Once again frustrating that Disney is flubbing the communication aspect of this. I wish they would have announced last night, “hey, this is getting out of hand so we’re actually not going to open BGs until after tapstiles and it won’t be till 7am sharp.” Some people wouldn’t have believed them because they’ve been burned before, but at least that way they’d set a precedent for honesty going forward.
The best part of this is that they were telling people 7am at the tapstiles and that turned out to be accurate. They’ve lied about that every other day basically.
Yeah that’s the biggest problem. If they are changing the system to make it better for everyone, then that is fine. But it just stinks for everyone who got there early today due to hearing about the process on previous days. They just need consistency in the process which they should have figured out before it opened. Oh well! DH was able to get some other rides in and is now in line with his BG!
Problem solved, turns out we were around the corner from the first room (?), CM is taking her. BTW, this is the kid who was a hard sell on Disneybounding. Only agreed to play along on the understanding that bounding is ABSOLUTELY not about actual costumes. At 5.30am she decided she needed the hair and everything.
Our outcries about Disney’s communication sounds like me when I’m dating. “I just want consistency! Is it so hard to communicate? Can’t we just get on the same page to save ourselves this trouble?”
I’ve been following this thread since RotR opened. It sounds to me like they need to drop the BGs. It has just over complicated things. People appear to be so worried about getting a BG and if their BG will be called that its causing issues, not to mention the down times. Go back to the FPP system. This being said by someone who hasn’t experienced it first hand, yet. I’ll find out in February.
Hallelujah! Does this mean we can be there just before 7 (opening time for Jan 2) for equal chance at a boarding pass? Would you think that parking at 6 is early enough ? Disney has changed the opening times earlier the past 10 days TWICE. 4 am is just not happening in this family - no matter how much they love SW.
For those who haven’t followed along, they opened BGs ~30 min AFTER they opened tapstiles today, meaning there was little to no benefit to arriving super early. Everyone in the park by 7am had equal opportunity to snag a BG. Presumably there were some people who arrived early who still weren’t through tapstiles at 7:00am when MDE started issuing BGs, so you can’t arrive too late (maybe 6:30am). Initial BGs were gone by 7:35, Backup BGs were gone by 9:00am.
However they may have just been trying this out. They may have gotten negative feedback. They may not do this again. Or maybe they’ll just plow through with this new approach regardless.
My advice for tomorrow: Hedge your bets a little. Don’t arrive before 5am - it has never been necessary to do so. Don’t arrive after 6:30am - it’s still prudent to be early. If you want to be safe, arrive before 5:30am. If you are ok pressing your luck, arrive at the late end of the 6:30am window.
TIP: Disconnect from WiFi if you have a US data plan. Log into your MDE on two phones using the same master credentials. Alternate refreshing MDE every minute or so until BGs open up. Don’t trust what Disney says!!! Take their assurances with a huge spoonful of salt.
I’ll keep reporting here to see if a pattern develops with this new procedure.
I saw a report (and another person confirmed, though I know nothing of the credibility of either source) that there was a group touring Galaxy’s Edge from 5-7am (Earmarked Owners Summit) today, which likely accounts for not opening the attractions until 7am and I wouldn’t be surprised (though this is just speculation on my part) if that’s also why the Boarding Groups didn’t open right away. Disney opened Boarding Groups after they let people through the tapstiles last Friday, 12/13 and didn’t call the first Boarding groups until around 6:55 AM that day (on another day when I suspected there was a group touring the park prior to opening).
I wouldn’t be surprised if one of the big blogs jumped the gun on assuming this was a new procedure and the others just followed suit re-sharing the same “news.”
@Jeff_AZ and other Liners- Even though things were different this morning, I wouldn’t have gotten my family on the ride without you and Jeff’s amazing data compilation on this thread. Thank you guys for all the tips, reports, everything. I read through every RotR post, chat, and report; to me it was a success and we had a blast! It was definitely a memorable experience and Disney is all about the memories for us. Jeff, I hope you get to go soon. Bright Suns!
Thank you so much! I have enjoyed waking up each morning and pretending to be part of the magic! Glad it has been beneficial to those who are there. I will be there soon enough!
Interesting! I hope Disney puts out an announcement tonight about what they plan to do in the morning. That sure would be helpful (even if not to be trusted ).
What fun would that be, to know from day to day what Disney was planning for a morning at HS! But, yes, it would be nice to know in advance what the opening procedures would be. I’m sure they’d have to hedge in case the attraction weren’t ready on time, but they must have a plan the night before, since they need CMs in place to implement whatever that plan is.
I’ll be following your report closely as we’re going 1/16. I just sent out the 28 days out itinerary to our group letting them know 1/16 would an early morning and to be prepared.
I do not have a horse in this race; I don’t plan to visit until 2024 at the earliest - but NO NO NO. That FPP stuff just rewards people sitting at HOME and concierge over on-site over off-site. BG rewards the people who are willing to get out of bed and get themselves there…
But, yes, it would be nice to know in advance what the opening procedures would be. I’m sure they’d have to hedge in case the attraction weren’t ready on time, but they must have a plan the night before, since they need CMs in place to implement whatever that plan is.