Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance opening reports and using Boarding Groups at Disneyland

[RobWDW1971]

I'm not. I'm saying make a convincing argument. Not simply cross your arms and pout and say "it should be.. because!"



That's because that's a false statement. That is what is being required these days to beat the crowd. It is not a requirement by Disney. Just like there is no requirement to line up before the parade time... or before Fireworks.. etc.. but if you want to succeed, there is more than what the company tells you. This hasn't changed... and isn't new. The only thing different is the particular effort needed to succeed. And that as I've pointed out repeatedly... is not an expectation guests should have of the company based on past performance or convention.

Just the very idea of 'a virtual queue' should tell you 'something is different..' and spark further inquiry. If not... Disney can't hold your hand and wipe your butt too.

Uh, OK. Been going to Disneyland for 50+ of its 64 years in existence and have never once, ever had to enter the park before the posted opening time to do anything, but I guess that’s not something worth noting. We continue to agree to disagree, which is totally fine.

 

[flynnibus]

Uh, OK. Been going to Disneyland for 50+ of its 64 years in existence and have never once, ever had to enter the park before the posted opening time to do anything, but I guess that’s not something worth noting. We continue to agree to disagree, which is totally fine.

You never rope dropped the park in 50+ years?

The problem is you are hung up on a RESULT instead of HOW something is. The time is because of the demand - not that it's a hard requirement. There is a difference.

Because once demand dies down, you WON'T have to be there before park opening... and shocker.. the requirements themselves will not have changed.

 

[RobWDW1971]

You never rope dropped the park in 50+ years?

The problem is you are hung up on a RESULT instead of HOW something is. The time is because of the demand - not that it's a hard requirement. There is a difference.

Because once demand dies down, you WON'T have to be there before park opening... and shocker.. the requirements themselves will not have changed.

You missed the part about “had” to be there - for the very few times I was there very close to opening (my dad wouldn’t have played that growing up), I never HAD to be there before the posted opening to do something.

To ride ROTR on both coasts you HAVE to be inside the park before opening - to me, and apparently not you which is fine, that is a pretty important fun fact to know in advance that they are not sharing.

 

[flynnibus]

To ride ROTR on both coasts you HAVE to be inside the park before opening

No you don't. BGs are available for an hour or more many days at DHS.

And missing from your logic is the idea of criteria to ride. If you aren't willing to wait in some excessive line, you "HAD" to do something about it before as well. Be it rope drop, go on a less crowded day, etc. The 'have' in your logic is about what you must do to beat demand.. you're just hung up on it being before park opening instead of recognizing the same behavior has always been there, just to lesser degrees... plus the hard cap on 'no you can't just do standby'

 

[Nirya]

Just got off. The only thing not working was a Finn AA, and in the grand scheme of how this ride has gone so far, I’d consider that a success.

 

[Phroobar]

I'm not arguing if the boarding group is "fair" or not, rather that there's no reason someone should be uninformed about the process if they did the bare minimum research beforehand.

True. It has been talked about in every newspaper and tv news show for months. Yet there are still the unwashed clueless tourists majority out there. I refer to Rizzo's wisdom....

 

[George Lucas on a Bench]

Just got off. The only thing not working was a Finn AA, and in the grand scheme of how this ride has gone so far, I’d consider that a success.

I didn't really see that robot when I went on. Not sure why? Too dark and not wearing my glasses? I did see an arm sticking out from behind a box shooting a gun.

 

[RobWDW1971]

No you don't. BGs are available for an hour or more many days at DHS.

And missing from your logic is the idea of criteria to ride. If you aren't willing to wait in some excessive line, you "HAD" to do something about it before as well. Be it rope drop, go on a less crowded day, etc. The 'have' in your logic is about what you must do to beat demand.. you're just hung up on it being before park opening instead of recognizing the same behavior has always been there, just to lesser degrees... plus the hard cap on 'no you can't just do standby'

That’s actually not my argument at all and I have no issue with the boarding groups as they seem to be the “best of the bad options” when dealing with an E ticket with such horrible capacity (which is the real issue).

