RotR Planning & Daily Boarding Group Discussion - *CLOSED*

[Iowamomof4]

I’m not backing or refuting this “4 hr wait” report BUT I will say that today appeared to experience more downtime than any other day we’ve seen yet. So perhaps people did end up in line for a long time in hopes they could get the ride working again.

Also, as far as live reports go we pretty much only had morning riders today. Due to the detail on this thread and the savviness of our DIS friends, we are lacking reports of 7am-7:45am arrivals who would’ve snagged those afternoon BG #s. (This doesn’t necessarily surprise me either though - again due to how savvy and educated we all are )

Savvy and educated? Or obsessed and stressed!

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

Savvy and educated? Or obsessed and stressed!

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

2 DPs I gleaned from twitter.

- 7:06 am: somebody grabbed a BG 48
- 7:46 am: reports of groups “in the 70s”

For those looking to find the sweet spot arrival time to avoid the pre-opening “chaos” but yet a reasonable BG, it appears that 6:45-7:15 might be that sweet spot to ride in the late morning/early afternoon.

*this assumes similar crowd levels to what we’re seeing now AND continued 6:30am actual park openings. It also assumes the ride doesn’t experience all the downtime like it did today.

EDIT: And I should reiterate that your best strategy is still a 6am arrival - I just know that some people don’t really like getting up that early and/or don’t like the pre-opening chaos.

 

[shellott-hill]

With all of the live reports posted here since ROTR opened, it seems strange that no one here has reported waiting 4 hours in the actual line after their BG was called. I've seen no more than an hour wait reported here.

I am seeing confirmation of at least a 3 hour wait in line on other forums. A rider got a boarding group at 7am (BG 57). They entered around 2:15pm and went through several ride shutdowns (3). They were eventually evacuated just after 5pm. I have also heard the ride was down 6-times today.

This is for sue the worst day yet...on the bright (suns) side, the only way is up!

 

[Opie100]

They are given for a specific day. If you get evacuated, you should use it the same day. If your boarding group doesn’t get called, you use it the next day. They are anytime passes.

Thank you -- so, if your boarding group doesn't get called, you just use the fast pass and get in line with whatever boarding group you want, right? And does it have to be the next day or any day in your trip?

 

[The Pho]

Thank you -- so, if your boarding group doesn't get called, you just use the fast pass and get in line with whatever boarding group you want, right? And does it have to be the next day or any day in your trip?

The ones I got all expired the next day.

 

[EmJ]

Savvy and educated? Or obsessed and stressed!

DH thinks I’m completely wackadoodle:

(1) We’re going to DL, not WDW; and
(2) We’re not going until the end of March.

And yet... I just. can’t. stop. looking.

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

DH thinks I’m completely wackadoodle:

(1) We’re going to DL, not WDW; and
(2) We’re not going until the end of March.

And yet... I just. can’t. stop. looking.

I hear you there. I’ve been neglecting my duties on other threads because I’m so enamored with this one! This too shall pass, right?

(sorry to all my credit card peeps!!)

 

[blrem]

They are given for a specific day. If you get evacuated, you should use it the same day. If your boarding group doesn’t get called, you use it the next day. They are anytime passes.

You do NOT have to use it the same day. We were give boarding pass 42 today about 6:45am. We were called by to return between 10:30 - 12:30. Got there after 11am and ride was down. Got on about an hour later and got part way through ride when it malfunctioned and we were evacuated from line. Received physical paper FP and were told we were being given a 1 day PH pass that would never expire - even 5 years from now we could use it. They told us to enjoy the rest of the park and come back later if ride was open or tomorrow - at OUR convenience. Even though the paper fastpass said it expired today and was only valid today that is NOT the case. We verified this with several CM. All said same thing - they know the ride goes down constantly - they aren't trying to make you waste your whole day there waiting and hoping - you are told to enjoy your vacation basically and return when it works for you and they will work you in! We had dining plans the rest of the day including a dessert party at HS this evening. Ride was working again tonight but since we had other ressies we are going back tomorrow to ride and expect no issues whatsoever. Good luck everyone!

 

[blrem]

The ones I got all expired the next day.

I repeat - don't worry if your pass "expires" before you can get back there to ride or if the ride is down again - they are not enforcing the expiration dates - they are trying to make people happy and keep things positive, not make people waste their entire day hoping the ride is up because their pass "expires" - not the case!

 

[Disneylover99]

The ones I got all expired the next day.

I thought I read somewhere that the paper fp’s do give an expiry of the following day, but they are being honoured past that.

Well, I just read it again in the previous post too. Lol.

 

[The Pho]

1 day PH pass that would never expire - even 5 years from now we could use it

Those should expire in 2030.

