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

[Ismael Flores]

This is true. Unfortunately I’m staying at the Grand on a Sunday. My two Magic Morning days are Sunday and Monday - both DCA days.

Which now makes me wonder if I can walk into DCA and get a boarding pass? I don’t think so though.

friends tried it in DCA and it doesn't work. the ticket has to be scanned in disneyland.
you could of course go into Disneyland for magic morning wait till boarsing groups go live and then head over to DCA if you have park hopper right after you get boarding group

 

[Ismael Flores]

looks like they stopped at 158 groups

 

[TP2000]

looks like they stopped at 158 groups

They did indeed. This is the busiest week for the parks since the ride opened, a dress rehearsal for Spring Break next month, and Rise Before Dawn had one of its best days today. Disneyland is open from 8am to 11pm today.

Tuesday, 2/18: Open at 8:25am, Closed at 8:30pm at Boarding Group #158, 4 Hours Closed, 11 Hours Open

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[Atomicmickey]

the worst ones are in the right side of the entrance turnstyles. The gates are position in a weird spot to the pylons and to the trees that are between the pylons and the gates. The tree is mostly the cause of the line break issue but the pylon also adds to the mix up.

If people form a line it hits the round garden of the tree and if for some odd reason it manages to curve itself around the pylon cuts it off again. he line can't push its way out during crowded days so the line just abruptly ends most of the time. People in the line next to it for the turnstyle on the right side just split and use both turnstyles.

here is a good view of one of the turnstyles and the pylon blue being the lines and yellow being the split that happens and makes that line move quicker than othersView attachment 449985

the above picture is this gate

View attachment 449986

Thank you, perfect! We now know the "secret pylon"!!

We will be there March 20 for three days. Staying at the Camelot Inn, right across the street,
so getting to the esplinade won't be a problem. Just a 10 minute stroll for us, so we will probably
be there before 7 anyway, but it is good to know the secret pylon!

Here's hoping that 3 days of trying will get us in at least once!

 

[Ismael Flores]

A friend that works the ride told me that they've been pushing 30 vehicles compared to the 22 they opened up with
Would definitely explain the more riders we have been seeing lately.

it would be great if we actually knew how many people in a group. then we would really get a better idea how many lucky people per day.

Its good to hear that they added more vehicles. maybe the attraction is running smoother because of that

 

[TP2000]

Good news about the 30 vehicles, and would definitely explain why the pace of Boarding Groups has sped up lately when the ride is operating. And another piece of info that tells me there are 100 people in each Boarding Group.

Today hasn't been as successful as yesterday was. They were late opening by just over an hour this morning, and have had a couple of breakdowns today. Disneyland is open 8am to 11pm today and is very busy.

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[Emmanuel]

After a string of successful days at Rise, today the ride barely got pass group 100 as of 7:45 with the ride down and the groups currently being called frozen at 101-103

Update: Boarding has concluded as of 8:20.

 

[TP2000]

After a string of successful days at Rise, today the ride barely got pass group 100 as of 7:45 with the ride down and the groups currently being called frozen at 101-103

Update: Boarding has concluded as of 8:20.

Yikes. This ride is just not ready for Prime Time.

This Presidents Day week is a dress rehearsal for Spring Break, and it's been one of the busiest weeks of the year for at least a decade at the Disneyland Resort. It is not a surprise for them. Today was disastrous for Rise Before Dawn, especially when it broke down again and again tonight and they appeared to have just thrown in the towel by 5:30pm even though the park was open for another 6 hours during a busy holiday week. Disneyland is open from 8am to 11pm today...

Wednesday 2/19: Open 9:05am, Closed 5:10pm at Boarding Group #103, 10 Hours Closed, 5 Hours Open

For those keeping score, this ride appears to have hosted about 9,000 or less paying customers today. That's about what Pirates of the Caribbean hosts in 3 hours of routine operation. There's at least two entire generations of Imagineers and Disneyland executives from the 20th century that are laughing their butts off right now at how inept and clueless 21st century Imagineers and theme park executives have become to approve $400+ Million to build Star Wars: Rise Before Dawn and then operate it for paying customers like this.

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[Atomicmickey]

Yikes. This ride is just not ready for Prime Time.

This Presidents Day week is a dress rehearsal for Spring Break, and it's been one of the busiest weeks of the year for at least a decade at the Disneyland Resort. It is not a surprise for them. Today was disastrous for Rise Before Dawn, especially when it broke down again and again tonight and they appeared to have just thrown in the towel by 5:30pm even though the park was open for another 6 hours during a busy holiday week. Disneyland is open from 8am to 11pm today...

