Rise of the Resistance BOARDING GROUPS Superthread Part 1 *No Ride Spoilers Please* *PLEASE READ POSTS 1-4*

[Aurora0427]

So we went today. We didn’t mess with any of the ROTR shenanigans. However, we went to dinner before driving home, and I started talking to this family. I asked if they had ridden ROTR, because they were all wearing Star Wars clothing. They said no, because they didn’t arrive until 8am and the boarding groups were gone. So I explained to them that tomorrow they really want to be at security by 7, I explained how I was able to score a BG on a prior day using a second phone with a clock with seconds, and went through the exact steps. They looked at me like I was nuts. They were completely clueless, and that’s what I think is my biggest issue with this ride- it’s a difficult system for people who don’t obsessively research to figure out. Hopefully they pay attention to what i said, and have better luck tomorrow!

EDITED TO ADD: Not my intention to start a debate about the BG system or to criticize people who don’t research. Just hoping the info i used here and implemented successfully can help these people!

 

[StarGirl11]

Kind of on-topic enough it should probably be mentioned. Disneyland's confirmed the ride won't be available during Star War Nite in August. No clue if anyone else was considering it for that reason alone but yeah no ROTR due to nightly maintenance.

I might still get a ticket for it since that lines up with when I usually travel to CA anyway. And I'm almost never in town for this stuff.

 

[dina444444]

Kind of on-topic enough it should probably be mentioned. Disneyland's confirmed the ride won't be available during Star War Nite in August. No clue if anyone else was considering it for that reason alone but yeah no ROTR due to nightly maintenance.

I might still get a ticket for it since that lines up with when I usually travel to CA anyway. And I'm almost never in town for this stuff.

If you want to go better buy your ticket now. I don’t expect them to last more than 24 hours.

 

[SirBill]

If you want to go better buy your ticket now. I don’t expect them to last more than 24 hours.

Well they seem to have lasted at least ten minutes which is pretty good for a hot Star Wars event these days! Will be interesting to see if they last even until the morning.

 

[dina444444]

The chart:

 

[theluckyrabbit]

Have her watch youtube. That's what my friend and I did. My friend gets nervous on the "kid" rides, so there was no way she was going to do a Star Wars ride without seeing it first lol.

This sounds like the best option. Given the choice between spoilers now or freaking out in line or on the ride, I think she'll go with the spoilers!

It was amazing!!!! We got a DAS and rode as soon as we arrived in SWGE. I was done by 7 last night. We will not attempt to ride again this trip even though we have 4 more days. I helped a lot of people throughout the day yesterday, who didn't get a bg. I hope they all get to ride today.
Just for data. I was on a cheapo Moto g 7 with T-Mobile. BG 20. Daughter on iPhone 6 and dh on iPhone xr. Cheapo phones RULE!!!!!

Your experience is encouraging and should give hope to everyone following who might be worried about not having a fancy, expensive phone.

Wanting to avoid spoilers, but need to know if my wife can ride. Since this is a trackless system, how does it rate on the "doesn't handle motion rides well" scale? That is the most she'll ever do is Splash Mountain and no roller coasters.

Has she ridden MFSR? Friends tell me that the Falcon is a much rougher ride than ROTR, especially if one has the pilot or gunner position. Hoping that your wife will be fine! Please report back if she notices anything that might help others here.

What's the crowd like at the Starbucks in downtown Disney at 8am? I feel like the wifi there would be superior to the data signal inside the park. I have T-Mobile so they're pretty bad everywhere.

We've had many people post getting BGs with T-Mobile -- you should be fine!

I have t-mobile, and didn't have any issues in the parks over Christmas. I think it really does have to do with your phone (newer vs older)...

We've had posters with old phones be very successful in getting BGs. I think our oldest reported phone so far was an iPhone 5.

What's the maximum size when it comes to how many people can be in your group for a BG?

Someone had 12 in their BG -- is your group larger than that?

