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

[George Lucas on a Bench]

It's almost like the Joker has been running things behind the scenes at Disneyland.

 

[Darkbeer1]

Perfect. So really as long as you get yourself to DHS these days for opening, you can get on the ride, regardless of your luck with your phone.

I'm sure Disneyland will get there. The problem with DL is that backup boarding groups also disappear in minutes and not 90min post opening.

BUT it will change.

Wait, we are in the off-season...

What will Spring/Easter Break be like???

 

[RobWDW1971]

Perfect. So really as long as you get yourself to DHS these days for opening, you can get on the ride, regardless of your luck with your phone.

I'm sure Disneyland will get there. The problem with DL is that backup boarding groups also disappear in minutes and not 90min post opening.

BUT it will change.

Well, according to the DHS thread they only got to 67 today and those were gone in less than 30 seconds at opening. When I was there I was primed and ready at sunrise (feeling like an idiot with the other thousands staring at our phones in the cold) and I barely got a guaranteed right at the stroke of 7:00. YMMV, but I certainly wouldn’t advise you to stroll in an hour past opening and expect to get on the ride.

 

[Disney Analyst]

It was tough to see the families struggling with their phones, looking around in a mild panic, kids freaking out, etc.

It just made me feel sad because there's absolutely nothing you can do for them, you can't give them your Fastpass, you can't give them any advice because the lottery had already ended, etc. It all just happens so fast; winners decided within 30 seconds, losers figure out they are losers within 2 or 3 minutes.

It wasn't a fun thing to see happen on Main Street USA, and it made me feel a bit guilty for winning.


Good questions. I might have been at an advantage this morning because I was a single, a confirmed bachelor no less, using the App with no linked tickets and no extra baggage as it were.

Not sure we'll ever know the answers to how the App decides the winners and the losers, but for me at least it went very smoothly and very quickly. And my mother always wondered why I never married!

Safe to assume singles would have better odds. If every group has a fixed number, often then not single
Spots would be left open as they bump larger groups into open spaces in higher boarding groups.

 

[BubbaQuest]

The Ugly

• My sense of euphoria over winning Boarding Group 36 only lasted a minute or two as I walked down Main Street. Along the street there were several families with a Mom or Dad still struggling with their phones and not looking happy. One family near Coke Corner had two bawling elementary school aged children as Dad looked frantically at his phone, which I assumed was due to them losing the lottery. The initial cheer from the winners quickly devolved into frustrated scenes for all the losers. It was not fun to watch or be around. And there's nothing you can do to help them.

Did you see a mass exodus after the lottery? Still wondering how many people are APs trying multiple times and how many are just there for the day.

 

[BrianLo]

Wait, we are in the off-season...

What will Spring/Easter Break be like???

The ride will be (hopefully/presumably) be working more reliably.

 

[Atomicmickey]

For me personally, the whole thing went extremely well. I was thrilled. But it's a nerve-wracking lottery that doesn't seem sustainable long-term. I'll save my review on the ride for the other thread where it belongs, and here's my Deep Thoughts on the App/Boarding Group process in my favorite Good, Bad, and Ugly format....

International House of Pancakes Presents: TP2000 Immersed in Star Wars: Rise Before Dawn, Powered by Lyft

The Good

• It worked for me! I got Boarding Group 36. In the two days leading up to this morning I read all I could on App tricks and strategies. I made sure I had the latest App update yesterday. My phone was fully charged and I only used it for the Disneyland App from the moment I tipped my Lyft driver until I exited the ride five hours later. My iPhone was on a focused mission!
• As a not-young man on the coldest morning of the winter, I did finger stretches and warm ups beginning 10 minutes before 9am. I got myself to a quiet spot near the Main Street train depot where I had excellent AT&T coverage and could focus. And then I waited...
• I was so proud of myself because at the stroke of 9am my cold n' old fingers performed flawlessly, I poked and swiped like a pro, and within seconds I was rewarded with Boarding Group 36. (If I was any better at poking and swiping, I would have ended up with a Boarding Group and a Tinder date!)
• It was just me, with no linked tickets or any burdensome issues, so maybe that helped me shoot thru. But somehow I won the lottery.
• And yes, thousands of people on Main Street USA let out a collective cheer if they were also winners. That part was very surreal.
• Boarding Group 36 was called just after 11:30am, so no long nail-biting waits for me.

