I’ll be at Hollywood Studios in March and am staying at WDW so we have access to EMH. Starting in February, the park opening time is shifting to 9:00 am. with morning EMH being offered on its historical weekly day (Sunday) starting at 8:00 a.m.
Based on the information i’m reading, ROTR won’t open until 9:00 am on the EMH days, however BG may be offered earlier than when regular guests are allowed entrance into the park.
To me, morning EMH days doesn’t make sense at Hollywood Studios with the use of boarding groups. If you are a regular day guest without access to EMH, it seems you wouldn’t be able to access ROTR or MMRT (assuming they do BG as well). To add insult to injury, you’d be looking at even longer than normal wait times for SDD and MFSR.
So, in summary, what do we think they are going to do as things transition into Feb/Mar? Keep boarding groups? Disband?
My guess is that they disband the BGs completely if the rides are reliable. If they aren’t i’m thinking they expand the hours. I’m looking for thoughts from the group as i approach my final planning window and close in on 60 day FP.
Lastly, on a side note/rant, it seems odd to me that almost all of the headliners are almost inaccessible or have a huge wait… and we pay big money for this.
This is purely a case of supply and demand. Everyone wants to ride the headliners (SDD, FofP, RoTR and soon it will be Rat and MMRR). Not much can be done about that [other than extending hours to increase supply (which is expensive for Disney so Disney will only do a certain amount of it) or creating upcharge experiences like DAH and potentially paid FP (which is expensive for guests)].
So then why do tiers? Without tiers, the headliner FPP will likely be taken up by resort guests for their 3 FPP but that’s a perk for expensive on-site stays and that’s ultimately what Disney wants, right? All the $$ for the entire vacation to go to their pockets (lodging, all food, parking, as well as theme park expenses). I think it’s FPP tiers that create the problems and transfer some of the benefit to those that stay off-site or don’t know how to plan effectively. And BG are a great idea if you don’t have to get one at RD to get one at all–I want all those people to stay in bed (I know, wishful thinking)
Because Disney wants to give benefits to on-site guests, but doesn’t want the off-site guests to end up with next to nothing. The on-site guests still have an advantage with the 60 days vs 30 days, but the on-site cannot grab up all the most desired rides. I posted this in another thread … this issue with DHS is no the Tiering system, but the fact that the “people eater” high capacity attractions are mostly shows (Muppets, Indy, Mermaid, BatB) that have been around forever and many guests want to skip. Disney really should (but won’t) update/replace these shows with new/better/cooler shows that guests want to see.
You have a valid point, but I don’t like it! The tiers with all rides in a single tier makes for a difficult-to-plan day if you want to get to most of them. The only short-wait diversions are shows on a set schedule. I find my HS day(s) to be most stressful for keeping to a TP or it all falls apart. I don’t have that prob at MK and Epcot or too much at AK.
But I will allow the thread to return to its main purpose…
It will be interesting to see whether they keep BG for ROTR after MMRR opens or whether they will shift the BG process to the newest ride.
Also keep in mind that they could change the park hours and when EMH are. We’ll be there first full week of January and they just moved park openings an hour earlier all that week (after already moving them earlier a couple weeks ago). So I wouldn’t get too set on your touring plans. Figure out your top priorities and juggle around those. Try to keep out of the “I must do all the things!” trap.
Maybe my problem isn’t BG, FPP, Onsite, Offsite, EMH, EEMH, EMM, Dining Reservations, etc…
My problem is probably similar to what others have noted. I just want Disney to set the rules/schedule so we can plan and have things set. I have an 8 person family. We can’t just spin our plans around and be flexible because of the items i noted above (FPP which are set 60 days, EMM, Dining, etc.).
I don’t want to sound to negative, because i’m excited for the trip.
Yeah, I really get it. We’re a family of 6 and haven’t been to Disney since 2009 (way too long!) so I had soooooo many things on my “must do” list. Disney is having to adjust to people’s responses to the new stuff and what not. Yes, wish things were more predictable but it is what it is. I’m normally an ultra planner and I had to make a conscious mental decision to let it go. Planning a few key hits each part of the day and then workIng around them with “nice to squeeze in”.
My trip is in April - and granted it is just me this time - but last Jan I had 6 adults and a 3 year old. My plan for DHS is similar to my approach with my extended family last year and similar to one mentioned above. Have your big priorities - for me it will be the two SWGE rides and MMRR. After that TOT. From there, all else is gravy. That approach worked really well for me with a large group when it is hard to balance lots of priorities, excitement and varying levels of stamina - and it seems to be working well as I try to plan for a park where a lot is in flux.