 

[theluckyrabbit]

So we went today. We didn’t mess with any of the ROTR shenanigans. However, we went to dinner before driving home, and I started talking to this family. I asked if they had ridden ROTR, because they were all wearing Star Wars clothing. They said no, because they didn’t arrive until 8am and the boarding groups were gone. So I explained to them that tomorrow they really want to be at security by 7, I explained how I was able to score a BG on a prior day using a second phone with a clock with seconds, and went through the exact steps. They looked at me like I was nuts. They were completely clueless, and that’s what I think is my biggest issue with this ride- it’s a difficult system for people who don’t obsessively research to figure out. Hopefully they pay attention to what i said, and have better luck tomorrow!

It's not just ROTR cluelessness -- it's Disneyland obliviousness in general. It is absolutely unbelievable how ignorant people are about the basics of going to DL, forget SWGE and ROTR. For all the money that it costs to spend one day in one park now, plus parking, plus food, plus souvenirs, etc., you would think people would do just a little research (not crazy, detailed "getting a degree in DLR" research like we do here!) before forking over their credit card. We have friends who go to DL every Christmas Eve -- and until last year, they never thought to arrive before 2 or 3 pm and never, ever made a reservation anywhere -- they would just stand in line at the booths for hours, maybe get turned away (that happened at least twice), stand in line forever for food, never eat at BB ("How do you get in there??"), and maybe ride 3 or 4 rides, tops ("What's FP??"). Every year. Aaaaargh! SO, I made them promise that last year they would use the app to get tickets ahead of time and make a reservation at BB and arrive for RD -- just ONCE -- and they thought I was crazy. Laughed in my face. But their daughter convinced them to try it, and they reported back that it was the best trip they've ever had. And, wow, how did I know how to do all that????? Sigh... so it isn't surprising that the whole BG process is such a mystery to so many people.

 

[ironband74]

It's not just ROTR cluelessness -- it's Disneyland obliviousness in general. It is absolutely unbelievable how ignorant people are about the basics of going to DL, forget SWGE and ROTR. For all the money that it costs to spend one day in one park now, plus parking, plus food, plus souvenirs, etc., you would think people would do just a little research (not crazy, detailed "getting a degree in DLR" research like we do here!) before forking over their credit card. We have friends who go to DL every Christmas Eve -- and until last year, they never thought to arrive before 2 or 3 pm and never, ever made a reservation anywhere -- they would just stand in line at the booths for hours, maybe get turned away (that happened at least twice), stand in line forever for food, never eat at BB ("How do you get in there??"), and maybe ride 3 or 4 rides, tops ("What's FP??"). Every year. Aaaaargh! SO, I made them promise that last year they would use the app to get tickets ahead of time and make a reservation at BB and arrive for RD -- just ONCE -- and they thought I was crazy. Laughed in my face. But their daughter convinced them to try it, and they reported back that it was the best trip they've ever had. And, wow, how did I know how to do all that????? Sigh... so it isn't surprising that the whole BG process is such a mystery to so many people.

I was once one of those people. Then that fateful December 27 when Disney sucked for the first time slapped me in the face. I became a researcher (See that look on dad's face? He's thinking about his Disney strategy...) and never looked back.

My family has no idea what's in store if we do make it in April, but they know that I know what I'm doing and will follow my lead. I can't wait to see how they take it when three days before the trip I gather them around the table for a practice run at a BG.

 

[bethwc101]

So we went today. We didn’t mess with any of the ROTR shenanigans. However, we went to dinner before driving home, and I started talking to this family. I asked if they had ridden ROTR, because they were all wearing Star Wars clothing. They said no, because they didn’t arrive until 8am and the boarding groups were gone. So I explained to them that tomorrow they really want to be at security by 7, I explained how I was able to score a BG on a prior day using a second phone with a clock with seconds, and went through the exact steps. They looked at me like I was nuts. They were completely clueless, and that’s what I think is my biggest issue with this ride- it’s a difficult system for people who don’t obsessively research to figure out. Hopefully they pay attention to what i said, and have better luck tomorrow!