My argument is solely about how Disney continues to intentionally not properly communicate about having to be there before opening to ride it, which I fully understand you disagree with and believe they are marketing it appropriately so we don’t need to go another round of repeating ourselves.

 

[flynnibus]

well.. that and I have facts behind me.

 

[TiggerDad]

spends thousands of dollars... can't be bothered to get up at 6am...

the struggle is real y0...

Saving thousands of dollars by staying home and living vicariously on these boards.

It's easy to wake up at 6 am after flying in from the Eastern time zone. Unlike in June, getting up early doesn't guarantee success.

 

[JD2000]

I read the odd page here. What is the purpose of not opening right away and closing early? Is the ride breaking so much that it requires long maintenance periods every night?

 

[Nirya]

I read the odd page here. What is the purpose of not opening right away and closing early? Is the ride breaking so much that it requires long maintenance periods every night?

The ride doesn’t close early so much as stop calling boarding groups before park closing. Since the groups have a 2 hour window from being called, the idea (in theory) is to give those people a chance to ride before the park closes and not have the ride stay open well past close to accommodate late stragglers, especially since the RPH numbers are nowhere near any of the other E Tickets in the park.

 

[Darkbeer1]

When did it become a requirement to have a Smart Phone and install an App to visit Disneyland?

Do you know how many international visitors don't have a smart phone that works in the states.

Not every phone is unlocked.

I am working on my June trip back east, and I am working to insure we got on every major ride that is on our want to ride list.

Yes, buying Fastlane+ and higher level Flash Passes are part of that plan.

But none of our plans require us to enter a lottery. We are spending quite a bit to make our second Honeymoon special.

If I had to go to a park that required a lottery, Lisa and I agree we would go to a different park and change our itinerary.

That is due to not having our day ruined.

We can handle weather and situations out of the park's control. But we wouldn't want to support a park that made us leave it up to chance.

Of course, that is our opinions, some are fine with the BG system.

But if the DLR believes the Visitors are their Bread and Butter due to Hotel Stays, larger Food and Merchandise daily spending and other dynamics, they need to address those Higher paying guests and try to satisfy them over the locals that spend less to enter, lees on average inside the parks, etc.

The AP market helps fill a need to maximize park usage, but it is to plus the Out of Town income received.

And some type of way to give those visiting guests a chance to buy into the attraction is the best way for Disney to Maximize income, and out of town guest satisfaction.

The big question is how to make that happen.

 

[unmitigated disaster]

See my F! and fireworks examples. Just being a willing customer does not guarantee you access to everything. Yes the BG procedure is 'new' - the idea of 'do your homework' is not new.

Exactly, and doing your homework definitely isn't unique to Disney Parks. When we visited the DMZ we had to book a number of days ahead and provide passport information or we couldn't go.I

I do have a question, though. Is there any idea of the number of percent of people who do get a Boarding Group but never show up?

 

[Communicora]

We have an early flight out of Seattle on Tuesday the 11th but we won't get to the park until after rope drop. Then we'll have Wednesday, Thursday and Friday to try our luck.

I will be there trying my luck next Thursday and Friday as well! Trying to not get my hopes up and just consider it a bonus if we get to ride it.

 

[RobWDW1971]

Exactly, and doing your homework definitely isn't unique to Disney Parks. When we visited the DMZ we had to book a number of days ahead and provide passport information or we couldn't go.I

I do have a question, though. Is there any idea of the number of percent of people who do get a Boarding Group but never show up?

You made the point perfectly - planning a day at Disneyland is now like planning a trip to the DMZ.

 

[MisterPenguin]

When did it become a requirement to have a Smart Phone and install an App to visit Disneyland?

Do you know how many international visitors don't have a smart phone that works in the states.