The Bad

• Security screening coming from Harbor Blvd. was not good, not efficient. The place was mobbed with tourist families streaming in from all the Harbor Blvd. hotels and all buzzing about the Resistance ride and Boarding Groups. But the security guards working there acted like it was just another lazy weekday morning. You guys, you've got thousands of customers in a high stress environment trying to get into the park, so show some hustle and some compassion for their cause!! Disneyland needs to figure out how to act like Universal Studios when it comes to security screening, especially now with Boarding Groups.
• The park turnstiles weren't much better. Lines were long and slow moving, CM's had no sense of urgency or care, and if you don't give yourself at least 45 minutes for the security/turnstile process you have already lost the lottery.

The Ugly

• My sense of euphoria over winning Boarding Group 36 only lasted a minute or two as I walked down Main Street. Along the street there were several families with a Mom or Dad still struggling with their phones and not looking happy. One family near Coke Corner had two bawling elementary school aged children as Dad looked frantically at his phone, which I assumed was due to them losing the lottery. The initial cheer from the winners quickly devolved into frustrated scenes for all the losers. It was not fun to watch or be around. And there's nothing you can do to help them.
• This can't be how this works long-term. It's just not fair or nice to put your customers through this. The App is only in English, not Spanish, Japanese, French or German. A lottery system just leads to heartbreak and frustration for the losers. I get why they have to do it this way, but it's just not a nice way to treat people.
• The ride never opens on time. By 9:30am the ride still hadn't opened for the day. I began to worry. At 9:40am I was checking the App every minute or two and still nothing. By 9:45am it suddenly opened and began calling Boarding Groups. They had 12 hours to turn this ride around after last night, and they still can't make it. That's not acceptable when the ride operates this poorly day after day after day.

Honorable Mentions

• Lyft. It obviously doesn't work for everyone, but for those of us in Orange County it is a fast and easy way to get to and from the park. No more dealing with that parking mess and the crowded and slow buses and trams!
• International House of Pancakes. They've got a "NO DISNEYLAND DROP OFFS!" sign now right in front, and I got the stink-eye from the hostess as my obvious Lyft (A nerdy Prius with Lyft stickers everywhere) dropped me off because she thought I was only going to Disneyland. But as I walked up to her at the door I said "Don't worry, I'm only here for the pancakes!" and we both laughed. I was rewarded for my good humor by being seated in a prime corner banquette serviced by the restaurant's most charming and efficient waitress. The Silver Dollar pancakes were the exact size of a silver dollar, the ham was the tastiest I've had since last Easter, the coffee was hot and free-flowing, and I was properly fueled for the day.

Great report, thank you!!

 

[Phroobar]

International House of Pancakes Presents: TP2000 Immersed in Star Wars: Rise Before Dawn, Powered by Lyft

That reminds me. My daughter and I were driving and we saw a taxi. She said, "Taxis really exist?". I said "yeah, what do you think people did before unlicensed ride sharing?"

 

[Darkbeer1]

That reminds me. My daughter and I were driving and we saw a taxi. She said, "Taxis really exist?". I said "yeah, what do you think people did before unlicensed ride sharing?"

I use taxi's all the time.

They are required to maintain a wheelchair accessible fleet.

They also supplement the OC Access service (aka Short Bus). That is anywhere in Orange County for $3.60.

And the Same Day Taxi service.

I can go 5 miles for a flat $3.60, any farther I have to pay the additional mileage.

Now, I also have a LA Access card, that gives me free rides for myself and a PCA on the Metrolink Trains, and the LA Metro system.