It's not just ROTR cluelessness -- it's Disneyland obliviousness in general. It is absolutely unbelievable how ignorant people are about the basics of going to DL, forget SWGE and ROTR. For all the money that it costs to spend one day in one park now, plus parking, plus food, plus souvenirs, etc., you would think people would do just a little research (not crazy, detailed "getting a degree in DLR" research like we do here!) before forking over their credit card. We have friends who go to DL every Christmas Eve -- and until last year, they never thought to arrive before 2 or 3 pm and never, ever made a reservation anywhere -- they would just stand in line at the booths for hours, maybe get turned away (that happened at least twice), stand in line forever for food, never eat at BB ("How do you get in there??"), and maybe ride 3 or 4 rides, tops ("What's FP??"). Every year. Aaaaargh! SO, I made them promise that last year they would use the app to get tickets ahead of time and make a reservation at BB and arrive for RD -- just ONCE -- and they thought I was crazy. Laughed in my face. But their daughter convinced them to try it, and they reported back that it was the best trip they've ever had. And, wow, how did I know how to do all that????? Sigh... so it isn't surprising that the whole BG process is such a mystery to so many people.

But I think it's 100% on the people for not doing their research. If you are that interested in something, wouldn't you look into it a little bit and see if there's anything you should learn. I agree that it also extends out to Disneyland. We have done trips with people who didn't do FPs because they didn't want to pay for it, after adamantly explaining it was free (pre maxpass time). And didn't book reservations because they would just get one that day. (for Blue Bayou!) So at the end of day 1 they were confused how my family had done so much and eaten at blue bayou while they hardly accomplished anything.

But even more, it expands to outside Disney. Our family was travelling to Europe and had one day in Paris. What did I do for our trip? RESEARCH. One thing I really wanted to do was tour the notre dame. And in my reading I found there can be times (especially summer when we were going) that the line can be hours long to go up. But I researched, and found tours that include a skip the line pass for the notre dame. Since it was high on my prioroity list and time was a factor, DH and I booked spots on the tour. And I told my family about what I found and that DH and I were doing the tour. They said I was being ridiculous and it couldn't be that long. Well the day came, and the line was easily 2-3 hrs long. Family's jaw dropped. They asked our guide if there were any open spots left. Nope fully booked. Family left and DH and I went up and around the notre dame. Family didn't because they didn't want to wait in line.

DH and i did the same thing for the colosseum, and while we were up on the notre dame, my family got online and booked spots for them for the colosseum because they didn't want it to happen again.

It has nothing to do with Disney and ROTR being unfair to those who don't plan. It's just those in life who tend to be planners tend to have an advantage over those who are just going to show up and "wing it"
And that's something that's fine to do, but if you are adamant about seeing or doing something, you better do some research.

 

[AmyJamer]

Here this morning and am nervous line past monorails this morning as of now

 

[Aurora0427]

It's not just ROTR cluelessness -- it's Disneyland obliviousness in general. It is absolutely unbelievable how ignorant people are about the basics of going to DL, forget SWGE and ROTR. For all the money that it costs to spend one day in one park now, plus parking, plus food, plus souvenirs, etc., you would think people would do just a little research (not crazy, detailed "getting a degree in DLR" research like we do here!) before forking over their credit card. We have friends who go to DL every Christmas Eve -- and until last year, they never thought to arrive before 2 or 3 pm and never, ever made a reservation anywhere -- they would just stand in line at the booths for hours, maybe get turned away (that happened at least twice), stand in line forever for food, never eat at BB ("How do you get in there??"), and maybe ride 3 or 4 rides, tops ("What's FP??"). Every year. Aaaaargh! SO, I made them promise that last year they would use the app to get tickets ahead of time and make a reservation at BB and arrive for RD -- just ONCE -- and they thought I was crazy. Laughed in my face. But their daughter convinced them to try it, and they reported back that it was the best trip they've ever had. And, wow, how did I know how to do all that????? Sigh... so it isn't surprising that the whole BG process is such a mystery to so many people.

Yeah I get this, and I’m the first one here to face palm emoji and comment sarcastically about some of the stories I read on here about people who show up completely clueless.

Hopefully they take what I said seriously and have better luck today.

 

[Aurora0427]

Here this morning and am nervous line past monorails this morning as of now

GEEZ. It’s not even 6:30. They’ll have to start letting people in by 7:15 or the lines are going to be back to the 5.

 

[AmyJamer]

GEEZ. It’s not even 6:30. They’ll have to start letting people in by 7:15 or the lines are going to be back to the 5.

