@Jeff_AZ I just got a TP hours update that HS will be opening at 7am Dec 12-14
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We will be at WDW next week and the 7:00am opening for HS goes through, at least, the 20th. That being said, plans to get to HS should now be an hour earlier?? My husband is going to murder me but I MUST ride RotR !!
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if opening is 7am i would get there 5:30am, but interested in othersā views
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Oh lordy, Iām so glad Iām going in January. I couldnāt handle all this uncertainty. Of course, I wonāt really have a good idea of what to expect until a few days before my trip anyways. I assume crowds are going to start getting insane next week through the holidays, and hopefully start to die down the first week of January. But who knowsā¦
5:30am seems reasonable. A 7am opening is hard to predict. I mean, I donāt think everyone automatically shows up one hour earlier than they were going to. I think itās more of a sliding scale. Some people just canāt get out of bed that early or get their kids out the door that fast.
So you still might be ok arriving at 6:30. But 6 or 5:30am would be better. Probably not necessary to get there before 5 still.
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Keep watching this thread though! Weāll see what happens when the 7am openings start.
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I would not keep an 8 am HV res if park opening was 8 am. We did a 10:15 am breakfast at HV so we could RD the park and then eat when the crowds started to build up. The said, my family thought the food (breakfast) at HV was not good. None of us ate very much including DS2 who is generally not too picky.
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Wow I just saw it too, 7:00 am it is. I guess now we need to be at the car by 5:20 not questions ask 
One thing to point out as they change park hours is that they often open up more FPP for the new hours. Liners on chat have been reporting snagging new FPP for SDD in January, for example.
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Thank you! I was able to pick one up!
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I thought this bit was interesting - @NYGIANTMickeyFan arrived at 4:45 and @jcophotog arrived at 5:30am and they were basically among the first to enter and were only 3 BGs apart. Diminishing returns for arriving earlier than 5:30am.
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Just out of curiosity, how much time should one budget for getting through security and the tapstile? How much of a difference does it make getting there at 5:30, 6:00, 6:30, etc?
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At this point Iām slightly giving up on ROTR. It being my DHās birthday and him being a casual fan and not a line person I canāt just drag him out of bed even earlier for a chance at the ride.
I think Iāll still plan to Uber by 6:15am and get there before park opens and try for an early BG. If i donāt get one early enough then I just donāt. It will still be a great day.
I did just snag early morning FPP for other rides so thatās good
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If you are there before security opens, you will wait as long as it takes until it is open. Same thing with tapstiles. But people who have arrived after security / tapstiles open have reported basically breezing through. At most, budget 10-15 min.
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Awesome. Thanks for that info. Pending the updates based on the new opening times, Iām shooting to leave the hotel by 6 and get through the tapstiles around 6:30-6:45. May try to push the departure time up a bit, but weāll see how the rest of the family feels about that.
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Another rough afternoon - at 61, this is the lowest BG called as of 5:00pm since the ride opened last week. But at least itās open now (knock on wood) and hopefully theyāll catch up. Itās not exactly a fair comparison since they had 30-40 BGs from yesterday to fill in the gaps, but theyāve had 2 almost 2-hour periods where the ride was apparently down today, plus a couple 1-hour periods.
Iām anxious to see what things look like over the next few days with the new hours with posted park open of 7AM. Will park still unofficially be open by 6:30 or will it open earlier? We leave Saturday first morning at DHS will be Monday. I have a 10:10 Garden Grill ADR. So far it looks like I need a BG 20 or lower to make it to ADR or higher than 30 to be able to eat and get back.
Regardless of your BG, speak with a CM before you leave HS and they may be able to alter your ADR or give you leeway so that you donāt end up paying the no-show fee, or so that you can have a grace period on the back end of your BG when called. I have heard they have been very accommodating when it comes to ADRs that interfere with RotR.
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I got my first ride today (Wednesday, 12/11).
Hereās a summary of my Rise of the Resistance experience this morning:
- 6:14 AM - Parked (Mickey 303)
- 6:22 AM - Through Bag Check
- 6:23 AM - in line for Tapstiles, but line not moving yet
- 6:31 AM - announcement plays describing virtual queues for Rise of the Resistance
- 6:32 AM - Tapstiles open (heard a cheer, then āWelcome to Hollywood Studiosā played on PA
- 6:42 AM - Tapped into park, added to Boarding Group 30 (had to close and re-open MDE to get āJoin Boarding Groupā to not be grayed out)
- sometime between 7:43-7:48 - option to Join Boarding Group in MDE no longer availabe (greyed out)
- 9:24 AM - saw Boarding Group called on app (didnāt receive push notification)
Rise of the Resistance Queue/Ride Timings:
- 9:26 AM - in line, guests waiting through all of the caves starting behind waterfall, but moving steadily through each room
- ~9:55 AM - cast member tells guests in front of us there will be a delay, stopped in narrow cave, a couple guests are allowed to leave and return to use restroom
- ~10:00 AM - cast members walk through line with water bottles, then snacks (bananas, chips, and something else that may have been dried fruit)
- ??? AM - announcement on PA about ride stop, mentions that guests in stopped ride vehicles should remain seated (so, itās clear the ride is stoped)
- 10:14 AM - cast member walks through line to collect trash
- 10:35 AM - line starts moving again
- 10:46 AM - Ready Room (with BB8)
- 10:50 AM - on Shuttle
- 10:52 AM - arrive on Star Destroyer
- 11:04 AM - Put in Detention Cell
- 11:06 AM - Seated on Transport Vehicle
- 11:12 AM - Done Ride
In tracking when my boarding group would be called, I called noted what groups were āNow Boardingā through the morning:
- 6:59 AM, 9-15
- 7:02 AM, 9-16
- 7:05 AM, 9-18
- 7:10 AM, 9-20
- 8:14 AM, 9-20
- 7:17 AM, 9-21
- 7:24 AM, 9-22
- 7:32 AM, 9-24
- 7:43 AM, 9-25
- 7:48 AM, 9-25
- 7:50 AM, 9-25
- 8:02 AM, 9-26
- 8:15 AM, 9-27
- 8:26 AM, 9-27
- 8:34 AM, 9-27
- 8:43 AM, 9-27
- 8:49 AM, 9-27
- 9:00 AM, 17-28
- 9:11 AM, 21-29
- 9:24 AM, 23-30
- 9:40 AM, 25-31
- 10:48 AM, 28-37
- 12:30 PM, 31-38
- 1:44 PM, 33-43
- 8:12 PM, 78-81
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WOW FlyerFan1973 thanks for the detailed report. This is helpful, I guess arriving at the park at 6, may be just fine!
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