Soft openings

[AswaySuller]

So I have all my fingers and toes crossed that Transformers will have a "soft opening" when im at Uni at the end of April....

But how do soft openings work? Is an attraction just open like normal or do you get specially selected to ride by a CM?
I have only ever experienced one soft opening which was Mickey's Philharmagic and it was literally just as if the attraction were open as normal....

How do universal work? Would they pre-announce a "soft opening"?

 

[bsiev1977]

So I have all my fingers and toes crossed that Transformers will have a "soft opening" when im at Uni at the end of April....

But how do soft openings work? Is an attraction just open like normal or do you get specially selected to ride by a CM?
I have only ever experienced one soft opening which was Mickey's Philharmagic and it was literally just as if the attraction were open as normal....

How do universal work? Would they pre-announce a "soft opening"?

i don't know that i've ever heard of a pre announced soft open. I think it's just like you said, you are there and they happen to be letting people on the ride.

Good luck on getting on the ride in April. One benefit of my having to wait until December for my trip is that a lot of this Uni stuff will be up and running by that time.

 

[BJCool232]

A soft opening or "technical rehearsal" implies many conditions that an "open" ride does not. They are hardly ever announced by the park online or in media. Soft opening times during the day are determined by the park and can fluctuate continually. One hour the ride could be open and then it could shut down unexpectedly. It also means that there is a possibility that your ride through is not completely "show ready", or that some aspect of the ride experience could malfunction or not be operating at all. That is one reason soft openings exist, for the park to tweak show elements and other ride aspects. But for the most part, its a great way to experience a new attraction if you happen to be at a park before its scheduled grand opening.

 

[derekburgan]

Other than New Fantasyland, when has Disney or Universal ever announced soft openings? I remember the StarToursLive crew giving daily updates before that went into soft opening at DHS. Fun stuff but Disney was definitely not telling anyone when it would open.

 

[AswaySuller]

Well if its open I will definitely post reports and ive ridden transformers at Hollywood so would be interesting to see how they compare

 

[RozFan]

when potter opened i had friends who were part of the team and they tipped me off of potential soft openings based on their schedules. there were many false alarms since i am sure they were never told directly that the doors would open. they would just say something to the effect that everyone is scheduled to come in at such in such time so you might wanna stop by and check it out.

hopefully something like that happens again.

 

[71jason]

Potter was sort of a unique case, I know, but there were fans who would stake out the entrance every morning, then tweet about it, using a #PotterWatch tag. Might see something similar with Transformers, who knows.

 

[Lexxweb]

Disaster, Simpsons, Rockit, Potter and Despicable all had "Technical Rehearsals". Nothing is set in stone with any new attraction, there's a possibility there could be no technical rehearsal for Transformers. Your best bet is usually a week or two away from the grand opening, which still hasn't been set. :/