Seriously halfway to California adventure

 

[Laur0406]

But I think it's 100% on the people for not doing their research. If you are that interested in something, wouldn't you look into it a little bit and see if there's anything you should learn. I agree that it also extends out to Disneyland. We have done trips with people who didn't do FPs because they didn't want to pay for it, after adamantly explaining it was free (pre maxpass time). And didn't book reservations because they would just get one that day. (for Blue Bayou!) So at the end of day 1 they were confused how my family had done so much and eaten at blue bayou while they hardly accomplished anything.

But even more, it expands to outside Disney. Our family was travelling to Europe and had one day in Paris. What did I do for our trip? RESEARCH. One thing I really wanted to do was tour the notre dame. And in my reading I found there can be times (especially summer when we were going) that the line can be hours long to go up. But I researched, and found tours that include a skip the line pass for the notre dame. Since it was high on my prioroity list and time was a factor, DH and I booked spots on the tour. And I told my family about what I found and that DH and I were doing the tour. They said I was being ridiculous and it couldn't be that long. Well the day came, and the line was easily 2-3 hrs long. Family's jaw dropped. They asked our guide if there were any open spots left. Nope fully booked. Family left and DH and I went up and around the notre dame. Family didn't because they didn't want to wait in line.

DH and i did the same thing for the colosseum, and while we were up on the notre dame, my family got online and booked spots for them for the colosseum because they didn't want it to happen again.

It has nothing to do with Disney and ROTR being unfair to those who don't plan. It's just those in life who tend to be planners tend to have an advantage over those who are just going to show up and "wing it"
And that's something that's fine to do, but if you are adamant about seeing or doing something, you better do some research.

Some people just don't think about, they think it's a ride like all other amusement park rides.

Even my husband, in anticipation for our trip in a couple of weeks was like "we are going on ROTR", and I was like "well...". He goes "no, you don't understand, we're going" and I was like "no, *you* don't understand" and explained it and he was like "oh, I had no idea".

 

[Aurora0427]

But I think it's 100% on the people for not doing their research. If you are that interested in something, wouldn't you look into it a little bit and see if there's anything you should learn. I agree that it also extends out to Disneyland. We have done trips with people who didn't do FPs because they didn't want to pay for it, after adamantly explaining it was free (pre maxpass time). And didn't book reservations because they would just get one that day. (for Blue Bayou!) So at the end of day 1 they were confused how my family had done so much and eaten at blue bayou while they hardly accomplished anything.

But even more, it expands to outside Disney. Our family was travelling to Europe and had one day in Paris. What did I do for our trip? RESEARCH. One thing I really wanted to do was tour the notre dame. And in my reading I found there can be times (especially summer when we were going) that the line can be hours long to go up. But I researched, and found tours that include a skip the line pass for the notre dame. Since it was high on my prioroity list and time was a factor, DH and I booked spots on the tour. And I told my family about what I found and that DH and I were doing the tour. They said I was being ridiculous and it couldn't be that long. Well the day came, and the line was easily 2-3 hrs long. Family's jaw dropped. They asked our guide if there were any open spots left. Nope fully booked. Family left and DH and I went up and around the notre dame. Family didn't because they didn't want to wait in line.

DH and i did the same thing for the colosseum, and while we were up on the notre dame, my family got online and booked spots for them for the colosseum because they didn't want it to happen again.

It has nothing to do with Disney and ROTR being unfair to those who don't plan. It's just those in life who tend to be planners tend to have an advantage over those who are just going to show up and "wing it"
And that's something that's fine to do, but if you are adamant about seeing or doing something, you better do some research.

I never used the words unfair. That wasn’t really my point. I think what everyone has to go through to hopefully get a BG is ridiculous. But I was really posting to give an example of how the information on this thread that I passed on will hopefully help these people. I don’t want to derail the thread by getting into conversations about the goofballs who don’t research and fair vs. unfair.

 

[Aurora0427]

Seriously halfway to California adventure

Ok, you have to let me know what time it gets to DCA. It got to that point by 7:15 when we were there in January and it was the craziest thing.... I’d never seen it that crowded that early.
MTFBWY today! You’ve got this. You’re there early and you’re prepared with the DIS plan.

