- Joined
- Jul 4, 2019
Another belated summary:
Family of 5.
Saturday Feb 22.
Shooting for BG 80+ (cuz DD11 needed to be somewhere else for a swim camp during the day, so planned 5 sec delay after 0800). Credit to @montreid for idea.
BG 14.
DD14 got it on Android phone despite a really fast 5 Mississippi's (allegedly).
All on T-mobile.
Narrative:
Stayed at VGC night before, intended to rope drop Extra Magic Hour. Left our villa at 0645...one DD did not bring jacket requiring DW to go back to the room...coupled with large crowds hindering movement...got through turnstiles by 0715. Interestingly, they opened all turnstiles for general entry around 5 minutes after 0700. DD x 3 got to ride Matterhorn still.
DW and I waited at Sleeping Beauty Castle (right side benches if facing the castle) and kids joined us 10 minutes before 0800. We spread out a little to optimize signals. We had done this before and went through much of the prescribed procedures from this thread. Re-enforced need to count 5-Mississippi's in effort to score a later BG so the youngest DD and DW can ride with us later in the afternoon. Getting early BG (and rain) caused wife to cancel the swim camp so it all worked out in the end.
The ride did go down after a 45 minute wait in line (around 0900-0945), then again when we were eligible for a Multi Experience FP (MEFP) but before we got on the actual ride. Came back later after lunchtime at our convenience when we saw the ride was running relatively smoothly based on posts in this thread. No wait at all thanks to MEFP. Had a great time!
My take (a bit of tin-foil, so skip if you aren't into crazy) :
I've ridden this ride twice now in 2 months. DD got BG 17 first time and BG 14 this second time (with a 5-Mississippi delay). I would say I've read a bit over 50% of this thread. It goes without saying that having a larger group (especially if everyone in the group is trying for a BG) increases your odds of getting an early BG. However, I don't think that is the most important factor, all else being equal.
Here is why... if you are familiar with Tokyo Disneyland and Disney Sea, you may be familiar with their lottery system. I've not had first hand experience, but from what I've read in threads dedicated to Tokyo Disneyland, their lottery system factors in group sizes. I'm not saying it is exactly like their system. it is not. Just that maybe each different group size is playing in a different pool.
Pure speculation: If you are a single rider, you will be in the "1-person pool". Three people in your group? There is a "3-person pool". My family of 5? You guessed it, "5-person pool". Depending on how Disney distributes numbers of available spots into each pool, the ease of getting an early boarding group can be drastically different. Simpler still, Disney can just divide into two-groups, large (5-10) vs small (1-4). I can easily imagine the large group being much easier to compete in (tend to have less adults than kids). Versus the small groups which tend to have a higher percentage of adults who stalk the forums for tips on how to score boarding groups. Based on my musings, those childless millenials and lonely singletons need to group up with each other before official park opening to really maximize their chances of getting an early boarding group (instead of competing against each other). Why has no one started a new thread for small-groupers to "group-up" yet?! C'mon Dis'ers!
Let's explore!...
Family of 5.
Saturday Feb 22.
Shooting for BG 80+ (cuz DD11 needed to be somewhere else for a swim camp during the day, so planned 5 sec delay after 0800). Credit to @montreid for idea.
BG 14.
DD14 got it on Android phone despite a really fast 5 Mississippi's (allegedly).
All on T-mobile.
Narrative:
Stayed at VGC night before, intended to rope drop Extra Magic Hour. Left our villa at 0645...one DD did not bring jacket requiring DW to go back to the room...coupled with large crowds hindering movement...got through turnstiles by 0715. Interestingly, they opened all turnstiles for general entry around 5 minutes after 0700. DD x 3 got to ride Matterhorn still.
DW and I waited at Sleeping Beauty Castle (right side benches if facing the castle) and kids joined us 10 minutes before 0800. We spread out a little to optimize signals. We had done this before and went through much of the prescribed procedures from this thread. Re-enforced need to count 5-Mississippi's in effort to score a later BG so the youngest DD and DW can ride with us later in the afternoon. Getting early BG (and rain) caused wife to cancel the swim camp so it all worked out in the end.
The ride did go down after a 45 minute wait in line (around 0900-0945), then again when we were eligible for a Multi Experience FP (MEFP) but before we got on the actual ride. Came back later after lunchtime at our convenience when we saw the ride was running relatively smoothly based on posts in this thread. No wait at all thanks to MEFP. Had a great time!
My take (a bit of tin-foil, so skip if you aren't into crazy) :
I've ridden this ride twice now in 2 months. DD got BG 17 first time and BG 14 this second time (with a 5-Mississippi delay). I would say I've read a bit over 50% of this thread. It goes without saying that having a larger group (especially if everyone in the group is trying for a BG) increases your odds of getting an early BG. However, I don't think that is the most important factor, all else being equal.
Here is why... if you are familiar with Tokyo Disneyland and Disney Sea, you may be familiar with their lottery system. I've not had first hand experience, but from what I've read in threads dedicated to Tokyo Disneyland, their lottery system factors in group sizes. I'm not saying it is exactly like their system. it is not. Just that maybe each different group size is playing in a different pool.
Pure speculation: If you are a single rider, you will be in the "1-person pool". Three people in your group? There is a "3-person pool". My family of 5? You guessed it, "5-person pool". Depending on how Disney distributes numbers of available spots into each pool, the ease of getting an early boarding group can be drastically different. Simpler still, Disney can just divide into two-groups, large (5-10) vs small (1-4). I can easily imagine the large group being much easier to compete in (tend to have less adults than kids). Versus the small groups which tend to have a higher percentage of adults who stalk the forums for tips on how to score boarding groups. Based on my musings, those childless millenials and lonely singletons need to group up with each other before official park opening to really maximize their chances of getting an early boarding group (instead of competing against each other). Why has no one started a new thread for small-groupers to "group-up" yet?! C'mon Dis'ers!
Let's explore!...
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