News Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance Standby Line and Boarding Groups at Disney's Hollywood Studios

[flynnibus]

Let's not be naive and think his has been a flawless opening.

Key is... 'as measured by whom/what?'

If we are talking about high uptime/reliability? It's pretty good for a new attraction
If we are talking about site readiness? By all reports its been very good
If we are talking about show quality? Reports are generally good
If we are talking about number of guests experiencing the attraction - Its supposedly still running far below target capacity
If we are talking about customer GR for the situation - its some of the most agressive by Disney in ages (food/drink in line, entertainment in line, comps for those who are passed over..)
If we are talking about communication? This is a bit more debatable... If you wanted to be an average guest, you are on the losing side here
If you are talking about people who want 'Disney when I want it...' - Well, that's not happening.

 

[donsullivan]

What conditions are changing? Also its not my job as a paying customer (Many dollars over the years) to suggest howaDisney Ops eam such change things for the better.

If you follow any of my posts, I lean much on the positive side, but when I see a flaw I don't hesitate to call that out, nor should anyone. Let's not be naive and think his has been a flawless opening.

So your job is just to complain about it but it seems (if i understand earlier posts correctly) you’ve not actually been impacted by it in any way. That makes a lot of sense.

I have personally experienced it and think they are doing a wonderful job with the crush of demand each day. They adjusted opening hours, adding standby boarding groups as reliability improves. All this is a positive thing.

 

[Horizons '83]

So your job is just to complain about it but it seems (if i understand earlier posts correctly) you’ve not actually been impacted by it in any way. That makes a lot of sense.

I have personally experienced it and think they are doing a wonderful job with the crush of demand each day. They adjusted opening hours, adding standby boarding groups as reliability improves. All this is a positive thing.

I think this conversation has hit a stalemate, I'll end on a high not, I respect your opinion.

 

[Kamikaze]

Yeah, the majority of people whining have not rode Rise or been to Disney since Rise has opened.
(with the exception of Tom Morrow, to his credit)

The existence of forums like this and YouTube ride videos are to blame for this. Unfortunately everyone is an expert without having experienced things.

 

[disneygeek90]

Group 56 called at noon. They've seemed to avoid any downtime this morning.

 

[ImperfectPixie]

I wonder if they booked through a TA who did not tell them? Of course, I've overheard people on Disney buses who though FP was something they had to pay for, or had to wait to get in the parks. It is sad to find guests who did not know about benefits.
IMHO it is very important to research vacations (not just Disney) as much possible to get the most from a vacation. Whether it is a fan forum like this or FB groups... so much to learn!

It IS very important to research...but there are some who just aren't tech-savvy enough to do even basic research online.

 

[Jeremy Geertsema]

So, I will be trying to get on this tomorrow. The plan before today was to be there for 5am, but after today not sure what time to arrive. Any advice? Is today going to be the norm going forward or was this a one time thing?

 

[Rob562]

No it's in studio. Vanna is hosting (since this is while Pat had that surgery) and Mickey and Minnie are doing the Vanna role.

All the vacation prizes are Disney (trips to CA, FL, and HI) and every episode they promote SWGE and the two rides.

Since those episodes are filmed months in advance with a known airdate for each ep, I guess we know why they pushed for the set opening date for Rise...

Well that is like everything Disney.
I met a family yesterday who was staying at a Disney Resort and didn't know what Extra Magic Hours were.
The resort had not told them anything about EMH.

I guarantee they at least got a flyer about EMH at check-in. If they booked directly with Disney they also got info in the mail and by email about things like MDE, FP+ and probably EMH. EMH is also listed as part of the official park hours online.

Do you expect Disney to phone every incoming guest to make sure they know every little detail about their trip? Or spend 30 minutes at the front desk when checking in telling them everything? It's not Disney's fault if people don't read what is given to them.

-Rob

 

[disneygeek90]

Just reentered DHS at noon and some college kids were saying they had to now get ready to load the app to get the Rise ride boarding pass.

Did they miss the 20 signs they must have passed saying that groups are closed?

 

[MisterPenguin]

Much to my surprise the app didn't crash at 7am when thousands of people were on it. It was 703 when I joined group 54. They went fast!

Let it be known: MDE didn't crash in that crush.

 

[hokielutz]

Talk about the tail wagging the dog..

Have you seen any national press or TV coverage of RoTR being open besides opening day stuff? Disney is plastering the airwaves with Skywalker ads... they don't need a theme park pumping it.

They had the opening ceremony for it and all the ads on TV that hyped it opening.... it just builds to the opening of the movie this week. If they didn't open the ride or it was a catastrophic failure from an operations standpoint... bad press would trickle down to the movie opening through social media and mainstream news. The press was bad enough for them with the moderate attendance numbers and not seeing a bump with the opening of the two lands.

But it sounds like JJ was behind on the post production of the film and just barely finished cutting it.