Wednesday 2/19: Open 9:05am, Closed 5:10pm at Boarding Group #103, 10 Hours Closed, 5 Hours Open

View attachment 450381

For those keeping score, this ride appears to have hosted about 9,000 or less paying customers today. That's about what Pirates of the Caribbean hosts in 3 hours of routine operation. There's at least two entire generations of Imagineers and Disneyland executives from the 20th century that are laughing their butts off right now at how inept and clueless 21st century Imagineers and theme park executives have become to approve $400+ Million to build Star Wars: Rise Before Dawn and then operate it for paying customers like this.

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Isn't it true that despite yesterday, the track record is getting better? I guess when you build the most technologically advanced attraction ever, there's going to be a shakedown period when it starts to receive heavy use. This is the real world after all. I am guessing they have discovered design flaws that they did not foresee, adjusting, and working hard to make it better every day. I'd rather have it open than not.
I am not sure how they could test it for weeks under the load of actual humans, so being open brings compromises with it.

Again, it's getting better overall, right? I am just putting myself in the shoes of the people working hard to keep it running and running well. It has to be a hard job. Hey, rockets blow up on the launch pad, people make mistakes, and not every design decision is the right one.

That said, they dang well better get it right before I get there or else!!!!

 

[TP2000]

Let's hope they have a better day today than yesterday! The ride opened 40 minutes late this morning at 8:40am.

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[Phroobar]

Isn't it true that despite yesterday, the track record is getting better? I guess when you build the most technologically advanced attraction ever, there's going to be a shakedown period when it starts to receive heavy use.

This makes me wonder. Is it really the most technologically advanced attraction ever? Let's break it down. First you have a room with a rumble plate and turntable underneath. It's cool but not really that technologically advanced. I'd say it's on par with Haunted Mansion's elevator as far as technology is concerned. Then you have the trackless vehicles. We've seen trackless vehicles since Tokyo's Winnie the Pooh ride. Other theme parks have trackless vehicles too. See Dubai. That tech has been around for a while and Disney has used it more often now. You would think by now it would be much more reliable. Then you have a small version of the Tower of Terror. Lots of other rides have this kind of tech such as Universal's Transformers. It's a simple elevator to move the ride vehicle from floor to floor. AA characters have been in use since 1964 World's Fair so nothing new there. Projection mapping is literally all over the park so no big deal there.

Sure the ride is sophisticated but nothing in it is brand new tech. Just because you combine existing proven tech together doesn't make it the most technologically advanced attraction ever. If you look at Harry Potter Forbidden Journey, it is dark ride with robot arms as ride vehicles. That has never been seen before.

 

[flynnibus]

There's at least two entire generations of Imagineers and Disneyland executives from the 20th century that are laughing their butts off right now at how inept and clueless 21st century Imagineers and theme park executives have become to approve $400+ Million to build Star Wars: Rise Before Dawn and then operate it for paying customers like this.

This is disingenuous. Of course everyone wants the highest volume attractions they can.. but your statement suggests that the newbies failed at what the old timers could easily do. Notice.. we have no such type of attraction from the old timers either. Not every attraction design supports the idea of a 3000pph design.. and they know that going in.

And maybe you just mean to approve an attraction that isn't headliner capacity? You mean like the monorail? Built with just 2 trains initially? Expanded twice in the early years due to being underbuilt.. and still only had a train capacity of 132 people. And the list goes on...

Disney pioneered the massive people eater... but not every attraction will aspire to be that top tier people eater.

 

[TP2000]

Disney pioneered the massive people eater... but not every attraction will aspire to be that top tier people eater.

I agree that a Disney theme park is a tapestry of experiences, and for every Pirates or Thunder Mountain there should be a couple of Teacups or a Mark Twain or a Monsters Inc.

But when you spend hundreds of millions of dollars on the single biggest ride in a quarter century based on the most successful IP in American pop culture history, it should get at least 2,000 riders per hour (2,500 would be better) and be able to open on time each morning. If you feel that standard is too high and too hard for the Imagineers to achieve in this modern age at a company with nearly unlimited resources, then so be it.

But I don't think that standard is too high.

Meanwhile, on Batuu this morning... After a late opening the ride worked for about 40 minutes and then broke down. It's been closed for just over an hour as of 10:35am....

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[flynnibus]

But when you spend hundreds of millions of dollars on the single biggest ride in a quarter century based on the most successful IP in American pop culture history, it should get at least 2,000 riders per hour and be able to open on time each morning. If you feel that standard is too high and too hard for the Imagineers to achieve in this modern age at a company with nearly unlimited resources, then so be it.

But if we prioritized that above all else... we'd never get bold new steps... because that risk would lead to only 'safe' choices. EPCOT had entire pavilions that couldn't even open... attractions months behind... DL had attractions that had to be scrapped and rebuilt because the originals just didn't work. Disney was brave enough to try... and smart enough to rethink and adapt when needed.