Not every phone is unlocked.

I am working on my June trip back east, and I am working to insure we got on every major ride that is on our want to ride list.

Yes, buying Fastlane+ and higher level Flash Passes are part of that plan.

But none of our plans require us to enter a lottery. We are spending quite a bit to make our second Honeymoon special.

If I had to go to a park that required a lottery, Lisa and I agree we would go to a different park and change our itinerary.

That is due to not having our day ruined.

We can handle weather and situations out of the park's control. But we wouldn't want to support a park that made us leave it up to chance.

Of course, that is our opinions, some are fine with the BG system.

But if the DLR believes the Visitors are their Bread and Butter due to Hotel Stays, larger Food and Merchandise daily spending and other dynamics, they need to address those Higher paying guests and try to satisfy them over the locals that spend less to enter, lees on average inside the parks, etc.

The AP market helps fill a need to maximize park usage, but it is to plus the Out of Town income received.

And some type of way to give those visiting guests a chance to buy into the attraction is the best way for Disney to Maximize income, and out of town guest satisfaction.

The big question is how to make that happen.

Then those in these situations will just have to wait until the ride is stable enough to be put in regular accessibility and taken off the BG system.

 

[DavidDL]

Then those in these situations will just have to wait until the ride is stable enough to be put in regular accessibility and taken off the BG system.

Or maybe talk to Guest relations or a CM who can help! It's not a sure thing but I have been seeing reports over on other Disney fan sites about Guests who are there from out of country for only one day having success being placed into boarding groups after letting City Hall know about their situation (the app malfunctioning on them). I have also seen reports of them not being able too help too. I think it would probably depend both on your situation and how you treat them. But they probably have the power to bend the rules for a certain amount of people a day in certain situations per day. It can't hurt to try!

 

[Disney Analyst]

When did it become a requirement to have a Smart Phone and install an App to visit Disneyland?

Do you know how many international visitors don't have a smart phone that works in the states.

Not every phone is unlocked.

I am working on my June trip back east, and I am working to insure we got on every major ride that is on our want to ride list.

Yes, buying Fastlane+ and higher level Flash Passes are part of that plan.

But none of our plans require us to enter a lottery. We are spending quite a bit to make our second Honeymoon special.

If I had to go to a park that required a lottery, Lisa and I agree we would go to a different park and change our itinerary.

That is due to not having our day ruined.

We can handle weather and situations out of the park's control. But we wouldn't want to support a park that made us leave it up to chance.

Of course, that is our opinions, some are fine with the BG system.

But if the DLR believes the Visitors are their Bread and Butter due to Hotel Stays, larger Food and Merchandise daily spending and other dynamics, they need to address those Higher paying guests and try to satisfy them over the locals that spend less to enter, lees on average inside the parks, etc.

The AP market helps fill a need to maximize park usage, but it is to plus the Out of Town income received.

And some type of way to give those visiting guests a chance to buy into the attraction is the best way for Disney to Maximize income, and out of town guest satisfaction.

The big question is how to make that happen.

I love your posts, and have been a fan for years... but I don't think you have a good gauge of how many smart phones are out there. This is the present and the future, and I know a specific demographic is very resistant to this kind of change in society (I speak with them on the phone every day with tech support), but this is the way the world is working, and will continue to work.

81% of American's own a smart phone, while 96% have a cell phone. Similar numbers exist in the populations of the countries that the domestic parks cater to.

So I'd say to those who don't have one... either get a smart phone or realize you will start to be left out. Honestly, it's quite a small minority who refuse to adapt or get on board, and society won't be waiting around for them.

And Disney is still somewhat catering to this small group by providing a paper option at Disneyland, but I'd expect that to go away within the next 5 years.

 

[SoCalMort]

I've been following this closely but can't recall this being asked: Is the general public allowed in a little early on Magic Morning days so they can play the Star Wars: Rise Before Dawn lottery?