 

[VaderTron]

Crazy...>Disney sends them all that information when you book. Shame on them for not reading it. Every resort guest gets information on EMH and FasstPasses well in advance of their booking window and arrival dates

Hundreds of items you buy (TVs, microwaves, cell phones, vehicles, insurance, video game consoles, walkie talkies, etc.) come with a user manuals and/or warranty paperwork of some sort. How many of those do you read in detail? The information overload in today's society causes people to have to guess what's important and ignore what they predict to have little value. Much is missed, but without that reaction we would literally spend all of our time taking in endless information. The key here is that, while there has been some definite initiative at informing guests of these important details, the sound of the freebies have been drowned out by the overture of the extra cost advertising. It's a matter of no one hearing the crickets due to the jet plane flying overhead.

 

[ImperfectPixie]

Crazy...>Disney sends them all that information when you book. Shame on them for not reading it. Every resort guest gets information on EMH and FasstPasses well in advance of their booking window and arrival dates

Don't forget, there's also those who just don't have the mental faculties that they once did...like my MIL...who is currently feuding with Toyota because it wasn't flat-out stated to her face that the $25,000 car she just bought didn't come with Sirius FM or a CD player. Seriously...she's on a crusade and is badmouthing Toyota all over the place and wants to figure out how to slam them online so she can tell people not to buy one of their cars.

Now...is it their fault she wasn't a savvy enough shopper to remember to look for that information in the paperwork? No.
Is it their fault that she didn't remember to specifically ask about those options? No.
Is it their fault that she didn't bother to look at the dashboard prior to purchasing said vehicle? Absolutely not.
Is it their fault that she didn't make it clear that those options were of great importance to her? No way.

Good luck telling her that it's on HER to be a responsible consumer though. The hysteria that would follow would be epic. In her mind, they were deceptive, and there's no changing her thought process.

I do hold her boyfriend partially responsible...of the two of them he's at least a little bit aware of technology and the role it plays in everything we do these days, and he knows that if they have technology problems they can always call me. But then again, they couldn't figure out between the two of them how to use an iPhone (and they didn't call me), so...

 

[butterxcup]

So, I will be trying to get on this tomorrow. The plan before today was to be there for 5am, but after today not sure what time to arrive. Any advice? Is today going to be the norm going forward or was this a one time thing?

No one truly knows until tomorrow morning if what happened today is the new norm or not. Do what you feel is best but if it were me I would try to at least be lined up slightly before 6am. If they open early and open BG early, you should get a decent number without waiting 2+ hours for gates to open. If they open early but they stick to a 7am BG starting time, at least you only had to wait an hour outside the gates and should already be in the park the time they start reservations.

I wonder if they booked through a TA who did not tell them? Of course, I've overheard people on Disney buses who thought FP was something they had to pay for, or had to wait to get in the parks. It is sad to find guests who did not know about benefits.
IMHO it is very important to research vacations (not just Disney) as much possible to get the most from a vacation. Whether it is a fan forum like this or FB groups... so much to learn!

I’ve lost count of the amount of times a guest has pulled me over while going through a fastpass line asking me where they could ‘also buy some fastpasses’...
Some people do the research needed while some will always just show up and treat Disney like a regular ol amusement park and realize a bit too late that it’s a bigger beast then expected.
Unless you’re the type of person who is 100% ok with going with the flow on vacations, I’ll also always argue research is pretty much a necessity for ANY vacation now a days.

 

[ToTBellHop]

Now that I think about it those college kids who showed up at noon were local gold AP coming home from college for break. So today was the last day before blackout.

you snooze you lose. Wake up early, Dont be a lazy idiot.

They’re college students. They went to bed at 3 am. Should’ve just driven to DHS then...

 

[disneygeek90]

Now that I think about it those college kids who showed up at noon were local gold AP coming home from college for break. So today was the last day before blackout.

you snooze you lose. Wake up early, Dont be a lazy idiot.

I'm pretty pumped it should work out for me today, last day before blackout. I'm hoping they don't call 97 any sooner than around 4, but we'll see.

 

[larryz]

Its almost like disney did something that everyone said cant be fixed? That theres no solution. That the early birds get the worms. Looks like disney put all the worms in a lock box.

What they did was dumb-down the procedure so Also-ran Johnny can get his Boarding Group.

 

[Kamikaze]

Let it be known: MDE didn't crash in that crush.

To be fair, even with ~5k people (1 person loads a group of family/friends) using MDE from 6:30-7:15, thats far lower than use it during a 45 minute period when all the parks are open during the day.

 

[Coaster Lover]

I know I'm going to jinx it by saying this, but so far so good today! They started loading the ride later in the day today than any day previously and are yet higher in the boarding groups at this time today than they have been previously. No notable downtime yet... fingers crossed!

 

[ToTBellHop]

To be fair, even with ~5k people (1 person loads a group of family/friends) using MDE from 6:30-7:15, thats far lower than use it during a 45 minute period when all the parks are open during the day.

Yes. It could get messier if they actually move to 8 am and 9 am opens next year.