I repeat - don't worry if your pass "expires" before you can get back there to ride or if the ride is down again - they are not enforcing the expiration dates - they are trying to make people happy and keep things positive, not make people waste their entire day hoping the ride is up because their pass "expires" - not the case!

I thought I read somewhere that the paper fp’s do give an expiry of the following day, but they are being honoured past that.

We’ll, I just read it again in the previous post too. Lol.

They are being lenient with the paper passes (as they have been with all paper passes for years), but not everybody gets the paper passes. The people whose boarding groups don’t get called, which was what the question was asked about, do not get paper passes, they get digital ones. The digital ones will expire. If you can’t ride before it expires, you are better off speaking with the cast there before it expires.

 

[DGsAtBLT]

I think if there's a lesson to take from today, it's that it's still very important to get to DHS as early as you possibly can unless you are okay with the chance of a next day ride, or lots of uncertainty throughout the day. Never know what's going to happen with that reliability.

I know there's been talk of timing arrivals later and not needing to be at the front of the pack, but I know I would rather wake up an hour earlier and worry less about the ride going up and down.

 

[texasgingerbread]

We’re not going until the end of March.

I'm going in March too and just cannot stop reading. lol

 

[PolyRob]

I hear you there. I’ve been neglecting my duties on other threads because I’m so enamored with this one! This too shall pass, right?

(sorry to all my credit card peeps!!)

HAHA This is honestly the only thread I have been glued to while on vacation!

 

[DGsAtBLT]

DH thinks I’m completely wackadoodle:

(1) We’re going to DL, not WDW; and
(2) We’re not going until the end of March.

And yet... I just. can’t. stop. looking.

We're another March group! At least we're WDW though lol.

 

[PolyRob]

I did head over to SWGE after Fantasmic! to see what was up and CMs said unfortunately 1 ride per guest per day and boarding groups were gone. I was encouraged to check-out MFSR with a 15-minute wait. I opted for TSM around the corner and one last RnR. Sadly, my DHS has concluded this trip, but I will still be obsessing over the reports on this thread and strategizing for the spring!

 

[SirBill]

I think if there's a lesson to take from today, it's that it's still very important to get to DHS as early as you possibly can unless you are okay with the chance of a next day ride, or lots of uncertainty throughout the day. Never know what's going to happen with that reliability.

I know there's been talk of timing arrivals later and not needing to be at the front of the pack, but I know I would rather wake up an hour earlier and worry less about the ride going up and down.

This is exactly why I showed up before 5am every day for the three days I was there last week...

The ride seemed to pretty much every day break down around an hour after opening, sometimes earlier and sometimes later. By having one of the first few boarding groups it almost ensures you can ride before it breaks down, and also has fewer people in the queue than later so it saves you time that way as well. It presents a nice freedom for the rest of the day, even though BG are pretty relaxing not having to stay in the park...

Sure you can arrive at 6am or time it to get in just after the initial rush, and probably get a BG. But as we get closer to Christmas will that remain true? Getting there before 5am just avoids so many possible complications, and probably saves you almost as much time as you lose waiting an hour longer to enter the park.

Note this is for non EMH days only, since it's a strategy based on being able to get a boarding group ASAP after tapping into the park.

 

[rteetz]

So crazy me is trying to track this nonsense. Today 12/10 would've been the worst day so far in terms of groups reached.

 

[StarGirl11]

2 DPs I gleaned from twitter.

- 7:06 am: somebody grabbed a BG 48
- 7:46 am: reports of groups “in the 70s”

For those looking to find the sweet spot arrival time to avoid the pre-opening “chaos” but yet a reasonable BG, it appears that 6:45-7:15 might be that sweet spot to ride in the late morning/early afternoon.

*this assumes similar crowd levels to what we’re seeing now AND continued 6:30am actual park openings. It also assumes the ride doesn’t experience all the downtime like it did today.

EDIT: And I should reiterate that your best strategy is still a 6am arrival - I just know that some people don’t really like getting up that early and/or don’t like the pre-opening chaos.

Yeah I was talking with my friend on the phone and warning him we’re going to be shooting for sometime between 5:30-6 arrival at DHS next week. We’re off property but thankfully only 10 minutes away so it won’t require us getting up super early to get there. We need the early group since we have Christmas Party tickets so the sooner we get a boarding pass the better. Plus earlier arrival means lower wait times for the other big rides hopefully.

So crazy me is trying to track this nonsense. Today 12/10 would've been the worst day so far in terms of groups reached.

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Admittedly it’s not by much when compared to opening day. But that’s not a good thing either since you would maybe expect more hiccups that day.