But that is a big difference.

But will Uber/Lyft now be required to provide ADA service in California, as drivers are supposed to be employees?

 

[Model3 McQueen]

I went on the ride both on the 18th and 26th (both days had an 8am opening). We arrived at the parking lot at 630 both days.

On the 18th security tents were used at the toy story lot before boarding the bus and we were inside the park at 725. On the 26th the Toy Story tents went unused and everyone had to join up with the harbor security line. On this day we didn't enter the park until 7:50 (that's an hour and 20 minutes from parking to park entry).

It is crazy how in a week they stopped caring about the crowds showing up early to go on Rise. People that came in 10 minutes after me (those that parked at 640), would've not been able to get a boarding pass.

Can anyone comment if it's still like this?

 

[waltography]

The Ugly

• My sense of euphoria over winning Boarding Group 36 only lasted a minute or two as I walked down Main Street. Along the street there were several families with a Mom or Dad still struggling with their phones and not looking happy. One family near Coke Corner had two bawling elementary school aged children as Dad looked frantically at his phone, which I assumed was due to them losing the lottery. The initial cheer from the winners quickly devolved into frustrated scenes for all the losers. It was not fun to watch or be around. And there's nothing you can do to help them.

This is really the worst part of this situation, in my opinion. The trend of people cheering for their boarding groups is honestly an awful one that's born and encouraged out of this de facto lottery system. My anxiety was through the roof the first time I tried for a BG, and even after we got it I was afraid we wouldn't get on (a fear which would turn out to be true). The next time I tried, I felt a lot more relief getting a lower BG, and I did manage to help a lovely couple I was talking to in getting a BG too, but after that I didn't hesitate to get out of the crowd - didn't want to witness the heartbreak.

 

[RobWDW1971]

This is really the worst part of this situation, in my opinion. The trend of people cheering for their boarding groups is honestly an awful one that's born and encouraged out of this de facto lottery system. My anxiety was through the roof the first time I tried for a BG, and even after we got it I was afraid we wouldn't get on (a fear which would turn out to be true). The next time I tried, I felt a lot more relief getting a lower BG, and I did manage to help a lovely couple I was talking to in getting a BG too, but after that I didn't hesitate to get out of the crowd - didn't want to witness the heartbreak.

Agree - when I did this at HS it was surreal - getting out of an Uber in the pitch darkness, standing around in the street staring at your phone screen in the cold, everyone waiting to feverishly pound the app and pray it doesn’t crash (mine did and had to reload), and people who don’t waste their lives on discussion boards like we do having no clue what to do, and then the weird winner/loser dynamic afterwards.

Pretty astonishing and unfortunate to experience at a Disney theme park and hope it ends soon.

 

[Nirya]

Maybe just me but the past two times I’ve shown up early and gotten on the ride (Tuesday and today with a friend) I’ve walked from Mickey across the pedestrian bridge, and the security tents over there were really efficient.

 

[TP2000]

Did you see a mass exodus after the lottery? Still wondering how many people are APs trying multiple times and how many are just there for the day.

No, I moved north up Main Street with the rest of the crowd and didn't sense or notice any type of mass exodus from those who didn't win a Boarding Group. There was visible frustration among the losers and some children crying, but I didn't notice people turning around to leave.

On the 18th security tents were used at the toy story lot before boarding the bus and we were inside the park at 725. On the 26th the Toy Story tents went unused and everyone had to join up with the harbor security line. On this day we didn't enter the park until 7:50 (that's an hour and 20 minutes from parking to park entry).

It is crazy how in a week they stopped caring about the crowds showing up early to go on Rise. People that came in 10 minutes after me (those that parked at 640), would've not been able to get a boarding pass.

Yeah, it's ridiculous. I could see the crowds streaming in on Harbor from IHOP and I gave myself plenty of time for the 9am opening, but the lack of caring and lack of hustle displayed by the security CM's was frustrating to watch. And this during a slow off-season weekday! I can't imagine the reliability and hourly capacity for this ride is going to improve greatly six weeks from now when the Spring Break crowds arrive en masse.