To the best of our knowledge they haven't settled for 'this is what it is'... so while yes I agree the operations (especially at DL) have been abysmal... I think it's premature to sit back and suggest people are buffoons... especially when they tried things no one else has pulled off either.

 

[flynnibus]

This makes me wonder. Is it really the most technologically advanced attraction ever? Let's break it down. First you have a room with a rumble plate and turntable underneath. It's cool but not really that technologically advanced. I'd say it's on par with Haunted Mansion's elevator as far as technology is concerned. Then you have the trackless vehicles. We've seen trackless vehicles since Tokyo's Winnie the Pooh ride. Other theme parks have trackless vehicles too. See Dubai. That tech has been around for a while and Disney has used it more often now. You would think by now it would be much more reliable. Then you have a small version of the Tower of Terror. Lots of other rides have this kind of tech such as Universal's Transformers. It's a simple elevator to move the ride vehicle from floor to floor. AA characters have been in use since 1964 World's Fair so nothing new there. Projection mapping is literally all over the park so no big deal there.

Sure the ride is sophisticated but nothing in it is brand new tech. Just because you combine existing proven tech together doesn't make it the most technologically advanced attraction ever. If you look at Harry Potter Forbidden Journey, it is dark ride with robot arms as ride vehicles. That has never been seen before.

Your analysis omits the critical point that it's not simply a sum of pieces... but an integration of different pieces that all have to work, and hand off to each other flawlessly. That is not trivial in any sense.

And much of the tech is not simply because it's a 'first' but the level of integration of multiple techs which combine into life-like experiences not achieved before.

And comparisons like Transformers don't hold at all because you omit critical pieces like doing that with tracked vs untracked vehicles, etc. Your better shot would have been to say they did it before with Tower of Terror.. which is a closer analogy of free standing ride vehicles moving into an elevator shaft.

 

[Disney Analyst]

I agree that a Disney theme park is a tapestry of experiences, and for every Pirates or Thunder Mountain there should be a couple of Teacups or a Mark Twain or a Monsters Inc.

But when you spend hundreds of millions of dollars on the single biggest ride in a quarter century based on the most successful IP in American pop culture history, it should get at least 2,000 riders per hour (2,500 would be better) and be able to open on time each morning. If you feel that standard is too high and too hard for the Imagineers to achieve in this modern age at a company with nearly unlimited resources, then so be it.

But I don't think that standard is too high.

Meanwhile, on Batuu this morning... After a late opening the ride worked for about 40 minutes and then broke down. It's been closed for just over an hour as of 10:35am....

View attachment 450479

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I would argue that in all honesty, I think modern technology has made everything harder. Every new ride built anywhere has significant downtime and issues lately, all due to the tech we are now using. Simpler times/ride systems didn't really have these issues.

So the trade off is... do we just use old systems that are easy to run, or do we stick with complex technologies that result in at least a few years of rough times on these rides?

 

[Rich Brownn]

This makes me wonder. Is it really the most technologically advanced attraction ever? Let's break it down. First you have a room with a rumble plate and turntable underneath. It's cool but not really that technologically advanced. I'd say it's on par with Haunted Mansion's elevator as far as technology is concerned. Then you have the trackless vehicles. We've seen trackless vehicles since Tokyo's Winnie the Pooh ride. Other theme parks have trackless vehicles too. See Dubai. That tech has been around for a while and Disney has used it more often now. You would think by now it would be much more reliable. Then you have a small version of the Tower of Terror. Lots of other rides have this kind of tech such as Universal's Transformers. It's a simple elevator to move the ride vehicle from floor to floor. AA characters have been in use since 1964 World's Fair so nothing new there. Projection mapping is literally all over the park so no big deal there.

Sure the ride is sophisticated but nothing in it is brand new tech. Just because you combine existing proven tech together doesn't make it the most technologically advanced attraction ever. If you look at Harry Potter Forbidden Journey, it is dark ride with robot arms as ride vehicles. That has never been seen before.

Technologyly advanced doesn't necessarily mean new. (Although I'm unaware of a elevation combined with a motion base in any other Disney attraction). Is the combination that makes it so. All of the elements (doors, animatronic, elevators, motion bases, sounds, lights, vehicles, effects) must work with each other in a way that's never been combined before.

 

[DavidDL]

I would argue that in all honesty, I think modern technology has made everything harder. Every new ride built anywhere has significant downtime and issues lately, all due to the tech we are now using. Simpler times/ride systems didn't really have these issues.

So the trade off is... do we just use old systems that are easy to run, or do we stick with complex technologies that result in at least a few years of rough times on these rides?

