Disney has rolled out a newly-revamped boarding group procedure for Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance at Disney’s Hollywood Studios in light of guest feedback. Guests now have the option of booking as early as 7:00 AM on the day of their Disney Park Pass reservation from the comfort of their hotel room or any location “near” the park. Guests still have the option of securing a boarding group during the 2:00 PM virtual queue opening, however they must be in the park, and are not guaranteed a spot. Read on for our experience trying out this latest iteration of the Rise of the Resistance boarding group procedure.
Disney has called this new approach a “pilot”, meaning that for now, this is just a test to see how a modified virtual queue system for Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance works. Below are their stated instructions on how to acquire a boarding group:
- Guests with a valid ticket or annual pass and a Disney Park Pass reservation for Disney’s Hollywood Studios will be able to access the virtual queue system and check for an available boarding group starting at 7 a.m. on the day of their park reservation. This can be done before you leave your Disney resort hotel, or wherever else nearby you might be at that time.Â
- Just as we do today, the virtual queue will reopen daily at 2 p.m. for anyone who wasn’t already able to join a boarding group earlier in the day. Note: Guests must be inside Disney’s Hollywood Studios to access this second virtual queue opportunity, and access to a boarding group is subject to availability and not guaranteed.
Not exactly knowing the parameters of “nearby”, we decided to test the new system somewhere on property as opposed to at our homes. That way, we could simulate the way most guests (non-locals, anyway) would use the system, either attempting to book from their resort hotel or while having breakfast somewhere on property. However, we were met with the same glitches as before, with the system failing to see a guest’s Park Pass:
The virtual queue filled up in seconds, just as it usually does during “regular” in-park distribution. We also had an at-home reporter in the Orlando area attempt to get a boarding group, and no dice… however, a handful of Passholders have reported being able to get a boarding group from off-property.
Of course, with plexiglass taking over the attraction’s pre-shows and ride vehicles, we have noticed a slight increase in distribution time duration due to upped capacity on the attraction. However, as far as this new system goes, it basically means getting frustrated over Rise that much earlier on in the day.
Were you successful in obtaining a boarding group today? Let us know in the comments below.
Staying on property at AKL and got a group for a party of 2 no problem.
It’s been a long enough experiment. The virtual queue is not a good experience and needs to be just a regular line with Fastpass when it comes back.
Last week I was able to get a boarding group twice. No network issues, and really enjoyed the out of body experience.
In all fairness, you know how difficult it is to get in the queue. Why would you go twice in one day which probably caused someone else to not be able to go on the ride.
Staying at old Key West resort from out of town. Got on boarding group 68 this morning through the virtual queue from conch key flat area of the resort.
Live 15 miles from park had no issues boarding group 5 at 7am
This is great! I hope this means crowds can be staggered throughout the day rather than a flood at rope drop. I tried at home boarding and succeeded.
No- we were at HS two weeks ago and failed to secure a boarding mere seconds after 10:00 am. At 2:00 we tried again and got a stand by boarding in group 105. They got to 104 and stopped boarding.
It sure is disappointing to drive all the way down and spend all that money and then be denied access.
Not sure what the solution is but there were many disappointed people that day. Not the happiest place on earth.
Lines were managed well but crowds seemed large to me given the supposed park attendance caps in place.
Might be a long time before I get dissatisfying Results on vacation again…
What about if you aren’t staying on disney property? We are staying at Universal hotels 35 min away and have Hs on our second day. How are we going to get boarding pass?
No! Everyone should be able to have the opportunity to ride it. First time in Florida and all we wanted was to have a chance to ride it.
Got one from Spain!
Did you honestly expect it to be any better? It’s now open to a wider group of people.
I did get that message today at 7am that I didn’t have a reservation which I did, and then of course everything was gone. Went to guest services prior to the 2pm time, she scanned our cards to “see if we actually had a reservation” and lo and behold, we had a boarding group about 120 minutes out. The ride broke down while we were on it, and we sat in the big room for about an hour but then very happily finished the ride and it was mission complete. We were thrilled.
Now 0 for 4 on getting into the virtual queue. The two of us were on the app this morning refreshing a 0700 and both received the queue full message.
Tried for the 2:00 after not be successful at 7:00 and received back-up group 85. Boarding went smoothly until 4:00pm and group 79 when the ride went down. About an hour later the ride was up and group 85 was called at 5:15pm. Only took 5 tries to get a boarding group.
Works from Jacksonville.
I wonder if it wouldn’t make more sense for them to do the Tokyo DisneySea approach of doing a lottery (they do this for their VERY popular stage shows). Disney could create an algorithm which determines your odds based on factors such as: if it’s your first Disney visit (higher odds) have you ridden the ride in the past month (lower odds) have you entered the lottery before and not been chosen (higher odds for each instance). I was able to ride it twice in the same week back in January because I knew what I was doing, but many other people struggled with the app and an even larger number of people arrived at the park not understanding how the system worked. (I mean heck–I went once and I bumped into a few people who didn’t know how MDE worked!) The system works above average now for line management, but I think they could streamline it more.
Maybe, just maybe… If all of the Disney bloggers would stop yanking all of the boarding group spots from actual visitors, it wouldn’t be so difficult for all of us “regular guests” from being able to ride! Sheesh.
15 people are taking all the groups?
Didn’t work this morning for our family of 5. Tried it at exactly 7am on the nose and it was already listed as FULL. Disappointed, but will try again at 2 when we are in the park.
I was able to get an early boarding group last weekend (Group 11!!!) when I checked in from my hotel room at the Swan & Dolphin.
Have tried every time we come down here and within seconds the ride is full. Heard people near us say this was the first time they suceeded in over a year of trying. I like the old way of standby or fastpass. If people are willing to wait in line, it gives them a better chance than this new system.