Disneyland's security teams need to realize they are the weakest link in the whole Rise Before Dawn process.

The next time I tried, I felt a lot more relief getting a lower BG, and I did manage to help a lovely couple I was talking to in getting a BG too, but after that I didn't hesitate to get out of the crowd - didn't want to witness the heartbreak.

It was heart-breaking. Within a couple minutes of my winning a Boarding Group I was walking up Main Street, and that's when I started seeing the human drama and heartache playing out along the street. It was just so sad and I didn't know how to help as the comments by that time were that all BG's were gone for the day. I kept my head down and pushed on quickly into the park.

I rode It's A Small World to see it after its holiday version, and that cheered me up luckily.

TDA has to figure out how they are going to manage this before the big Spring Break crowds arrive. Heck, even the President's Day crowds in two weeks are going to be a challenge.

Maybe they could do a thing where if you don't win a Boarding Group you automatically get a bonus Fastpass for some other ride instead? That would be a nice consolation prize, and certainly be much better hospitality to paying customers than what they are currently doing.

 

[Nunu]

Empathy is a good quality to have.
@Darkbeer1 @TP2000 @RobWDW1971 @waltography

 

[TP2000]

Disney has the staff and infrastructure for big crowds, they were going full force at Rise's opening. They just chose not to use it. Another example of this is all the food locations that only leave a few registers open and the parking lots that now have one employee for every two lanes.

They can do it when they want to, or perhaps more accurately, when they have to. But on a random winter weekday when its just 10,000 dumb tourists coming over from the HoJo's? Nah... why bother?

It's just frustrating to see, especially for those of us who have seen Disneyland kick butt with stuff like this in the past.

They should be thinking about this holistically, and have one guy be responsible for nailing down this entire parking/security/entry process. And just a few minutes ago I linked to a video in another thread that showed the exec interviewed in the OC Register today, and he was introduced as the "Vice President of DCA, Downtown Disney, and the Guest Arrival Experience".

Doh! There's our guy, Mr. Patrick Finnegan!



So, uh, Mr. Finnegan.... How's that Guest Arrival Experience gig coming along for you? Any insight how your team is doing with that, um, Experience?

 

[FigmentFreak]

Quick question - I know there are security tables on the Downtown Disney side of the esplanade. I'm assuming those tables are also open in the morning. Has anyone entered from that side and if so, how were the lines? I won't be at Disneyland for a few months, but wondering if coming in from that side might be less crowded to get thru security.

 

[Phroobar]

Wouldn't it be great if Disneyland announced a random topsy turvy day where the highest boarding group numbers go first. They could announce it ten minutes after rope drop.

 

[Darkbeer1]

Quick question - I know there are security tables on the Downtown Disney side of the esplanade. I'm assuming those tables are also open in the morning. Has anyone entered from that side and if so, how were the lines? I won't be at Disneyland for a few months, but wondering if coming in from that side might be less crowded to get thru security.

Well, you have the North check, which is where those who walk from the parking structures use.

And the West Station, which is where the DLH and PPH guests enter.

So the West station is usually staffed well in the morning.

The North check has a lot of CM's and DtD employees go through it. It usually has less stations open, but the West gates are busier.

I would opt for the North gates, and if long lines, walk to the West gates.

 

[Ismael Flores]

TDA has to figure out how they are going to manage this before the big Spring Break crowds arrive. Heck, even the President's Day crowds in two weeks are going to be a challenge.

I haven't even tried to see if i could get a boarding group for myself because of everything that i have read on here. after looking at the block out calendar for passes i am considering going on Presidents weekend.

I am a bit conflicted because i know i could have a good chance of getting a boarding pass since all lower tiered passes will be blocked but many of those guests will be tourist and vacationers visiting for the day or weekend.