 

[Mark_E]

Going solo today and just hoping my app will not glitch out like it did Tuesday.

 

[HydroGuy]

Yeah I get this, and I’m the first one here to face palm emoji and comment sarcastically about some of the stories I read on here about people who show up completely clueless, but honestly getting a boarding group takes it all to the next level. I mean, in reality you shouldn’t need a five point post from the DIS Boards to give you your best chances of getting a boarding group to ride a ride.

Although thinking you’d show up at 8am breeze right through security and score a boarding group by 8:01 is a total . Hopefully they take what I said seriously and have better luck today.

I do not really agree that it is as hard as you are making it out to be.

Earlier in this thread I posted an experience with a friend who was at DLR last weekend to ride ROTR with his DS13 and DW and knew nothing about BGs or really DLR. He was successful. Basically this was the minimalist advice I gave and he followed:

1. Show up at 6:45 at security for an 8AM opening (I emphasized this)
2. Before you arrive, have the latest DLR app downloaded on your phone and as many people in your family as you can manage - with everyone on your account
3. Have your park tickets linked in the app beforehand
4. Read/scan a strategy blog ahead of time so you know what the screen will look like for BGs beforehand (this is optional - I sent him one from DisneyTouristBlog)
5. Have everyone start trying for a BG at 8AM sharp

He got BG28 that day.

 

[Aurora0427]

I do not really agree that it is as hard as you are making it out to be.

Earlier in this thread I posted an experience with a friend who was at DLR last weekend to ride ROTR with his DS13 and DW and knew nothing about BGs or really DLR. He was successful. Basically this was the minimalist advice I gave and he followed:

1. Show up at 6:45 at security for an 8AM opening (I emphasized this)
2. Before you arrive, have the latest DLR app downloaded on your phone and as many people in your family as you can manage - with everyone on your account
3. Have your park tickets linked in the app beforehand
4. Read/scan a strategy blog ahead of time so you know what the screen will look like for BGs beforehand (this is optional - I sent him one from DisneyTouristBlog)
5. Have everyone start trying for a BG at 8AM sharp

He got BG28 that day.

I’ve already successfully gotten a boarding group thanks to the tips on these boards. It was easy once it was done, and actually using the app
Once the clock hits 7:59:59 is relatively simple, but very stressful getting two small children and two grandparents to the parks early enough to get in line. I won’t rehash my experience again, everyone here has already read it. Needless to say, I’m glad it’s done and we don’t feel the need to ride again anytime soon!

I think trying to convince people who already don’t research of your point #4 is the sticking point. But yes, in theory it’s a simple process

Anyway, this is derailing the thread a bit. Which is why I updated my initial response and deleted the part that you put in bold.

 

[midnight star]

It's not just ROTR cluelessness -- it's Disneyland obliviousness in general. It is absolutely unbelievable how ignorant people are about the basics of going to DL, forget SWGE and ROTR. For all the money that it costs to spend one day in one park now, plus parking, plus food, plus souvenirs, etc., you would think people would do just a little research (not crazy, detailed "getting a degree in DLR" research like we do here!) before forking over their credit card. We have friends who go to DL every Christmas Eve -- and until last year, they never thought to arrive before 2 or 3 pm and never, ever made a reservation anywhere -- they would just stand in line at the booths for hours, maybe get turned away (that happened at least twice), stand in line forever for food, never eat at BB ("How do you get in there??"), and maybe ride 3 or 4 rides, tops ("What's FP??"). Every year. Aaaaargh! SO, I made them promise that last year they would use the app to get tickets ahead of time and make a reservation at BB and arrive for RD -- just ONCE -- and they thought I was crazy. Laughed in my face. But their daughter convinced them to try it, and they reported back that it was the best trip they've ever had. And, wow, how did I know how to do all that????? Sigh... so it isn't surprising that the whole BG process is such a mystery to so many people.

Very true. I’m on a few ap groups on Facebook and you won’t believe how many long time passholders have no idea how to use the fastpass system, mobile ordering,.etc. even though as a passholder I can go frequently and take my time, I pay way too much for a pass to not know tips and tricks on how to navigate the parks.