While what I'm about to say probably belongs in the Universal thread, I've noticed that it's bad all around too. Hagrid's was plagued with late openings/downtimes when it debuted.. I remember seeing more photos of disappointed Guests sitting in line waiting for it to come back up than photos of Guests enjoying it (PR Disney is probably trying to avoid with the boarding pass system) -and over here in Hollywood, the Jurassic World overlay (of a ride system that opened in 1996!) still remains unfinished and suffers from extremely basic show failures despite whatever money they threw at it (Mosasaurus aquarium door does not open, Stegosaurus figure is totally static, Squeaky Indominus head and finally the totally broken/uninstalled Indominus figure at the end). Thankfully it just closed down on Tuesday for maintenance and supposed installation of the true end of ride Indominus figure but a comparison of major parks opening attractions that clearly need more time or unfinished lands remains. Seems like it's becoming the industry norm.

I think the innovation is good. I like that they are trying new things (all around) and I'm totally fine with attractions that don't reach people eater capacity. I think Rise of the Resistance is an incredible attraction and experience overall when things are running the way they should. I think it's fine that they went with a new system and new tech but even I'll have to admit that the troubled operation of the attraction looks pretty bad right now. I know you can't make an omelette without breaking some eggs so I certainly hope the growing pains are worked through eventually (again, the attraction is great and I want it to succeed) but if the Disneyland After Dark: Star Wars Nite tickets for this August (August!) are any indication, that is going to be a while. For those wondering what I mean.. Rise of the Resistance will not be available during the event. Tickets purchased come with a disclaimer that says so (because it claims the attraction must be handed over to maintenance night crew) which is especially disheartening because it's going to be during Star Wars celebration in Anaheim, the one time that Star Wars fans from around the globe who may or may not have been on the fence about visiting the parks will go out of their way to gather near Disneyland.

I'm sure things will get better, eventually. But I don't have high hopes for it being any time soon. Like Jurassic World, Disney may need to bite the bullet at simply shut things down entirely for an extended maintenance period to ensure things are running more smoothly than they have been. I know that's not likely to happen and it wouldn't look all that great.. but as long as the downtime is clearly communicated, I think they would survive.

 

[Disney Analyst]

While what I'm about to say probably belongs in the Universal thread, I've noticed that it's bad all around too. Hagrid's was plagued with late openings/downtimes when it debuted.. I remember seeing more photos of disappointed Guests sitting in line waiting for it to come back up than photos of Guests enjoying it (PR Disney is probably trying to avoid with the boarding pass system) -and over here in Hollywood, the Jurassic World overlay (of a ride system that opened in 1996!) still remains unfinished and suffers from extremely basic show failures despite whatever money they threw at it (Mosasaurus aquarium door does not open, Stegosaurus figure is totally static, Squeaky Indominus head and finally the totally broken/uninstalled Indominus figure at the end). Thankfully it just closed down on Tuesday for maintenance and supposed installation of the true end of ride Indominus figure but a comparison of major parks opening attractions that clearly need more time or unfinished lands remains. Seems like it's becoming the industry norm.

I think the innovation is good. I like that they are trying new things (all around) and I'm totally fine with attractions that don't reach people eater capacity. I think Rise of the Resistance is an incredible attraction and experience overall when things are running the way they should. I think it's fine that they went with a new system and new tech but even I'll have to admit that the troubled operation of the attraction looks pretty bad right now. I know you can't make an omelette without breaking some eggs so I certainly hope the growing pains are worked through eventually (again, the attraction is great and I want it to succeed) but if the Disneyland After Dark: Star Wars Nite tickets for this August (August!) are any indication, that is going to be a while. For those wondering what I mean.. Rise of the Resistance will not be available during the event. Tickets purchased come with a disclaimer that says so (because it claims the attraction must be handed over to maintenance night crew) which is especially disheartening because it's going to be during Star Wars celebration in Anaheim, the one time that Star Wars fans from around the globe who may or may not have been on the fence about visiting the parks will go out of their way to gather near Disneyland.

I'm sure things will get better, eventually. But I don't have high hopes for it being any time soon. Like Jurassic World, Disney may need to bite the bullet at simply shut things down entirely for an extended maintenance period to ensure things are running more smoothly than they have been. I know that's not likely to happen and it wouldn't look all that great.. but as long as the downtime is clearly communicated, I think they would survive.

Hagrid, Gringotts, Forbidden Journey, Radiator Springs Racers, Rise Of the Resistance, Flight of Passage. They’ve all had plenty of issues.

Everest (minus the yeti), Falcon and Navi River are some of the few that have been surprisingly reliable.

 

[TP2000]

So the trade off is... do we just use old systems that are easy to run, or do we stick with complex technologies that result in at least a few years of rough times on these rides?

It's obvious the current crop of Imagineering executives love to use brand new ride systems. Even if they are low capacity once they work through a few years of rough times. The mindset behind that business decision is baffling to me.

Speaking of rough times, today continues to be very rough. The park opened at 8am and has been open for over six hours, but the ride has only worked for a few short bursts today. It has been closed for the past two hours. Currently closed and stuck on Boarding Group 50.

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