Anyone done a new ride on opening day -- worth it?

My fastpass day is fast-approaching and I’m still waffling back-and-forth on which parks which days. What do you all think of trying to do Rise of Resistance on opening day, December 5th, or waiting until the 6th? We’re big Star Wars fans–think being part of the opening day hoopla will be worth the (I assume) longer wait/bigger crowd compared to day 2?

We will have already spent 1 1/2 full days in the rest of Galaxy’s Edge doing MFSR, the droids, and Savi’s, so our only goal on this day would be to ride RotR (afterward we would probably be heading over to Epcot for a few rides with fastpass and some food booths).

Both will be crowded, but opening day for RotR will be totally crazy. SWGE opened in DL first, so that absorbed many of the “must be the first to ride” folks, and even with that opening day in DHS was nuts (it slacked of within a day or two). WDW will be the “world premier” of RotR, and there are liable to be people coming in from all parts of the country who want to be “the first to ride”.

Pros: Being able to say you rode opening day and the added crowd excitement level of an opening day.

Cons: Insane crowds and a chance that it might be the only thing you get done that day.

Of course, this all depends on what crowd control strategies they use…

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As someone who rode Smugglers Run multiple times on opening day at Disneyland…go for it! There was so much excitement that first day that has never been duplicated for me on further visits. It was amazing, and if I was in WDW on opening day of ROTR, that’s where I would be.

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Was that during the reservation period, @Wahoohokie? Or later when it was open to everyone?

During the reservation period.

I’m struggling with this too. We are there 11/27 - 12/7. On 12/5 we have MVMCP already scheduled (tickets purchased). So we’re gonna be out late 12/5, which means we won’t want to get up early on 12/6. And on 12/7 we have to deal with check out and everything. So that leaves 12/5. I know that Smuggler’s Run has been busiest in the morning and then the wait times have been tapering off, but I can’t rely on that pattern for RotR. Right now I’m assuming that getting there early is the best bet. Fortunately we are staying at Boardwalk, so we can get to HS very easily. My hope is to get there early on 12/5, get in a ride, then go back to the hotel until time for the party. At the moment we have a 9:25am at Oga’s on 12/5, so we know we can at least get into the land. (We also have Oga’s on 12/6, but I don’t see us wanting to get up that early after the party.)

We are also checking out on 12/7! No MVMCP for us, though, so an early morning on 12/6 wouldn’t be a problem. But I worry that if I wait until 12/6 for RotR, that’ll be our only chance to ride it – going 12/5 gives us a second chance if needed (or a re-ride if it turns out that we want one). And we’re morning people and very comfortable with ride share so getting to HS super early on the 5th wouldn’t be a problem. Ugh, I just wish I could commit one way or the other on this.

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This is an excellent point. If 12/5 is a bust, it’s nice to know 12/6 is there.

I wish Disney would commit. At this point we still have no idea how they will handle opening day…EEMH? I’m assuming they will still use the virtual queue, but that’s just an assumption.

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Given how stingy they were with details until like 48 hours beforehand for the overall land opening at HS on 8/29, I’m not holding out a lot of hope for this…would be awful nice though.

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Personally I would avoid opening day itself. Often the difference between day 1 and day 2 in crowds can be substantial. However, the excitement of day 2 likewise isn’t all that impressive. “I was there on the second day of operation!” just doesn’t have the same ring to it. So if you’re up for the slog, and want to have the experience, go for it.

Definitely try to get to the ride while you’re there, though! And maybe keep an eye on the line and if it isn’t too bad, join later in the day or just before close on day 1. The worst part of opening day in my opinion is the crazy people who wait overnight so they can be among the very first to ride.