wait a year or two before trying to ride.

The point is, I’m just saying there’s no system that everyone is going to be happy with, but it’s hard to beat “first come, first served“ which is more or less what happens when VQ is opened when the tap styles open.

Beyond that, it’s just a matter of transparency about when the tap styles will open, which is a different topic.

meant this

 

[wisblue]

Does anyone have an idea what kind of Boarding Group numbers people were getting at 7 AM. What’s the highest anyone has reported?

Right now at 1 PM EST the app shows boarding group 68 being admitted. Any idea about what time someone would have gotten a number like that?

If I could arrive about 45 minutes before official opening, get tapped in before official opening, and get a BG that would get me on ROTR by 1 PM (barring too many breakdowns), I would be satisfied.

 

[Ensusieasm]

We just got back and the "Boarding Group Plan" is the best plan Disney has ever used for the opening of a new ride! Get there early and know how to use Disney +

As of today, things have changed. Getting there real early is not as beneficial as it was.

 

[Wreckem]

Does anyone have an idea what kind of Boarding Group numbers people were getting at 7 AM. What’s the highest anyone has reported?

Right now at 1 PM EST the app shows boarding group 68 being admitted. Any idea about what time someone would have gotten a number like that?

If I could arrive about 45 minutes before official opening, get tapped in before official opening, and get a BG that would get me on ROTR by 1 PM (barring too many breakdowns), I would be satisfied.

Based on other posts this morning, when it opened at 7:00 or 7:01 this morning, someone said it went up to ~55 immediately, and went up 1 every minute or two.

 

[GAN]

Does anyone have an idea what kind of Boarding Group numbers people were getting at 7 AM. What’s the highest anyone has reported?

Right now at 1 PM EST the app shows boarding group 68 being admitted. Any idea about what time someone would have gotten a number like that?

If I could arrive about 45 minutes before official opening, get tapped in before official opening, and get a BG that would get me on ROTR by 1 PM (barring too many breakdowns), I would be satisfied.

We ended up with 45. The person right next to us got 22 within seconds. Go figure....

this would have been before 7:05 I’d say ...not that I was looking as I was having the system failure I predicted earlier this morning!